August 7-11                                 Cape May, New Jersey

The dock scene at South Jersey Marina is always interesting with a great variety of boats and people.  Paddle boarding and kayaking are very popular and we constantly witnessed a parade of enthusiastic water sportsmen moving past us.  

My needlepoint project was not going well.  The canvas was too limp.  It needed to be mounted on stretchers so the stitches would align properly.  A needlepoint shop was about two miles from the marina.  With the temperature in the low eighties, walking was pleasant and I had another opportunity to see more of the charming homes that make Cape May so unique.

The needlepoint shop was located easily and my canvas was quickly stapled to the stretchers. The owner told me she has been in business for more than twenty years and had a devoted clientele who enjoyed her large stock of needlepoint, embroidery, and other stitching supplies.  More than a summer resort, Cape May has become a year-round destination with healthy business prospects.

The Lobster House, a beloved restaurant that constantly draws large crowds of diners, is located only a block from the marina.  We are fonder of their great seafood market than their restaurant.  With a magnificent display of fresh fish, clams, lobster, shrimp, mussels, calamari, and crabs (as well as prepared foods), they easily surpass Central Market in Fort Worth in quality and variety.  We made several visits to stock our freezer and enjoy delicious dinners on the boat.  David has become a master soft-shell crab chef.  Lightly dusted in cornmeal seasoned with Old Bay, fresh soft-shell crabs are a delicious delicacy.  We are being spoiled by the abundance of wonderful seafood.

Utilizing the convenience of the marina’s shuttle and their delightful staff, we returned to the downtown area for a Cape May Mansions Tour in the trolley.  Our guide was witty and informative as we drove through the older neighborhoods and saw the lovely homes that were once the summer cottages of some of the wealthy families in the area.  Cape May steadfastly resisted efforts to change their building codes to include modern design and Victorian and nineteenth century architecture prevails even in new construction.  Civic and personal pride is evident in the pristine maintenance of homes and lawns.

Our brown leather chairs in the salon were showing considerable wear and needed to be replaced.  With the “miracle of the internet,” we located comparable chairs at a great price.  They arrived as expected before our scheduled departure and were easily brought on board by the great marina dock help.  A little larger than our old chairs, they are perfect for our needs.

Although we had hoped to stay several days longer, the marina could not accommodate us.  They were booked.  Calls to Atlantic City and our favorite Golden Nugget Marina were not successful.  A Jimmy Buffett concert during the weekend had filled the hotel and the marina.  Kammerman’s Marina, across the bay from the Golden Nugget, was available if we could be in a fifty feet slip (eight feet shorter than our boat) near the busy fuel dock.  We agreed that would work for us.