TR: Pesach to the US with family

[yfr bachur]

No one needs info about Brooklyn, right?

Is that near Cleveland?

[ExGingi]

Is that near Cleveland?

Must be somewhere in the vicinity of זלאזיץ.

[EliJelly]

No one needs info about Brooklyn, right?

Not info but I was actually looking forward for your observations of Brooklyn/Monsey from your perspective after not seeing it for years. How it changed, how you look at and rate the newer phenomenons like Sheiners, Bingo, the bustling erev pesach streets, expansion of Monsey etc. I always love reading a somewhat outsider's observation of things we miss or might take for granted. 

[Shush]

I think they have the CRC as well now

[ExGingi]

I think they have the CRC as well now

On the store or on their frozen pizza? (which for all we know might just share the brand name and nothing else, I highly doubt it is made on the same premises).

It doesn't really make sense to have an additional (virtually unknown) Hechsher on the store if they would have the CRC.

[Shush]

On the store or on their frozen pizza? (which for all we know might just share the brand name and nothing else, I highly doubt it is made on the same premises).

It doesn't really make sense to have an additional (virtually unknown) Hechsher on the store if they would have the CRC.

On the store.
They had only that Hechsher for a while and people were not recommending it.
Recently someone was there and said they now also have the CRC.
(I guess a Boro Parker can confirm or call)

[yfr bachur]

Not info but I was actually looking forward for your observations of Brooklyn/Monsey from your perspective after not seeing it for years. How it changed, how you look at and rate the newer phenomenons like Sheiners, Bingo, the bustling erev pesach streets, expansion of Monsey etc. I always love reading a somewhat outsider's observation of things we miss or might take for granted.

+1
Though I think that his parents moved to Monsey after he was already in EY.

[mevinyavin]

On the store.
They had only that Hechsher for a while and people were not recommending it.
Recently someone was there and said they now also have the CRC.
(I guess a Boro Parker can confirm or call)

I saw moko's answer and began to not trust my memory, but now that you mention it... I never saw this other hechsher, but I saw CRC.

[mevinyavin]

Not info but I was actually looking forward for your observations of Brooklyn/Monsey from your perspective after not seeing it for years. How it changed, how you look at and rate the newer phenomenons like Sheiners, Bingo, the bustling erev pesach streets, expansion of Monsey etc. I always love reading a somewhat outsider's observation of things we miss or might take for granted.

I hear you, but I've already given all of the detail I care to give. The main Monsey commentary is yet to come (I was there from a half-week before Pesach through Thursday Chol Hamoed), and I don't really have what to say regarding changes to Brooklyn because I didn't see any point to saying them.

Though I think that his parents moved to Monsey after he was already in EY.

When we came back in 2016, my parents were still in Brooklyn, so that's where we spent most of the time. They moved to their current house later (when there weren't too many unzereh that far out), and now there are a bunch of shuls and hundreds of families there.

[YitzyS]

This TR so far is awesome - entertaining, funny, and well written. But I’m holding my breath with nervous anticipation for the dark and scary part which I know is coming. Baltimore. 

[mevinyavin]

