Cape May, New Jersey – Atlantic City

We made it to New Jersey! And to make up for missing a Delaware sign, I got TWO New Jersey signs! Look how beautiful the road sides are on their expressway – it’s understandable why they’re called the Garden State!

This was the best leg of our journey so far! From Delaware, we brought the Lewes-Cape May ferry into New Jersey, crossing the Delaware Bay. This is a large ferry and the trip takes about 90 minutes. As you can see by my pictures, it has all the modern conveniences, including comfortable seating, restrooms, food services and a gift shop. The day was gorgeous, sunny, and a bit breezy but the ocean was pretty smooth. This was a fun and restful way to continue our trek north!

This is one of my favorite photos. While on the ferry, I noticed a couple taking many photos of this lighthouse with some high powered camera equipment. As I spoke with them I learned that they were members of the Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation who is responsible for the restoration on this lighthouse, the “Harbor of Refuge”. It got it’s name because when there is threat of a severe storm all the boats gather behind the wall, between the land and the lighthouse, where the waters are not as rough as the other side of the lighthouse. I learned that the lighthouse is actually owned by three entities – the light is owned by the coast guard, the land by the Corp of Engineers and the building by the Lighthouse Foundation. Additionally, as of TODAY, a sheet of forever stamps is available, featuring 5 different lighthouse – one of them is the “Harbor of Refuge”! Look for them the next time you buy stamps!

Our second day here was spent at the Atlantic City Boardwalk – this will ALWAYS be a very memorable event for the four of us! We arrived in Moritzes black pick up truck – while we were looking to park, we somehow ended up actually ON THE BOARDWALK!! DRIVING!! A big no-no! Worse yet, there was no way to get off! So we drove for 2-3 miles amongst walkers, families, marathon runners, sightseers and a whole bunch of Jersey Shore locals who gave us some pretty interesting looks (and comments)! I got a high five from some guy, we heard comments like “Someone took a wrong turn!”, and we got MANY gawkers, as I’m sure they had never seen a big black truck driving on the boardwalk.

We finally found our way back onto the streets and parked the car. It was a beautiful day with a slight breeze and sunny skies so we walked the boardwalk till we found a corn dog stand (one of our favorite treats!). We found some shade and enjoyed our lunch while we “people watched”!

After the Boardwalk, Marj and I decided to go carouse all the shoppes found at historic Smithville. Our first night, we ate at the Smithville Inn – the setting was very nice but the food was only ok and a bit pricey. However, it was fun today checking out all the shoppes

Today, while staying in New Jersey, we moved a bit further north. We are staying two nights at “The Great Divide” campground in Newton, N.J. On the way, we were treated to cranberry bogs, blueberry farms and a bit of wildlife.

Wait till my next post to find out why we’re staying here. Until then, HAPPY TRAILS!