On the Way to Cape May

We started off a gloomy morning with breakfast and Garfield and Friends. "China Cat" brings Garfield and Jon out to dinner on Chinese New Year. The owners of the Chinese restaurant they go to for dinner freak out at Garfield on sight, leading them to explain the legend of how a very similar orange cat out-ate a dragon and got chased away by it. Roy wants to be a "Cock-a-Doodle Dandy," but a tired bear keeps attacking him when he plays the morning wake-up bugle. Bo and Orson find a way to put the bear to sleep. Garfield is a "Beach Blanket Bonzo" when he falls for a lovely lady cat during a trip to the beach and have to deal with her well-muscled boyfriend.

Since Jessa texted last night and said she wouldn't be able to take us to the Shore until later, we decided to take advantage of the downtime and check out the Oaklyn Town-Wide Yard Sale. Considering it was starting to shower lightly even as we got out the door, there were quite a few sales around. Lauren found a really nice purple long-sleeved shirt. I bought tasty tart lemonade in pouches with straws for Lauren and me from an enterprising young lady.

We strolled into Collingswood for the Saturday farm market. They were surprisingly busy, even with the ongoing showers. Cherries, peas, radishes, and cucumbers debuted this week. Lauren didn't get anything, but I couldn't resist the first cherries of the season.

My original thought for lunch was Sabrina's Cafe, but they had a long line when we arrived. There was no line - or anyone else - at Paloma Restaurant, the new Mexican place across the street. She had fried potatoes and an omelette with farm-fresh veggies. I had the churro French toast with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. It was much better than the soggy French toast I had here on Easter. They didn't overdo the syrup this time. 

Since we already explored Collingswood, we headed back towards Oaklyn after lunch, cutting through Newton Lake Park. I was glad to see that the playground equipment is done there, too, even if today was hardly the right weather for using it. The rest of the park is looking pretty good, too. Vibrant emerald green leaves shaded us from the worst of the weather. The mulberry trees are bearing fruit now, too. We passed by several laden with berries as we headed down to the White Horse Pike.

I wanted to go that way because I needed to stop at Dollar General. I got a larger pack of batteries, so I don't run out again, and more of that limeade drink mix. Lauren got an energy drink. Other than a long line, we were in and out.

Jessa texted and said she'd pick us up at 1:30. We had time before we left for the Shore to relax and watch Remember WENN. Hilary is "The Diva Who Wouldn't Die" when Dusty Foxx (Rue McClanahan) drops her character from The Hands of Time in favor of Hilary doing a gossip show, From Hilary's Booth. The show is a failure when all of Hilary's gossip is about her, prompting her to do whatever she can from being killed off on her favorite soap opera!

It was closer to 2 when Jess finally arrived. We were originally going to the Cape May County Park and Zoo in Cape May Court House before heading to Cape May, but first of all, Jess missed the turn-off. Second, even if she hadn't, the zoo closes at 4:30. By the time we made it down there, we would have had a half-hour to walk around a sprawling complex. We ended up going straight to Cape May instead.

Jessa drove us briefly down to Cape May Point to see the lighthouse and World War II watch tower before returning to the Washington Street Mall. She couldn't find anywhere to park in that mess but a spot on West Perry, a block from Swain's Hardware and the big mini-golf course. Every single parking lot was full to capacity, even the ones next to Collier's Liquor Store.

I led the duo past Wilbraham Park, the sliver of greenery where the Gazebo is and the Halloween Parade starts to the Washington Street Mall. Since we were on the Mall, I thought we could eat at the Ugly Mug. This local watering hole is so named for the many, many mugs hanging over its ancient bar. It's narrow and dark in there, with heavy wood paneling and low lighting. Mom worked here as a chef in the mid-80's, and Dad hung out at the bar until we moved to North Cape May in 1994.

There's a reason the place is so popular. The food is genuinely good, and the portions are huge. Jess had a bratwurst and sauerkraut sandwich. I had a massive local fried flounder on a bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, and house-made tartar sauce. Lauren had an enormous Caesar Salad. Lauren's salad was too big to finish, but the rest of us ate all of ours. 

