Saturday, August 24, 2013

Better Late Than Never

Mabry's Mill - Blue Ridge Parkway - Virginia
So…here we are one week away from our 2014 Fall Madventure and I haven’t finished last year’s postings.

Sigh.

I may well be the worst Blogger on the face of the planet.

What to do.

Finish?     Synopsize?     Just say the heck with it.

Not the last.     Nor the first methinks.

Synopsize it is then.

Cape May - New Jersey
An hour’s drive from Assateague one can hitch a ride on the Cape May – Lewes Ferry. The trip across the bay to Cape May was made on a brilliant sunny day with a few swells just to make things interesting. As the village comes to view it almost feels as if time travel is truly possible. Cape May is an enchanting, nostalgic little Victorian seaside village (lighthouse included) that having survived Hurricane Sandy (after our visit) is on our return to list for the future.


Fire Station - Cape May 
Cape May Lighthouse
Hereford Inlet Lighthouse - NJ

Up the coast a bit Hereford Inlet Lighthouse was near impossible to find...we passed the road to the light at least 3 times. It was, howsumever, well worth the effort once we did. The grounds are tiny, but carefully and beautifully landscaped by one of the volunteers. He has managed to work within the small space to make it feel larger than it is. 

It’s a strikingly colorful little Victorian garden enhanced by the Victorian build of the lighthouse itself. Though not spectacular in height (it sits almost hidden behind the Coast Guard rescue station), Hereford Inlet is, to date, my favorite light. 

(You can read more about this lighthouse here: http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=388)



Coast Guard Station -
Note Lighthouse behind the Station.

Lighthouse Garden - Hereford Inlet, NJ
Barnegat Light - Long Beach Island, NJ

We were on a mission to make Long Beach Island, NJ before nightfall and we were running out of daylight. Our hostess for the evening was himself’s vivacious 80 + year old Aunt at home on the island. After a delicious evening meal at Kubel’s Restaurant near Barnegat Light I crashed early and missed the arrival of her daughter Nancy. Waking to the smell of coffee I stumbled into the kitchen and smack into the smiling face of himself’s cousin. Over coffee and breakfast, that included my new fave Taylor Ham (pork roll), Nancy and I proceeded to yak and bond through our shared path through widowhood…though she is much younger and years earlier into the journey. More coffee, a quick walk on the beach and playtime with her effervescent pooch later and we were on the road to our last stop on the upward bound portion of our madventure.

Our Campsite along the river - New Jersey

Through the grace of the Y-membership of my step-son we snagged an awesome campsite right on the river not too many miles distant from their home. Waking to the smell of fresh coffee through the soul satisfying sounds of the river rushing directly outside our door is my idea of a slice of heaven right here on this little blue marble spinning wildly in the vast unknowns of space. Ahhhhh…."Calgon take me away" (for those of you old enough to remember those commercials).

Our grandson turned 7 on this trip. I found myself thinking back to the pictures sent to us on the day of his birth and how grown he seems now. Being included in the round of Laser Tag with his friends and the later family birthday gathering was the true highlight of this journey.

Laser Tag Center
Happy 7th Birthday to our Grandson









Mayberry, Virginia

The trip home through the Shenandoah Valley and along the Blue Ridge Parkway was leisurely, cool and sometimes colorful in mid-October. Taking our time from NJ to SC we stopped and smelled the roses in many spots along the way. Finding Mayberry on a back road in VA was an unexpected bit of serendipity taking us back in time to where General Stores were really…well…general. It was not at all hard to imagine that at any moment Andy, Opie, Deputy Barney Fife and/or Aunt Bea would walk into the store looking for some thing or another needed for the day.




Camping on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Safe to say that our little adventure was exactly as we hoped…and more…especially since our Grandson made me smile by telling me in a quiet moment that he was glad we had come and would be happy to see us again.  Expected? Not exactly. This NJ grandchild has gotten the short end of the grandparent deal with us seeing him only at Second Christmas gatherings in NC, 2 christenings, 2 birthdays and 2 funerals in NJ. Now that I have retired, we hope to correct that by spending as many birthdays with him until he thinks he’s too old for it. (which I hope, quite frankly, is not ever.)



Beach Chairs on the bay at Cape May



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