7/27/2015
We have spent the last 5 nights camped in Cape May, NJ at
another of the campgrounds where the vast majority of the sites are occupied by
permanent units, either ‘park models’ or RV units that are not movable
anymore. They have permanent porches, skirting,
etc., and won’t move anytime soon. It is
also summer, so the place is mostly full with families, so the pool is a
favorite thing, and campfires. 88
degrees and they have a fire going. So
we are glad to move on, although we are glad we stopped to look around. Yesterday, while in the town of Cape May,
there was very few parking spaces available, seems most of Philadelphia is in
South Joisey.
We arrived in Cape May after a 2 ½ hour drive south on the
Garden State Parkway from Jersey City.
The city follows you for the first 45 minutes and then you are in the
country, trees, crops, small towns, so it is a pretty drive. Fuel was the cheapest we have seen for 2 years
on the Parkway at a service plaza, $2.58/ gal for diesel. We are glad to be out
of the hustle & bustle of Gotham City and its traffic, but have enjoyed our
visit. Upon arrival, the folks in the office seemed to have not checked in
anyone who would be considered ‘transient’ for a while…they seemed confused as
to how to go about it, it was sort of comical.
But we got checked in and went looking for our site, stopping to use the
dump station along the way. When we got
to our site, it was more or less sized for a pop-up or similar so our unit is
squeezed pretty tight. A guy from the
park came with a pole saw and cut 3 branches from the trees and we won’t need
or be able to use our awning, or watch any TV while here, lots of shade
though. But we are probably only going
to use the camper to sleep in, so we decide to make do. It has turned out we have very little time
for TV, have minimal internet signal except on our phones, so it is no big
deal. We sat in a parking spot we did
find yesterday and use the computer to send some e-mails while sitting in our
car…making do. We have water & 50 amps
of electricity, so we can take showers & sleep in air conditioning. And the ice maker works fine, at least we can
have cold drinks.
We got set up and got in the car to head south for the
evening after a ferry ride to Lewes, Delaware.
It is a 75 minute ride across the mouth of Delaware Bay and the scenery
is beautiful. This ferry is a big deal
to the locals, as it is really the only way to Cape May from the DC area and
the only way to the beaches in the eastern shore of Delaware from places like
Philadelphia and points north. So the
ferry was full headed south. We arrived
in Lewes and drove south a few miles and the beach towns of Lewes, Rehoboth
& Dewey & Indian Beach are only separated by lines on a map. Interesting little towns on the shore of the
Atlantic that seem ready for a hurricane at a moment’s notice, but are in full
‘summer’ mode. We had made advance
reservations at a Best Western with a ‘no vacancy’ sign lit and packed to the
gills with families with blow up ducks and other assorted animals for the pool
and Boogie boards for the beach…a family from Philly paradise. We check into our room and get ready for the
evening at a music venue 4 blocks up the street, the only north south street in
town, which happens to be US 1, the same highway that runs from Key West to
Fort Kent Maine. We haven’t eaten all
day so we go looking for some grub, lots of choices but the looks of a resort
town anywhere along this stretch, packed with families. We finally settle on a place across the
street from the Bottle & Cork, Jimmy’s.
They care little about service, they are used to being busy and don’t
seem to care too much, if not us, someone will pay them a visit and then go
home in a couple days…it’s summer. Barb
ordered am item that sounded interesting and when it came it was awful…4 bites
and done. Nachos with mac &
cheese?? I had a safer item and we
left. Across the street at the Bottle
& Cork was another story, a funky looking building that was actually open
to the sky once inside, strange. And if
you went to the wrong door, you were promptly told so with a big huge sign
telling you to ‘not even ask’ where the right door was…wow. Anyway, we went in and a few minutes later,
Stolen Rhodes was on stage with a rollicking 45 min set to a fairly sparse crowd
who were busy talking to their neighbors who also happened to go downtown that
night. The band was there but not the
focus. We enjoyed the set and they
seemed very glad to see us, even autographed a copy of their latest CD for
Barb. They remembered us from the RRR
music fest in Augusta, NJ back in late June.
Then Robert Randolph made their appearance and they drew the crowd for a
different reason, where their name was on the card…not for their talent. That always amazes me, seeing how no one
seems to care who the under card is, even if they are as good or better…sort of
the night we saw Lynyrd Skynyrd open for ZZ Top or Jimmy Buffet open for The
Eagles…nobody paid attention to the opening act…pretty crazy. We watched about ¾ of Robert Randolph’s set
and decided to go get some rest. Our walk back to the hotel was
amazing…everything was closed, couldn’t even get an ice cream cone, the
families were gone so the stores were closed…we saw the guys rolling up the
sidewalks too…time for bed.
Next morning was showers and breakfast. The breakfast area looked like a hurricane
had gone by…nothing left on the shelves like the water aisle at Publix. What was left was being hoarded like these
people had never seen food before, it was pretty comical. A lady in front of me took every Danish and
muffin and piled them on a plate, put another plate on top of it and ran out
the door like she was getting away with something, I laughed out loud,
amazing. We had a bagel and left. Time to do some exploring. We walked the ½ block down to the beach and
watched the craziness there…lots of folks who obviously don’t do the beach like
we are used to, must be a northern thing…stake out an area and sit there and
bake, never entering the water (probably too cold). The signs were many and large, NO
everything!! We even saw a sign
forbidding swimming before the weekend was over. The city fathers have made it fun for a few
and the folks just accept it…that’s the way it is…amazing.
