Cape May

Greetings from the Jersey shore! 

We’ve been down here since last Saturday, after a long journey down, and we’ve been soaking in all the sun, sand, and surf we can hold. Cape May is definitely our favorite place to relax as a family, despite beach vacations with babies being less than relaxing at times. I think we’re finally getting into a good groove before we head over the bridge to spend next week with Stephen’s family in Wildwood Crest.

I don’t think I’ve ever done a post on the stuff I like to check out while I’m down here. So, I’ll include a quick list of my top picks for you here. One thing I have yet to do, but I’m hoping to next week, is get a loaf from Enfin Farm’s “bread lady” in West Cape May. You have to arrive early and wait in line . . . but apparently her loaves are unique (sage + polenta, anyone?) and absolutely delicious. Here’s a well-written article I found about her.

Food + Drinks

Panico’s Bistro

Cape May Brewing Company

Cape May Peanut Butter Company

Good Earth Organic Eatery

Kohr’s Brothers Frozen Custard

Uncle Bill's

Shopping

Cheeks (FLAX! I found a pair of flax pants for $10 on a super sale)

Cape May Running Company 

Whale’s Tale

Givens Circle

Beaches

Cove Beach is my favorite

Poverty Beach is Stephen’s favorite

Sunset Beach is Ada’s favorite

Higbee Beach is also fun for walking around

Entertainment 

Climbing the lighthouse

Listening to live music in the Washington Street Mall

Playing games at Congress Hall’s family carnival

Heading out to Cold Spring Village to steep in Colonial times

Listening to ghost stories about the different haunts 

Trekking to DE on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry

Walking the streets and looking at all the victorian houses

On our last day here, we started out by heading to the beach for a swim. Ada is currently relaxing with the iPad while Eloise naps and Stephen does a few loads of laundry. We’re planning to head back out to the Cape May Brewery this afternoon and to grab lunch at the taco joint next door. We also have some free tickets to the aviation museum, so we may check that out, too.

Hmmm, what else? Oh, this year we became better acquainted with Cape May Point. It’s a quiet residential community at the very tip of New Jersey. We went to the beach there a few mornings. It’s a bit steep, but nice and quiet. There’s a sweet church near the beach where you can park for free. Very quiet and off the beaten path.

Some of you may wonder why we don’t vacation anywhere else. I mean, we come here year after year after year. I grew up going all over the place with my family because my dad had lots of business trips. I don’t know. There’s something about Cape May that pulls us back year after year. I like having a familiarity, not having to learn the lay of the land. Each year, we dig a bit deeper into the community and learn about new places and things we’d like to try . . . but we still fall back on all the old favorites.

My highlight this year was taking a trolley ghost tour out to the lighthouse at night. The tour itself was actually not that great. The stories were too brief and not well timed. But when we climbed the lighthouse in the dark of night and reached the top -- I loved feeling the cool breeze and hearing the waves beneath me while everything was black. Well, except for the beam from the lighthouse. It’s still working, after all.

I’m hoping to jump on here next week to write a bit more. We’ll have some family help, so downtime may happen more than it did this week. Here we are in the middle of July. I turn 34 late this month. I can’t really believe it. But things are good. This is our big trip of the year, so I’m going to sign off and go enjoy. See you soon! And wish you were here!

Read more...

Vacation: Wildwood Crest, NJ

It's taken me a while to weed through and edit our vacation pictures. But, I've finished enough . . . and I'm just dying to post them for friends, family, and all you awesome readers. So, as I mentioned the other day, we were in Wildwood Crest, NJ, with my in-laws (Stephen's family) last week. It's an annual event that we all look forward to . . . and now that it has passed, we're already wishing away the days till July 2011.

Last week was also my birthday week, and I turned 27!


Still can't believe that one. And -- yes. My cake was in honor of shark week.


The weather was absolutely amazing. I mean, it rained maybe twice (though we did have a tornado warning and power outage for several hours on Sunday) . . . but otherwise, the temps were in the 80s and the skies were only minimally cloudy. Of course, this made for perfect running weather. I didn't even wear shoes once the entire trip.



Yup -- I ran barefoot on the beach or in my Vibrams (right after the above photo was shot, I took off my shoes because I couldn't stand them!). My feet are as strong as Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was at his prime. More on that in another post!



We also stayed busy with biking, walking, and kayaking. In fact, that's one of my favorite parts of being on vacation -- cross-training. While kayaking, Stephen and I found ourselves in the middle of a pod of dolphins. There must have been at least thirty of them in all. And one day I squeezed in an awesome 13 mile ride and 4 mile run.


And here's a tip I read in a magazine: Even if you don't eat well on vacation, if you keep your activity level up, you should maintain your relative fitness/weight. So, that was good news to me. Because for my birthday, we took to the boardwalk and put all those "best" pizza places to the test.


Only one spot could win. We were thorough in our evaluation -- including points about crust, sauce, cheese, and general portability on a scorecard. In the end, Sam's Pizza Palace won. And we want to take this pizza trek again next year because we simply couldn't try them all in one night.


I need not say much about the beaches. They were awesome. Sandy. Breezy. Full of great boogie-boarding waves. And all that water sure came in handy on the first couple days, when my beach runs were at noon in the near 100-degree temps.

Thanks, ocean.



Now, we've had some new additions to the family in the last couple years. The two cuties were loads of fun. I think these photos speak for themselves.



The rest of the family enjoyed a relaxing time. We all kind of did our own thing in the mornings (most of us headed out on runs, bike rides, walks, fishing expeditions, kayaking adventures, and some just slept in). In the afternoons, we went to the beach. It was that simple. In the evenings, we got together for dinners and desserts (so many great ice cream places!).



Even my dad came down for a night -- I think he enjoyed himself immensely. And please excuse my "angry glasses," as Stephen calls them. I rolled out of bed to clean the shore house . . . and, well, didn't exactly primp myself :)


Yeah. We could really get used to the whole not working, living by the ocean, eating out every night, running when we want to thing. Definitely zero stress. But, I guess until next year, we'll have to live through these little snapshot memories.





Tell us! Where have you vacationed (or where are you planning to vacation) this summer? We also camped in Maine earlier in July -- check out those photos now, if you like. And if you haven't yet entered our SHUTTERBUG giveaway, be sure to check that out for a chance to win a cute trivet.

One last thing: We have received an overwhelming response . . . tons of beautiful and motivational stories . . . to next week's celebration of healthy living. If you'd like to participate, it isn't too late! Just email us (at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.) and tell us what inspired YOU to live healthfully. No story is too short or silly, etc. We'd love to include you in next week's (and perhaps longer) posts.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

Read more...