Returning home to the NYC Metro area was great for me. We needed a real home, though. Tarrytown was a great place to live, fun, good food, a great mix of suburban and city life. It was time to go, though. The house we rented was not one we wanted to own, but the owner wanted to sell and stop renting.

We started the search for the next Resort Melcher. We wanted a “cute” downtown with some local businesses and a few good restaurants. Tarrytown had given us the taste and we were not giving that up. I wanted a single family home with a bit of ground. Karen wanted to build. Moving back introduced the “distance from Reading” constraint. Throw all that in a spreadsheet (Oh, yes, she did!) and you get Denville, NJ.

Morris County balanced the daily commute with the weekend commute quite nicely. It was always that section of the drive home from Reading where I was tired of driving and Karen Just wanted to be there already. Now it is home so we are “there already” and I can stop driving. We go to the Homestead in Reading for the day!

Food is a compromise, Nothing is going to beat Isabella’s. Having your own little Italian Restaurant* 200 yards from home is just awesome. Denville has the Second Half on Main. It is good food, but more “pub fare” done well than “fine dining” close to home. It trumps the Sante Fe for me, but Karen was never a real Sante Fe fan.

We have good sushi places, too many for my preference. Casa Bella is close, but not walking close. It approaches Isabella’s but falls a little short.

Drive In Liquors covers the Liquor store across the parking lot need. Real liquor runs take us to Liquor Outlet in Boonton. That place is awesome!

Did I mention the house, on a hill, near a lake with a community club that hosts events and runs a pub night every week? Yep, got that too.

Photos: Finishing up 6