Cape May

New Jersey – Friday, March 22

I decided to head down to Cape May on the very southern tip of New Jersey’s shore line. Cape May claims to be America’s oldest seashore resort, and in the late 1800s it rivaled Newport, Rhode Island as a destination for the wealthy and famous. It looked like a great town to walk around in. But first I wanted to take care of my donation, and today that went to the Community Food Closet in Cape May. This food pantry is open every other Friday in the morning, and I had called yesterday and spoke to someone at the church to make sure they would be open today. Normally they would have been, but their schedule changed slightly because of Easter, so they weren’t open after all, but Liz, the food pantry director, was there anyway to help a few families who had thought the food pantry was open. I watched as she helped the families – she was very generous with the food she passed out. The food pantry had received a big shipment of frozen chicken, so that was good for everyone! I had arrived a little later than I intended, and didn’t have time to shop on my way down, but Liz told me a financial donation would be most helpful anyway, because they’ll be shopping for Easter hams to hand out next week to all the families who need food assistance. So I was glad I hadn’t shopped – I like the idea of helping with Easter hams! Last year this food pantry helped 1162 families, and because they get several days worth of food when they come, that worked out to 250,912 meals that they provided. Wow!

Then Tula and I set out for a walk on the promenade by the ocean. It was chilly out, and very windy, but I layered up and got out the gloves, and we set off to walk the promenade from end to end and covered nearly 4 miles. We also walked through some of the town and admired the big Victorian homes along the waterfront. A couple places were still boarded up from the hurricane. There were a few candy shops open and they were passing out fudge samples, and I tasted them, but didn’t think it was as good as Mackinac Fudge! It looked kind of funny to see the fudge people outside in down jackets and scarves! After that long walk in the cold, I warmed up with some hot chocolate in a coffee shop. Then I drove out to the Cape May Point State Park and did a little more walking. There were a couple nature trails,and dogs weren’t allowed, so Tula had to stay behind. I walked another 2.5 miles on a combination of boardwalks, sandy trails, little wooden walkways etc – it was a really pretty walk.

And then I stopped in Wildwood, just a little north of Cape May. There was a boardwalk in this town, so Tula and I got another 4 miles of walking in, giving me a total of 11 for the day. This boardwalk had an amusement park pier, and I still think it’s a little creepy to see all the rides silent and still, and all the shops closed up – it makes the place look so abandoned. I sort of feel like I shouldn’t even be walking there, but there were other people out and about. Soon enough the place will be packed, and I’m happy to be there when it’s not crowded!

Then I called it a day and headed back to the motel. I stopped at Denny’s for a quick dinner and ordered off the senior menu(!) and then got an extra 20% off for showing my AARP card – that helps the budget!