Good Times in Cape May

Sadly, we have fallen WAY behind with our blog. Luckily, this is due to the fact that we have had busy days, filled with fun and adventure. While this post surely won’t do our time in Cape May justice, I will try to sum up what made our 10 days there pretty great:

1) New friends – Jeff’s parents friends, and now our friends, Chip and Barbara, made us feel at home as they welcomed us to Cape May with an outpouring of hospitality. They opened their home to us and showed us around Cape May, highlighting the fabulous Victorian architecture and Barbara’s family’s long history in the area. We enjoyed some great meals with them at The Red Store and Bella Vida, both of which offered organic and local foods, as well as many vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Chip and Barbara also lent us their Jeep so that I could visit the dentist (again!), Jeff could take the outboard engine to be fixed, and we could enjoy a bit of sightseeing. Having wheels really made our experience in Cape May enjoyable. We were able to get some shopping done and trek across town, to Cape May Point, where Chip and Barbara live, for showers. Never underestimate the power of a refreshing shower!

Cape May 04

No, that is not a body bag in the back of the Jeep. That is the outboard, on it’s way to the shop.

Cape May 26

Preparing for our first visitors aboard Bear

Cape May 28

Lookin’ good!

Cape May 27

We even made up the v-berth

Cape May 30

Barbara, Chip, and Jeff

Cape May 31

Barbara, Chip, and Margaret

Cape May 03

Flowers for Barbara (and Chip). A small thank you for all they did for us while we were in Cape May.

2) Wine and Cheese – If you visit Cape May, you must visit The Cape May Winery and Seaside Cheese Co mpany . The Winery has a beautiful tasting room with knowledgable servers, who will help guide you through a 6 wine tasting of your choice. On the afternoon of our visit, we enjoyed a picnic with Chip and Barbara of delectable cheeses on the outdoor patio.

Cape May 18

Cape May Winery

Cape May 19

Wine tasting with Chip and Barbara at Cape May Winery

Seaside Cheese Company is a small slice of heaven in NJ. We had the pleasure of trying about a dozen cheeses while we were in town, and discovered a new guilty pleasure, Triple Cream. Much to my delight, Ellie’s Bakery, which is attached to the cheese shop, creates few gluten-free delights, including brownies, cookies, and cupcakes. Yum!

Cape May 01

A quick stop at Ellie’s Bakery for a GF treat

3) Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May – When Jeff sailed his Catalina 22 to the Chesapeake a few years ago, he anchored in Cape May on the way, and used the dock at Corinthian to get ashore. We are very thankful that CYCCM welcomed us and allowed us to use their beach and docks to work on our dingy engine, take a few showers, and traverse their property with our provisions for 10 days.

4) Brian and Brooke – Jeff’s friend Brian, a former bartender at The Hudson House on LBI, and his soon-to-be-bride, Brooke, joined us for a fun-filled night on the boat. We met them for drinks at The Rusty Nail, a great outdoor surfer bar , with a good selection of beer, and a nice view of the Strip. After a few beers we had a crazy ride out to Bear, during which the dingy, filled with 4 grown adults, 3 coolers of beer, and a few overnight bags, ran out of gas. Jeff graciously offered to row us to safety, despite heckling from a few boats in the anchorage. Brian and Brooke took this opportunity to make a dent in the beer cooler!

Cape May 38

Brooke and Brian on the dingy

Cape May 37

Two beers in after we ran out of gas

Cape May 42

The “helpful” boat behind us in the anchorage. They called us on 16 to say “Hey, you guys dropped your dingies!”

Cape May 41

Brian picking up the dingies after we went sailing

Once we made it to Bear, we tied up the dingies, and picked up the hook to go sailing. It was a bumpy ride out as we sailed past Wildwood resort, but the sail back was fast and smooth. Once we reset the hook, we dingied over to The Lobster House for drinks on the barge, and then a delicious meal inside, with plenty of entertainment, compliments of the serving staff!

Cape May 43

Drinks on the deck at the Lobster House

Cape May 44

Margaret’s swordfish feast at The Lobster House

5) The Boardwalk and Mini Golf – No trip to Cape May, the oldest seaside resort town, would be complete without a trip to the Boardwalk! Our ferociously competitive games of Skeeball, Ms. Pacman, and Pop-a-Shot ended with 57 tickets which we gave to a toddler in need.

Cape May 24

Skeeball on the Boardwalk

Cape May 25

Ms. Pacman fiend!

Cape May 07

The street queue and the hot dog man in his famous hat

Cape May 45

Don’t be fooled by the smiles, there is a serious rivalry going on here.

Cape May 46

Not the only time Margaret had to fish out her ball!

The night before we left, we headed out to Cape May Point to play mini golf, despite all of the work we needed to do on the boat to depart early the next morning. Our goal was to catch the tide on Delaware Bay to help propel us to the C&D canal. However, in order to catch this favorable tide, we would need to get underway by 4:30 AM. Yikes!

A few other pics from our time in Cape May:

Cape May 06

Margaret loves dolphins

Cape May 05

Do not throw anything overboard. Ever.

Cape May 10

Our daily view of the Coast Guard fleet as we row from our anchorage to the yacht club

Cape May 07

The sunken concrete ship off of Cape May Point. See it soon or it will be completely submerged.

Cape May 12

More Coast Guard ships

Cape May 14

Jeff “sewed” his flip flop with the new skills he acquired from whipping line

Cape May 16

Coast Guard cadets working on the water tower

Cape May 15

Junior sailing class at Corinthian Yacht Club

Cape May 17

Chip and Barbara’s lovely home

Cape May 20

Jeff tinkering with the auto-pilot parts

Cape May 23

Jeff making supports for the pull-out berths

Cape May 22

Supports in place. Success!

Cape May 21

Mount Gay Extra Old

Cape May 32

Changing the engine oil

Cape May 34

Manual oil pump

Cape May 33

Hot engine oil is scary. Goggles are my friend.

Cape May 35

Changing the engine oil

Cape May 36

The boat was clean

 

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4 Responses to Good Times in Cape May

  1. donna nederlk says:

    glad u r having what seems to be an awesome time on ur sojourn. dont know how u will be able to come back to the real world……………

    p.s. love chip and barbara’s home…………… absolutely lovely !

    • Jeffrey says:

      We are having an awesome time! And we are not sure how we will adjust either. It is going to be sad to leave Bear behind, for sure. We will have to try to meet up with you the next time we are in Florida. Thanks for following our travels.

  2. John Rusin says:

    Great blog and videos! How did you guys get into sailing and how long?

    • Jeffrey says:

      I have been sailing since I was about 8 when my folks got me into a junior sailing program on the Jersey shore. Margaret, on the other hand, only started to sail when we met two and a half years ago. Before stepping aboard Bear, she had been on my Catalina 22 a few times, done two weeks of chartering, and two days of dinghy sailing. She has come a long way!

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