Our Road Trips

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.