I wasn't going to let us leave the Washington Street Mall without hitting up the Fudge Kitchen for treats. Though the people giving out free fudge samples weren't around today, there were plenty of goodies lined up inside. It's exactly the same as it was when I was a kid, rows and rows of chocolates, coconut macaroons, salt water taffy, Irish potatoes, many different types of fudge, and novelty candies lined up on shelves and a long counter in a narrow room. We even got to see a guy start to make fudge in a big copper kettle in the front window. I ended up with small containers of two favorites, mini coconut macaroons and mini fruit slices. 

We were in and out of stores for the next hour. None of us bought anything at the humor-related store. I mostly just wanted to show the girls the Toy Company and the Zoo Company, where many of my childhood toys came from. I looked over the Cape Atlantic Book Store at the mini-mall, but didn't get anything. I don't know if the girls got anything at Dellas 5 & 10, but I picked up a Cape May t-shirt. We jumped into the bathrooms behind the lingerie shop before heading back. 

At least the weather had suddenly started to cooperate. It showered off and on during the ride down to the Shore. By the time we hit Court House, the sun had started to come out. It fully emerged when we hit Cape May, and stayed out for the rest of the evening. 

It was past 7 when we returned to Jess' car. Wildwood is best at night, anyway. We took the Garden State Parkway up to the turn-off to Wildwood, passing the Snow clams cannery and the marshes where many local families (including mine) go crabbing, before heading over the George Washington Bridge to Rio Grande Avenue. I got to point out the massive pink and turquoise WaWa where I used to meet visitors when I lived in Wildwood. My apartment was behind a building on a one-way street, and it was just easier to meet people who were unfamiliar with the area at a giant pink and turquoise 50's-themed convenience store.

Jess had an even harder time finding a place to park in Wildwood. She drove up and down Atlantic Avenue (allowing me to briefly point out where I used to live on Montgomery in the early 2000's) before finally settling on the lot behind the Gateway 26 Arcade in North Wildwood. I even gave her the money for it. 

There are tons of arcades on the Wildwood Boardwalk, but Gateway 26 is the cheapest, and one of the largest. They're the only arcade left on the boardwalk - and maybe in New Jersey - that still have 25 cent cranes. In addition to the usual array of stuffed animals representing Stitch, Spongebob, Squishmallows, and whatever else is cool this summer, there were a lot of cranes with stuffed seagulls holding fries in their beaks. Someone who makes the stuffies around here has a sense of humor. I kept trying for one, and didn't get a keychain version until I did the five dollar "play until you win" crane. (And eventually gave the keychain seagull to Lauren, who came away with nothing.) I naturally had to play ski ball, too, and they still have the old wooden machines in the back where you roll the blue rubber ball into holes and light up card suites.

Jessa wanted Kohr's Ice Cream back at Cape May, but I pointed out that there's a Kohr's on every block in Wildwood. Lauren didn't want any, but Jess had a vanilla cone with sprinkles, and I ended up with a chocolate-peanut butter swirl with chocolate peanut butter. I thought it would be less messy to have it in a cup...but they gave me so much, it still overflowed and ended up on my hands. Good thing I always bring wet wipes with me. 

Though it was past 9 and we really didn't have the time for rides, we did explore a couple of stores. I found a really nice yellow "Endless Summer" Wildwood t-shirt on the clearance rack at one store for $4. I kept trying to talk the girls into playing water gun games, but they get expensive at night, and I don't think anyone wanted to compete with one another. 

I finally won a larger stuffed seagull at Mariner's Arcade near the entrance to Mariner's Landing. This was a really unique one, a pizza-delivery seagull with a box representing real-life boardwalk pizza parlor Sam's Pizza who was eating his own wares. I did get him, but the box got stuck on the claw! Jess had to go get one of the guys to retrieve him.

We left shortly after that. Jess meant well, but to tell the truth, it was past 10 when we left, and neither Lauren nor I were up to singing Brittany Spears and Christmas carols when the signal for her cell phone (and her music) gave out as we passed through the Pine Barrens. I wasn't really up to arguing over why I don't drive with her, either. (I can't focus well enough to drive. I don't trust myself on the road behind an enormous vehicle that could potentially hurt someone if misused.)

Took a shower when we got in, then finished the night with the last hour or so of tonight's Match Game marathon. The theme tonight was episodes that were either filmed right before or right after the end of a season or a hiatus. I did get to see two nighttime shows that were done as season finales, one of the last with Richard before he left in 1978, and the one with Pat Moriata in 1976. (The latter is apparently set to premiere on Buzzr soon.)