Monsey days (Tuesday through Erev Shabbos)
We had originally planned to do more visiting (perhaps another Brooklyn day and we had even wanted to do overnight in Far Rockaway), but it quickly became apparent (pun intended) that we needed to pitch in for Pesach prep. (That is, I disregarded my parents' instruction to do visiting and instead helped out at home.) We kashered and covered and put away and excavated...
The kids helped by entertaining my 1YO and sleeping odd hours. They played outside with the neighbors' kids despite the unseasonably cold weather. Some of them even helped clean where they couldn't do too much damage.
My mother took an extended lunch break (she works on the other side of Monsey) and took us all to lunch at Pies N Fries. Wait for a table did not exceed wait for the food, B"H (about ten minutes, though we had to squeeze to fit). The kids and adults enjoyed the food. Three adults, four older kids, around $40 spent.
When we were ready, I joined my parents on a trip to All Fresh because that was where they had credit or something. The vibes I got there were similar to KLM in Boro Park (the way it used to be, that is), and very much unlike your Evergreenish superstore experience that seems to have taken over everywhere (including EY). This was not their first Pesach shopping trip (nor the last, tbh), but they had focused on pantry stuff/cheese/fish/eggs (yeah, they're rich) before, and this was the trip for fresh things and also for a focus on what kids would need, which they were out of practice with. (This was their first time making Pesach in a good five+ years.) We picked out (way too much - I'm horrible at estimation) lettuce and horseradish, a few sauces that I knew my kids would like on their chicken, veggies that my family considers simchas YT (mini peppers, hearts of palm, Israeli-style pickles - the latter of which you cannot get in EY with a hechsher I would eat for Pesach), protein snacks that they would eat that my parents wouldn't touch (hot dogs, turkey pastrami), cream cheese (would you believe they only had gotten three!? I got a few more)... I was shocked and happy to discover KLP antacids. My parents already had plenty of candy stocked, so naturally, I got more. Now that we had cleared out room, we also got four cases of water and two cases of seltzer. (My kids almost exclusively drink water. However, it turned out that they didn't like the taste of the spring water available in the US - even Poland Spring... "Do they have Ein Gedi water here?" We still drank about 18 gallons of water between this Wednesday night trip and the following Thursday morning.) This trip costed about $550, which is about the same was I tend to spend on similar trips to Shaarei Revacha / Osher Ad before Pesach.
Bedikas chometz took a long while even with all of us helping. (Big house, compared to EY...)
Thursday night in the middle of the bedikah, my sister, brother-in-law and their family of four arrived from Brooklyn. They brought another few boxes of food, naturally. (They were staying on the next block in a house lent to them for Pesach.) Our kids got along great, which was not guaranteed due to the cultural differences. She has an older daughter (15? 14?) who enthusiastically began cooking and baking alongside her mother and grandmother and my wife. My sister and one of her kids are gluten-free, so they love Pesach, but we did have to keep the matzah crumbs out of various serving things. (We were never really a matzah-meal family anyway.)
Friday morning, my brother-in-law, myself, my father, and a mix of kids set out on the last-second errands. The first stop was Haverstraw's official biur chometz location. They had fenced off a large garbage bin with a large fire going inside. Some of the firefighters were frum, and they were helping the chometz that did not make it to get in the bin with a "leshem mitzvah biur chometz."
Next we headed to dollar tree to pick up a broom (we got the last one) and some measuring cups, which we couldn't seem to find in the Pesach supplies. After that, we managed to spend another $500 at Evergreen (my father let us pay for it this time) on I-have-no-idea-what and we ate breakfast with sandwiches from Hava Java. We brought home some sandwiches for the adults (and sushi for my sister) to eat outside. (The kids were exclusively kitniyos or better by then.) We got kzayis-plus sized rolls for my parents and my family (my brother-in-law was having egg matzah). The rest of the day was spent prepping for Shabbos (I got in a nap, though I had been up two hours earlier than anyone else).

[lover of truth]