We drove the 10 miles or so, with a few stops along the way,
to Milton, Delaware, home to the Dogfish Head craft beer brewery, got signed up
for a tour and did some beer tasting while we waited. We took the tour and then tried some of their
beer brats for lunch, bought some souvenirs for Mark, and ourselves, and hit
the road. We couldn’t believe how busy
this place was, it is in this little out of the way town in eastern Delaware on
a Thursday, the place was packed and there was a wait for the tours…they have a
pretty good thing going. We talked to a couple who were eating lunch waiting
for their tour, nice folks from NJ…the conversation eventually ended up about
Alaska, we have a lot to say about that subject. We then drove by a Nassau Valley winery and
took their tour and did a tasting, bought a couple of bottles of wine and
talked to the lady who was doing the tasting…she was very nice and gave these
out-of-towners some pointers where to visit.
We headed back to the ferry for the ride back to Cape May. We had scheduled the trip back to coincide
with the sunset…good plan. The weather was perfect and the sunset was
gorgeous. There was a free concert going
on at the Ferry terminal, 1500 folks for a free concert of someone we have
never heard of a 250 people at a $25 concert the night before. Go figure! Our trip to Delaware was very nice and very
much worth our time…glad we went. We stopped at a restaurant on the way from
the ferry to the camper…another strange place…so-so food and no service.
Next morning, I went to the store while Barb made
breakfast. We drove to Cape May, to the
light house, visitor’s center and around the town, lots of folks in town for a
Friday. But it is a pretty little town
with a lot of history and obviously there has been a lot of money here for a
long time, lots of big, old, restored homes. We then drove north, with the idea
for driving to Atlantic City…we never made it.
We stopped at a couple of restaurants & bars in Wildwood and found a
couple we liked and stayed. We watched
the sunset from the Wharf restaurant while listening to a 3 piece band playing
‘Taking it Easy’…nice combo. The drive
back to the camper was a short one, glad to see the bed. Another interesting day. The campground is
packed with families.
Sat morning, we are being lazy. We get some things done at the camper and
head north. In Somers Point we start
looking for a credit union, end up in Northfield at a Jersey Shore Credit
Union, use the ATM and move on to Atlantic City. My prediction that Atlantic City is a grown
up Wildwood, NJ proves right. The place
is a zoo! Everything we have heard is
correct and then some. We drove to the
east end of Pacific Blvd. (which ends at the Atlantic Ocean, go figure) and
take a few pictures, drive a few blocks west to Absecon Lighthouse (which when
built was 75’ from the water, now 2+ blocks) walk through the Keepers House and
decline climbing the 229 steps to the top…that is for younger folks. We then drove west on Atlantic Blvd. towards
Margate City, about 5-6 miles, with a traffic signal every block…we must have had
75% red, incredible. Our destination was
a recommendation from the lady at the winery in Rehoboth, Steve &
Cookies. Turns out, we were directed to
a different bar, the first one we went to decided they were too snooty for us,
told, not asked, us to go elsewhere. We
had a couple beers and moved on…we can tell when we aren’t welcome. We ended up back in Wildwood, at the
Firehouse Tavern…neat little neighborhood pub with LOTS of firefighter
memorabilia & cheap beer, decent food and friendly folks. We spent the evening enjoying life and having
a really nice time…excellent decision to change locations. We got back to the camper and got some much
needed rest. I slept until 1030 am.
Sunday morning, we drove back to Cape May with the thought
of taking a trolley tour. By the time we
got there, the last one of the day was 45 minutes away, so we walked back to
the car and found a place to send some emails with internet in downtown Cape
May. We then had missed the last tour
trolley, so we did our own drive around, took some pictures and drove to the
Cape May Brewery. We did a self-guided
tour, which was pretty hokey, did a 4-beer testing, bought a t-shirt and drove
back to Wildwood to the Firehouse Tavern, watched the end of the Brickyard 400
on TV and ate some great sandwiches.
Shortly after the race, we decided to go back to the camper…we actually
got back before dark. We sat around and
did a few things and went to bed before 10.
Tomorrow is moving day and that will mean a ferry ride for the camper,
car & us, then a drive south, cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on our way to
Virginia Beach for a few days at a State Park…no permanent sites.
 |
| Leaving Cape May |
 |
| Neither Tony or the Mac & Cheese were any good-more like awful! |
 |
| A bar with no roof? |
 |
| Stolen Rhodes |
 |
| Barb getting autographs |
 |
| Robert Randolph and the Family Band |
 |
| 9 x 'NO' on one sign |
 |
| Beach at Dewey Beach |
 |
| What can you do? |
 |
| The Bay at Dewey Beach |
 |
| Dogfish Head |
 |
| On the tour |
 |
| Lots of kegs |
 |
| Free concert at Lewes Ferry port |
 |
| Sunset on our way back to Cape May |
 |
| Cape May...No Swimming? |
 |
| At The Wharf |
 |
| Sunset from The Wharf |
 |
| Cape May Lighthouse |
 |
| Atlantic City |
 |
| Atlantic City Boardwalk |
 |
All sunsets are pretty in their own way
|
 |
| Too Ritzy for us |
 |
| Across from Steve & Cookie's |
 |
| The lighthouse at Atlantic City |
 |
Caesar's
|
 |
| No Boardwalk |
 |
Our favorite place
|
