This weekend was definitely Epic at times. I think we'll try to lean heavier on the pictures to tell the story. Saint Patrick's Day on a Friday where the weather was pretty decent? Sign me up please! This weekend I enjoyed time with friends celebrating Saint Patrick's Day, breaking records with our Backpack Snacks For Kids food drive, and my first ever time at nearby Mount Peter.
We'll start with Thursday, where you helped my Adopt A Pet Of The Week Sadies get adopted within two days of being on my radio show! That always helps brighten up my Epic Weekends when I see wonderful news like that. Friday was Saint Patrick's Day, oh boy! I don't remember the last time Saint Patrick's Day was on a Friday coinciding with kicking off my Epic Weekend In Pictures.
Years ago before the pandemic, I would avoid The Irish Cottage Inn in Franklin on Saint Patrick's Day. They've always done a great job handling the insane crowds, it's just different when you suddenly don't know most people at your home bar. Over the last few years when weather has been permitting, they have had their back patio deck open. This is much, much more my speed. The weather was beautiful, warm enough to be out in my hoodie from Dublin, Ireland. I felt like you could breathe much easier outside than inside where everything is so tight with people you can barely move, let alone relax and enjoy yourself. I went with work wife Shawn and ran into several of my good friends, Artie, Roy, Denise, Teresa and Ed, etc. Socially speaking it was similar to a normal Friday happy hour with friends, just happened to have 10X more people around us than usual. I enjoyed hanging out with my friends and then was happy to be home, and on my couch by 8:00pm. Nice, quiet night in I'll take that for sure.
Saturday it was our 8th annual Backpack Snacks For Kids local spring food drive. I was at Weis in Franklin, and we were well in our stride by the time I arrived for the afternoon hours. I'm happy to report we broke records, raising over 6,000 pounds of food! We also raised over $1,000 as well. This was such a special, humbling event. It was so great seeing folks who were excited to help kids here in Sussex County after hearing us on the radio talking about our event. Every single town in Sussex County has families below the poverty line. As recently as a month ago, the shelves were empty at The Sussex County Division Of Social Services Food Pantry. I'm so over the moon psyched to tell you that isn't the case right now! We always have so much fun doing our Backpack Snacks For Kids food drives. It's always so fun seeing old friends and meeting new ones too.
The weather was also good for us too! It was a great feeling getting to be able to help kids right here in Sussex County, New Jersey. One of my many favorite parts of Backpack Snacks For Kids is when kids get involved. There's nothing quite like kids helping and looking out for other kids, right?