T-77 Days: Waaaaay South... Cape May, NJ

What a gorgeous day!  We were awakened early this morning by Beamer to a bright blue sky, cool going to warm temperature and very little wind.  Ahhh, high pressure systems in Spring!

Decided on the way home from dinner last night with Meg and Mike at the Black Horse Pub in Mendham, that we should take a road trip someplace, hmmm... but, where?

Of all the places in New Jersey we've visited over the past 15 years, what significant destination in New Jersey had eluded our patronage??  The 'Schoor' of course - kind of!

Yes, we have visited friends in Ocean Beach - central Jersey - and, I have sailed on Barnegat Bay several times in a 35' Island Packet, been to Atlantic City several times for boat shows and bachelor parties BUT, Rose and I have never actually visited places that most native New Jerseyans call the 'Shore' - such as Cape May and Wildwood.  Cape May is the farthest most point in south New Jersey (the Garden State Parkway (GSP) actually starts just outside of Cape May) and Wildwood, another very popular shore destination in Jersey, is the island town just northeast of Cape May.  Approximately 175 miles to Cape May from home base, Long Valley - right at 3hrs of driving.

Jumped into Rose's sky blue Mazda3 with a couple of buttered rolls, sunglasses, GPS, iPod, a couple cameras and departed the pattern around 6:45am.  Stopped in Chester for Starbucks road coffee and to get some $$$ out of the BoA.

Route of flight:  Rt 206 south out of Chester to I287 south until it ends at GSP.  Merged onto GSP south to the end.  Quite a few tolls along the way - just another tax we pay in Jersey - depressing.  Little to no traffic in terms of New Jersey driving - we did see more than a handful of State Patrol cops, usually with travelers already pulled over for tickets.  Stopped once at a service center to stretch, hit the head and buy a couple of cold beverages.  Speed limits on the way down vary from 55 to 65 mph for no particularly evident reason but, no one goes that slow. :-)

We decided to get off GSP at Exit 6, first exit that takes you over to Wildwood Island, just to say we'd been there and to take the back roads and bridges to Cape May.  Wildwood is an extremely popular summer beach destination for many Jersey Families and young people. It's an island about 5-6 miles long, plenty of beach, places to stay of all types and prices, an easily accessible boardwalk with a ton of entertainment for all tastes and ages.  Every couple of blocks we noticed conveniently located liquor stores. We were quite tickled to see that bicycles, both in Cape May and Wildwood, are quite popular for use as local transportation.

Made our way slowly through Wildwood and left the island via Ocean Dr/Cty Hwy 621. A couple of bridges and a $1.50 toll later, we were in Cape May!  Quaint, vibrant, lots of Marina activity, eclectic large homes, tons of places to eat and lots of access to beaches.  Decided to drive through town and eventually meandered our way to Cape May Point State Park - what a great place!  Large 157' lighthouse that you can climb for a small fee (we decided not to with our suspect knees :-) ), it's a bird-watchers paradise and easy access to a broad, sandy beach where you can sunbathe, surf fish, swim if you're brave enough and walk for several miles looking for rocks and shells.  Took a lot of pictures and walked the beach - very relaxing.

There's a remnant of WWII on the beach guarding the entrance to Delaware Bay; a very large, reinforced concrete bunker that used to house up to 4 heavy caliber cannons!  It's all boarded/cemented up for your safety but, still very cool.  After about an hour, we packed it up and decided to head over and check out Sunset Beach.

Sunset Beach isn't much of a beach but, does have ambiance, faces the Delaware Bay, has a wreck of a concrete ship just off shore and, has some really cool souvenir shops and a quaint place to have some chow, the Grille - we did lunch.  Enjoyed our time and left Sunset Beach at ~12:30 for the 175 miles back to Long Valley.  The temperature on this day, Saturday, May 1, was supposed to top off in the mid-80s.  Actually got up to a very toasty 95F!!  Got back to the house right at 3:30.

Good road trip.
More later, out!