Cape May mini vacation

Happy Sunday!

It's early morning and I am lazing in bed reading blogs. The weather has finally turned cool and I for one am relieved. Yesterday I turned the furnace on! I wanted to start a fire in the fireplace but dear husband informed me that it has to be cleaned yet. We have a chimney sweep do his thing about this time every year. 

My bit of news is that Judi and I did make it to Cape May, New Jersey for a much needed time away. We stayed in a lovely large hotel called LA MER.
It advertised "ocean front" views so Judi was very disappointed when we arrived to find that was a bit of an exaggeration.
We could see the surf in the distance across the street and beyond the shrubbery and sand dunes. The surf was wild due to a hurricane off the Bahamas. The air was thick with humidity the first 2 days and we both suffered, Judi especially since she has Sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease in her lungs.

But we shopped and spent time at Sunset Beach hunting for Cape May "diamonds".
It's a neat beach, has lots of history associated with it; a world war II lookout tower, the hull of a cement ship and a lighthouse nearby. It was raining slightly off and on, windy but access to the beach was right next to the parking area without the long trudge through the sand down to the ocean that we had where we were staying at the hotel. Judi loved it.
The third day the wind and rain increased in intensity, flood advisories were issued along the coast and we were unable to do much of anything besides watch the weather from inside our room or out a restaurant window. We drove out to Sunset Beach one more time, shopped for the grandsons in the excellent fossil and mineral shop there, watched the huge surf from the car, and tried to make a decision on if we should stay the one more day we had paid for or just pack up and head for home.
Judi hadn't slept much since arriving and was starting to feel the effects; she is unable to sleep lying down. We decided to pack it in, the forecast sounded dire with increasing wind and rain. And that is what we did. The drive home was no fun with pelting down rain and wind but got better the further inland we drove.


On the way home we both agreed that we were glad that we had come. The booking for the hotel had been made several months ago so and we booked late in the season so that we could get the reduced rates. So, we knew that we were taking a chance with the weather being cooler and the uncertainty of hurricane season. While there we ate at some very nice restaurants. The first night we went to The Pier at the hotel. It was fine dining and expensive but the food was delicious. I had salmon and Judi had steak. For the rest of the time we ate breakfast at Uncle Bill's Pancake House across from the boardwalk and also at the Cape May Diner and Harry's Bar and Grill. All very highly recommended. 

The shore birds were easy to photograph because they were all grouped on the shore waiting for the heavy seas and strong winds to subside.  At Sunset beach they must have been hungry because they came right up to us and begged for food. I didn't have any but was tempted to buy some at the food shack there.
Judi talked me out of it because we would have been  mobbed by the hundreds that were lurking across the beach
 just waiting for someone to throw the first crumb. This is me in my shore attire telling a young gull that I didn't have anything to give him/her. The wind was howling and the surf pounding up onto the beach. 




We had thought we would go whale watching while there. The boat went by our hotel the second day we were there. It was raining off and on and the wind was picking up. Maybe next time. 
Or a trip across to Lewes, Delaware on the Cape May Ferry would have been another option. Definitely next time. 



The beginning of the boardwalk.



The rain and wind from the storm off shore had moved in and we were undecided what to do with ourselves. 



I will be writing a separate post showing some of the houses of Cape May. 

Enjoy your Sunday!

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