Monsey days (Tuesday through Erev Shabbos)
We had originally planned to do more visiting (perhaps another Brooklyn day and we had even wanted to do overnight in Far Rockaway), but it quickly became apparent (pun intended) that we needed to pitch in for Pesach prep. (That is, I disregarded my parents' instruction to do visiting and instead helped out at home.) We kashered and covered and put away and excavated...
The kids helped by entertaining my 1YO and sleeping odd hours. They played outside with the neighbors' kids despite the unseasonably cold weather. Some of them even helped clean where they couldn't do too much damage.
My mother took an extended lunch break (she works on the other side of Monsey) and took us all to lunch at Pies N Fries. Wait for a table did not exceed wait for the food, B"H (about ten minutes, though we had to squeeze to fit). The kids and adults enjoyed the food. Three adults, four older kids, around $40 spent.
When we were ready, I joined my parents on a trip to All Fresh because that was where they had credit or something. The vibes I got there were similar to KLM in Boro Park (the way it used to be, that is), and very much unlike your Evergreenish superstore experience that seems to have taken over everywhere (including EY). This was not their first Pesach shopping trip (nor the last, tbh), but they had focused on pantry stuff/cheese/fish/eggs (yeah, they're rich) before, and this was the trip for fresh things and also for a focus on what kids would need, which they were out of practice with. (This was their first time making Pesach in a good five+ years.) We picked out (way too much - I'm horrible at estimation) lettuce and horseradish, a few sauces that I knew my kids would like on their chicken, veggies that my family considers simchas YT (mini peppers, hearts of palm, Israeli-style pickles - the latter of which you cannot get in EY with a hechsher I would eat for Pesach), protein snacks that they would eat that my parents wouldn't touch (hot dogs, turkey pastrami), cream cheese (would you believe they only had gotten three!? I got a few more)... I was shocked and happy to discover KLP antacids. My parents already had plenty of candy stocked, so naturally, I got more. Now that we had cleared out room, we also got four cases of water and two cases of seltzer. (My kids almost exclusively drink water. However, it turned out that they didn't like the taste of the spring water available in the US - even Poland Spring... "Do they have Ein Gedi water here?" We still drank about 18 gallons of water between this Wednesday night trip and the following Thursday morning.) This trip costed about $550, which is about the same was I tend to spend on similar trips to Shaarei Revacha / Osher Ad before Pesach.
Bedikas chometz took a long while even with all of us helping. (Big house, compared to EY...)
Thursday night in the middle of the bedikah, my sister, brother-in-law and their family of four arrived from Brooklyn. They brought another few boxes of food, naturally. (They were staying on the next block in a house lent to them for Pesach.) Our kids got along great, which was not guaranteed due to the cultural differences. She has an older daughter (15? 14?) who enthusiastically began cooking and baking alongside her mother and grandmother and my wife. My sister and one of her kids are gluten-free, so they love Pesach, but we did have to keep the matzah crumbs out of various serving things. (We were never really a matzah-meal family anyway.)
Friday morning, my brother-in-law, myself, my father, and a mix of kids set out on the last-second errands. The first stop was Haverstraw's official biur chometz location. They had fenced off a large garbage bin with a large fire going inside. Some of the firefighters were frum, and they were helping the chometz that did not make it to get in the bin with a "leshem mitzvah biur chometz."
Next we headed to dollar tree to pick up a broom (we got the last one) and some measuring cups, which we couldn't seem to find in the Pesach supplies. After that, we managed to spend another $500 at Evergreen (my father let us pay for it this time) on I-have-no-idea-what and we ate breakfast with sandwiches from Hava Java. We brought home some sandwiches for the adults (and sushi for my sister) to eat outside. (The kids were exclusively kitniyos or better by then.) We got kzayis-plus sized rolls for my parents and my family (my brother-in-law was having egg matzah). The rest of the day was spent prepping for Shabbos (I got in a nap, though I had been up two hours earlier than anyone else).

how do you feed pizza to a family for $40? did u sneak in drinks.
just curious do your kids ever say they want to move to america?

[mevinyavin]

how do you feed pizza to a family for $40? did u sneak in drinks.

One pie and a side of fries and maybe something else small. We drank sink water (!).

just curious do your kids ever say they want to move to america?

Not so far. I guess my propaganda machine is working as of now.

[TzviR]

One pie and a side of fries and maybe something else small. We drank sink water (!).
Not so far. I guess my propaganda machine is working as of now.

One pie for how many people??

[mevinyavin]

One pie for how many people??

Four kids and three adults, some of which who will only eat french fries.

[yfr bachur]

Four kids and three adults, some of which who will only eat french fries.

But you and I split that amount of food between us all the time 

[mevinyavin]

But you and I split that amount of food between us all the time 

American pie plus large fries is not equal to Israeli XXL pie and large fries.

[mevinyavin]

