Cape May, NJ

Monday, 29 June 2015

Notes to boats:

To get into Utsch's marina, today, turn at red #16 to end of bulkhead, parallel to bulkhead 20-30' off bulkhead.  VHF to Utsch's will always give you latest info.  Little to no current in marina.

There are 3 large front end loading washers, and 6 dryers. Two washers are $2.75, one larger is $3.50.  Dryers run 7 min/.25.  Two sets of restrooms/showers.  The ones in laundry building are very nice.  The ones by fuel dock, not so much.

From the marina, take a short-cut across the yard towards the Lobster House, walk across the bridge towards the Atlantic, and catch the dollar trolley to the Washington St. outdoor mall (think, shops).  If you make a purchase there, the ride back is free!

There are multiple trolley companies, giving great guided tours.  Make sure you get the tour you want.  

From the downtown mall area, there are loads of touristy shops, multiple tour services, great Victorian homes, and a paved "boardwalk" along the beach.  

They charge $6 to go on the beach.  (I'm from Florida, and have trouble understanding the concept of charging for a public beach.)

The Journey:

In the morning, we watched as the dozen boats that had joined us in the anchorage last night left us, one by one.  We had seen several of these boats the past few weeks.  I think everyone was headed north this morning, except us!

We pulled the hook and went back through the channel, past the USCG base, to Utsch's Marina, where we took on fuel, and grabbed a slip for the day and night.  

Ellen looked up from the fuel dock, and saw Terry, a boater from Key West, who is headed to Ohio.  Although we had tried to find them in Annapolis, when we were both there at the same time, this was the first time we'd seen them since Key West.  They were getting ready to leave, and Julie waved to us as The Thrill of the Ride went by.

We slid over into a transient dock, and quickly tied up and started doing laundry.  

Casey and Mary, on the Dessert 1st came in as we were getting ready to head for town.

We walked into the historic part of town, and looked at the Physic's Mansion where we decided we ought to take the trolley tour of town.  I asked a trolley driver if we could get on and pay, or if we had to go through their office.  They said they were the wrong trolley for the trip around town, but told us to hop on for a free ride downtown.  The rest from walking was wonderful, and the narrative of the tour guide was great!

We got off the trolley, and Ellen asked, "Isn't that Jim and Linda?" from the Rejoice.  It was!  In this town of 35,000 tourists and the 3500 year round residents, it was quite remarkable.

Together, we all walked over to the Catholic Church, a gorgeous building that is open to the public.

Jim convinced us that we should go for ice cream, so we wandered over to Ben and Jerry's.  While we were sitting there, who should we spot, but Casey and Mary!  They said they wanted to eat before ice cream, so we each went our separate ways, but, not before Mary told me about the $1 shuttle trolley we could catch back to the waterfront. 

We walked around the beautiful Victorian homes in the district, and along the paved boardwalk at the beach.

We returned towards the Washington mall to catch our dollar trolley, which we found out was free, thanks to our ice cream purchase!

We showered and met the crew of Rejoice for supper at Lucky Bones, a great local restaurant within easy walking distance of both our marinas.