Sometimes you just need to sit a spell and get let the river cast its magic.
And it will. Always does. Sunshine, crisp fall air and river mystique knows no bounds. Taking that front-row seat puts the “Ahhhhhh” into the exhale. From there, it’s all about the infinite inhale of tranquility. Thanks, too, that the intoxicating view remains a best friend that transcends time, never leaving a Rumson-Fair Haven area kid’s carefree mind.
Continue reading Focus: A Seat and a River Time Spell Cast
There’s nothing like a crisp, bright fall day down by the river. It’s nothing to throw shade on, unless, of course, an umbrella or several are involved at an iconic spot along the Navesink.
That spot would be Barnacle Bill’s in Rumson. The shade? Well, when the fiery sunshine sears that fuzzy warmth into your soul, the umbrella that shades takes the glare away, calling the view into vivid focus. Call it falling for the same old, yet always new, scene. The river time scene.
River time. It’s time forever well-spent — sunny side always up under the umbrella of a day completed down by the river.
Take a look and feel the fall riverside sunshine in your soul. (Click on one pic to enlarge and scroll. Enjoy!)
The sun is set to shine bright for the rest of the week, bringing another little waft of locals’ summer. Here’s the Rumson-Fair Haven area forecast through the weekend from the National Weather Service …
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The sun has set on summer, leaving the glass empty with promise of another intoxicating locals’ fall refill after the rain.
Continue reading Focus: Empty Glass Toast to Summer’s Sunset“We are crushed by this loss but we remember and celebrate the wonder of Casey and how extraordinarily blessed we are to have been gifted with him. We will remember and celebrate his resilience, grace and kindness. His empathy, warmth and compassion. His bravery, sensitivity, loyalty and humility. His zero tolerance for bullshit. We will remember with a smile how much Casey enjoyed a good laugh and how, with his witty, dry and deadpan sense of humor, we laughed along with him.” ~ loved ones of Casey Taylor
Cherished son, brother, nephew, cousin and friend, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) 2013 graduate, Casey Taylor died on Oct. 9, five days before his 28th birthday.
Continue reading In Memoriam: RFH 2013 Grad, Casey Taylor, 27
Press “Play.” Sometimes light peering through stark, hazy darkness is a beacon to play time that’s drawing near. It can transport a daydreamer to past play, too. Warmth. Vision. Clarity. Contentment.
The pin spotlights scream silence — peace. They remind: There is a light to follow forward and back. Each spot shines a light on one memory at a time, bringing focus to the haze, bringing back the warmth. Each spot draws us to a brighter tomorrow, too. Each reminds: There’s a way out of the dark haze, forward or rewind. Either takes us back to the same place. Home.
When two iconic playtime scenes — an otherwise bustling iconic Victory Park or Barnacle Bill’s gathering haven — are somber and still, it’s then that one can see the power of place clearly. Feel it deeply. The more stark, the more profound. The more simple, the more black and white, the love of home.
Get lost in the light to find your own way home.
— Photos/Elaine Van Develde for R-FH Retro only (CLICK on one to enlarge and scroll. Enjoy!)
And lighter days are coming to the area. Here’s the week’s weather forecast, courtesy of the National Weather Service, for the Rumson-Fair Haven area …
Even when the Rumson river view is obscured by the fog, a blanket of snow and empty Barnacle Bill’s chairs are vivid reminders that there’s always a seat for you at an iconic spot back home.
It sees you. You see it. The descending pea soup sky never takes away the view. It gives you a close-up of the little things that matter most, like a chair waiting for its townie.
Each piece of home is where the comfort embraces with a hushed, welcomed coddle in the disquiet of the cold air pangs. Its love blankets like the melting snow, sopping up the home earth beneath the feet that always seem to anchor there, tugging like quicksand at the heart. This is one piece of home. One iconic spot. The quiet, the starkness beckon. They call you back. Always.
You hear and return to take a big bite … of that burger, the memories and that home feeling, ingesting all that’s good. Yum.
The fog has lifted. Here’s what’s going on with the weather in the Rumson-Fair Haven area heading into the weekend, courtesy of the National Weather Service …
** Don’t forget to CLICK on one photo in the above gallery to enlarge and scroll! Enjoy! **
— Photos/Elaine Van Develde exclusively for R-FH Retro
Perspective. It’s all about perspective, especially when it comes to a familiar riverfront scene in Rumson. No matter what way you look at it, it’ll light you up from inside.
So focusing on the sunset view from one simple holiday vantage point offers a closer look at being home for the holidays. Staying there, always in the heart.
This time, sitting at a high-top with a Barnacle Bill’s view through a wreath wraps it up — the gift. Sun down, lights up, the reflection is all about home and the little glints we will never miss if we keep the memories alive through our lone perspective — our view.
The flicker of even one light on a wreath’s full circle lens mesmerizes. It smiles and winks back with a bright flash. A glimmer of a memory gleams. It warms. It never blinds.
Seeing the light often means looking back, focusing on that one teensy, mammoth view of one moment in time.
Once upon a time, the best of teenage girlfriends guffawed over bad engagement pictures in the paper and awful boys. They nursed some coffee and a basket of fried zucchini sticks, satiated by the salty company. Shelling peanuts and rolling them in sea salt on their crumpled paper placemats, they mused about one day missing their misadventures, about coming home after college, about coming back to their table, to their time. They always came back, even when they could no longer sit together. One left at the table, the two still came back with the flash. The view focused, full circle, bright, never lost on either of them.
Look for yours … (click, enlarge, scroll) through the … wreath.
— Photos & reflective piece/Elaine Van Develde
There’s some light in the weekend weather forecast. Here it is, from the National Weather Service. Shine on, view …
Call it the real macaw — up close and personal.
“Well, that made my night!” a woman could be overheard exclaiming after a chance meeting with a special parrot that broke the table wait tedium at a packed Barnacle Bill’s in Rumson on Saturday night.
Continue reading Scene Around: One Eyed Jack Sighting
There’s nothing quite like a burger at Rumson’s Barnacle Bill’s and a sunny, clear day’s river view. It’s a rite of passage for Rumson-Fair Haven area dwellers.
Continue reading Focus: A Barnacle’s River View
To quote the sad hope sentiment in that red-headed orphan Annie song, “The sun’ll come out tomorrow.”
According to the National Weather Service forecast, it will. It will also peer through the clouds a bit on Wednesday. The rest of the week is a dank April showers washout.
So, here’s a little clear day’s view on the Navesink at the iconic Barnacle Bill’s and looking toward Highlands from the Shrewsbury at Sea Bright. The glimpse is a reminder of soothing sunny days and a better outlook for spring and summer.
Here’s that forecast for the Rumson-Fair Haven area … (And click on one of the photos above to enlarge and scroll. Enjoy the view and sunny springtime outlook!)
It’s always good to get a leg up on brighter days, especially when it involves a simple riverside adventure, a friendly hand from a childhood friend.
The picture says it all.
Soaking up the sun on the horizon is more than symbolic these days. Basking in it all at an iconic spot down by the Navesink River at Barnacle Bill’s in Rumson is, well, tradition. But it’s more poignant than ever as we begin to head out of pandemic darkness and into the light. Better weather ushers that better view into a fuzzy warm focus.
Looking to the bright side of spring …
Continue reading Focus: Riverfront Sunny Side Leg Up
On a clear day … nothing will astound you quite like a front row seat to a river view and a burger from Barnacle Bill’s in Rumson.
Continue reading Focus: A View from the Barnacle’s Perspective
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