First days (daze) of Pesach
Shabbos was very ... restful. We had an early Shabbos minyan at "Beis Sofrim" (6 Marion Ct. - usually only leil Shabbos and Shabbos Mincha plus Motzei Shabbos Maariv). Aside for my parents, those of us not eating egg matzah ate just one roll on the porch (naturally my wife and I got the leftovers from the kids rolls too), and the rest of the food was Pesachdik. In the morning, we davened at BMH's earliest minyan and had two meals in quick succession, a roll with fish and bentching followed by a nice walk and another meal before sof zman achilah. Then we all got to nap (believe it or not) - it helped that my sister's family had their own house.
Seder only got started at 10PM (don't ask). My father ran the seder and I basically kept my mouth shut, advice I have offered freely to anyone who would listen. As a result, my Shulchan Orech consisted of one egg and a bite of corned beef, and then I ate the Afikoman (which, beyond belief, had not been stolen by anyone!) before chatzos . Anyways, after I got my piece, the pillow it had been stored in got stolen by the kids. I'm pretty sure no one has told them that the afikoman wasn't in there anymore...
A thought for the matzos: Although I had attempted to get Komemiyus (placed an order and paid for it), it had not arrived before our trip to the states. (I'm going to have it for Pesach Sheni.) On my first trip to Evergreen, I was shocked to see a floor-to-ceiling pile of Komemiyus matzah for $40/2 lbs! Naturally, I grabbed one. It was the best matzah at the seder. The extra-thin matzah from R' Tzvi Tal's chaburah at the Mir was also very good (but as noted, no shleimim).
Kids woke up very late and between everybody, the meal started around chatzos. (At least I didn't have to worry about eating the next seudah with an appetite.) Between that and the Mincha right before shkiyah at Beis Sofrim, we were able to rest some more and I got another solid seder in.
Before second seder, I made havdala in my room with my family. I reviewed the halachos of the seder (for bnei EY) with them, and it was by far the best and most relaxed "seder" I had. In a nutshell:
-must have in mind that we are saying shevach vhodaah but not being yotzei vehigadeta
-no extra berachos (no al achilas or asher gealanu or yehalelucha)
-Although my family is generally yotzei with the kiddush of the one leading the seder, we couldn't be yotzei this time because asher bachar banu is a hefsek, so we had to make our own hagafens after
-no need to drink or eat anything more than the smallest shiur 
-didn't bother being makpid on chatzos or being careful to eat the afikoman with an appetite
Instead of washing with my family by rachtzah, I chose to wait and coordinate everyone else's shiurim (I washed when they were up to Korech). It's a good thing because we hadn't prepared enough lettuce, and DW (who also had a fake seder) quickly prepared more without too much extra waiting. Still, we somehow ended at 2AM.
The rest of YT was uneventful. (Davening the Chol Hamoed davening when everyone else was davening YT was actually ... same as usual. In Monsey, I had been davening netz at home and then catching a ride to Shacharis whenever someone went later. I would then learn during most of Shacharis and join in for Chazaras Hashatz and Krias Hatorah and Mussaf when relevant. So, same thing, basically.)
Chol Hamoed morning was the test of the trip to Baltimore - could we all do it in a minivan? (I hadn't yet canceled my Amtrak tickets.) We all crammed in and drove to Cedarhurst park, where we spend a few hours with my brother and his family. I popped into Gourmet Glatt with my father and one of my kids who needed a break, where we got more bananas (I kid you not - we collectively ate around 100 bananas while in the states) and some freshly-cut melon for desert. We also got to daven Mincha in Non-Stop, which is apparently run by a good friend of mine from the OSDC days.
Then we drove back to Monsey to meet my mother-in-law at my brother-in-law's house, where she had come straight from EWR. He lives in Chestnut Ridge.
We spent the next day with my mother-in-law and a few of my wife's siblings who came in from their respective residences. (KAJ Monsey for Mincha was really nice.) We also took the time to visit her mother's mother (she should live and be well), who was visiting her son (my wife's uncle, if you aren't following) off of Forshay (saving us a trip to Washington Heights).
Thursday, we prepped as well as we could then set off on the drive to Baltimore. (dum dum dum dum dadum dum dadum...)


Non-Stop www.hv5t.org
Cedarhurst Park https://www.cedarhurst.gov/andrew-j-parise-park/
https://gourmetglatt.com/our-stores/
https://www.godaven.com/shul-details/21509/kaj-monsey

[yfr bachur]

When I was in the states for second seder, my mother told us before the seder "I've prepared two settings in the kitchen, whenever you are hungry, just go and eat" (It wasn't obvious during the seder, bec someone is always going to check on a baby  but at some point she double checked that my wife had eaten)

From what I hear, it wasn't a rare thing to start 10ish

[Just A Jew]

woke up very late and between everybody, the meal started around chatzos

Oh, the horror! I'm glad you survived!