Find out how Match Game went on its own vacation in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - The Hiatus Returns & Back from Summer Break

Oh, and here's tonight's Musical Dreams Movie Reviews review!

Animation Celebration Saturday - Cinderella (1994) 

By the Beautiful Sea

The morning started cloudy and fairly quiet. Keefe and Anny came over to pick up Skylar for an appointment with doctors at Cooper River Hospital in Camden. Dad went to work. Mom went out for a hair appointment (and came back with a very cute and short new do). I hung around here, played Super Mario Wii, read Mom's craft books, and watched cartoons.

Mom came home around quarter of 11. She first chatted with my sister Rose. Anny and Keefe were supposed to be meeting Rose after Sky's appointment, but they weren't sure how long they were going to be there or if they were going to have the time to go to the Please Touch Museum in Philly. We chatted on the porch about my sibligns for a little while after she got off with Rose.

Our next stop was the Peebles and JcPenny in Rio Grande. Mom had good-naturedly fussed that my shorts were too tight and too short. Well, of course they are! I'd just gained weight, and really hadn't planned on buying new clothes until I'd lost weight. I wasn't going to argue with her, though. So, I ended up with two pairs of capris (I don't care what Mom says, they're too long for shorts) and a new shirt in a nice brown/black pattern.

(And while I appreciated the clothes, I'm still really embarrassed. I'm still at a large/1X in shirts...but I've gone back up to 18s again in pants. That means I'm back to plus sizes. I'm so upset! I was so, so proud of being able to lose so much weight and get out of plus sizes. Mom says I look better than I did at Christmas, and my pants have been a little looser at home. At least all the walking and swimming I've been doing lately does seem to have paid off, even just a little.)

Mom had a cell phone call from Dad even before we made it back to the house. He was at home. He'd postponed his fishing trip again when he was overwhelmed by paint fumes and had heart papatations. He was at home, resting. We decided to let him rest and head into Cape May for lunch and a walk after I dropped off my clothes.

It took longer to get to lunch and a walk than we planned. First of all, the lady at the counter at Peebles forgot to take the ink-thing off my pants, and we had to go back there. Then we were chatting and Mom lost track of where we were going and kept going straight instead of turning off to the Garden State Parkway. We ended up taking the "scenic route" through Wildwood Crest to get into Cape May. That was cool, too. I got to see the outside of the rebuilt Wildwood Acme (which looks GREAT, BTW - Doo Wop without being as overdone as some of the other newer 50s-style buildings in the area).


While I did enjoy the drive through Wildwood Crest and seeing some of my old haunts, I was very happy that the drawbridge from Wildwood Crest to the boat docks in Lower Township was just going down when we pulled up there. (Mom did have to scramble for $1.50 for the toll, though. Apparently, it used to be a dollar, and she wasn't prepared for the rise in price.) We went past the boat docks, across the marshes, around the country club marinas, and over the big Cape May Bridge and into town.

Mom parked next to the water tower in central Cape May, a few blocks from the former Madison and Blue Amber Motels. (The Madison, at least, is now a condo-hotel, and both had elaborate remodels that make them fit in far better with the tony neighborhood than they did when I was a kid.) We strolled up to the Boardwalk first, past lovely old bed-and-breakfasts and condo buildings with gorgeous gardens, along with the Chalfonte, one of the oldest hotels in Cape May.

We ended up at the Promenade, Cape May's concrete boardwalk, and had lunch at Henry's By the Beach. Henry's is literally by the beach; we ate on a porch area that looked out onto a picture-perfect day. It was a day out of a Cape May postcard - clear blue sky, bright-colored umbrellas dotting the white beach, cooling breeze. The clouds and humidity had disappeared by the time we were in Rio Grande. It was 2:30 by then, so we both had the "mini meals." I had a crab cake and salad. Mom had a small cut of blackened salmon, salad, and a tomato-seafood soup. We enjoyed our lunch tremendously.

After we ate, we walked a couple of blocks to downtown Cape May and the Washington Street Mall. The Mall is three blocks of restored Victorian buildings filled with cute shops and literally some of the best restaurants in New Jersey. We visited some of my favorite stores there, in many cases since childhood.

We walked through Carpenter's Square Mall. We browsed in the Whale's Tale, a wonderful gift shop. (Mom bought Keefe a dragon card for his room - he collects dragon items. I didn't get anything. I was disappointed they only had a few AG things. In the early and mid 90s, the were the only place in Cape May to buy anything American Girl.) We went through a shop that had really cute hats. We went to Bath Time, a bath store. Mom got a lotion she really likes. I a coconut-lime bar of soap. Good Scents mostly specializes in scented items like candles, but they have other gift-items, too. I bought a journal with real dried flowers in the cover. We went across the street to the mall where the Cape May Acme is. Mom browsed in the yarn store; I browsed in Oma's Doll Shop. We admired the adorable Japanese-girl sign in front of Cape Orient. (It looked so much like a life-sized Japanese doll, I wondered if someone at Oma's Doll Shop next door made it.)

We strolled back to the car after leaving the mall, past more older homes, the post office, and Alexander's Restaurant. Mom used to live in that area, in an apartment behind a long-gone leather store; she had some great stories about living in Cape May in the mid-70s, and I told her mine about when I would visit a friend of mine who lived near the post office in high school.

Unlike getting to Cape May, we had no trouble whatsoever getting home. Dad called Mom while we were in Cape May. He was feeling much better and was up for joining us for a stroll on the Boardwalk in Wildwood. Mom wanted coffee, and we both needed to sit down for a while after our walk. Mom and Dad watched an antique show downstairs, while I browsed through Mom's old Christmas With Southern Living books. I've always loved the heck out of those. Not only do they have awesome recipies, but the first chapters talks about Christmas both in the old and new Southern US. This may be where at least some of my love of Christmas traditions in other parts of the US stemmed from.

(Oh, and Mom answered my question as to why I walk so fast. She does, too. We've spent most of our lives walking against the sea winds and blowing sands, not to mention the tides of tourists. You either walk fast...or get blown back several feet or carried off by the throngs.)

Dad, Mom, and I took Dad's truck into Wildwood around 6:30. There were no problems getting there this time. Dad parked in the big lot next to the Wildwood Convention Center and the cool, cute beach ball sculptures.

The boardwalk was busy at 6:30, but it wasn't packed. There was a lovely, fresh breeze coming off the beach. We browsed in the Boardwalk Mall (where I got a Wildwood T-shirt), then had dinner at the Original Hot Spot next to Mariner's Landing. I had a tasty mushroom cheesesteak that wasn't too stuffed, like some of the ones up north tend to be. It was just the perfect size. Mom and Dad had gyros. We had the funniest waitress, too. She was a tall, cute Russian girl with an adorable accent and a great sense of humor. She handled Dad's good-natured teasing very well, and even gave him two high-fives.

Everyone wanted some candy to go with dinner. I suggested Douglass Fudge, the most elegant of all Wildwood candy stores, and one just a few doors down from the Original Hot Spot. I found my favorite candy of all, the fruit slices. Mom bought her favorite candy, Almond Butter Crunch, and peanut butter fudge. Dad got raspberry jelly squares.

Mom wanted to check out a kitchen store on the Boardwalk between Mariner's and Morey's. It's a larger version of a tiny kitchen store in Collingswood. They sell gourmet mixes and cute and kooky kitchen gadgets of all kinds. I bought a buckwheat pancake mix as a special Sunday treat for me next weekend and a new address book. Dad got a piece of metal that's supposed to make your hands smell better. Poor Dad always gets fussed at about the way his hands smell after work; one of the hazards of being a fisherman.

Dad wanted soft-serve ice cream, so we next took a look at several ice cream booths. It was around 8:30 by this point. The boardwalk was filling up fast, and getting busier and busier by the minute. It was getting colder, too. The nice breeze from earlier was quickly becoming a chilly wind. We walked back to the car, stopping at the Kohr Brothers stand at Wild Wheels for soft-serve cups. Mom had Peanut Butter-Chocolate. Dad had Orange-Vanilla. I had Mint Julep. We enjoyed our treat while watching people play games. I also tried a Care Bear crane machine that had larger Care Bears in it than usual; didn't win anything.

There was a little bit of traffic on Rio Avenue in downtown Wildwood when we went home, but once we got off the bridge, it was smooth sailing. Dad's downstairs, probably watching action movies. Mom is in her room, watching Guys and Dolls. I'm about to take a shower. Tomorrow, I'll be on my way home; everyone here has to work. I'm glad I came up here. I had a wonderful day. I don't get to spend nearly enough time with my parents, and I rarely got them to myself as a kid. This was really lovely of both of them.