Cape May, NJ - Halloween

Sunday, 10/29/2017
Cape May - Utch's Marina
No Travel

The rain predicted to fall by 7:00 a.m. this morning did not fail to make its appearance. As planned I relaxed in bed late into the morning. An approaching headache finally forced me to get up and find breakfast. I spent the day tidying up the boat and then hanging out in the salon entertaining myself first with a novel and then with my blog updates.

It rained most of the day, and I had no interest in venturing out into the cold, damp weather. Clark, on the other hand, went out in the rain more than I would have anticipated. He made friends with the Canadian sailboat owner docked next to us. Unfortunately, he (the sailboat owner) has problems with his rudder since he ran aground. Clark was chatting with him and was on hand while the guy dove under his boat to look at the damage. Unfortunately, the boat will need to be hauled. Clark came back on our boat dripping wet. When I asked him if he had fun, he gave me his devilish grin and said, "Of course!"

We ended the day with a FaceTime get together with our son in Idaho and our granddaughter Sierra.

Monday 10/30/2017

Cape May, NJ

Utch’s Marina

No Travel

The predicted gale-force winds made an appearance during the night resulting in a rough night with little sleep. As the wind kicked up, a variety of eerie and annoying noises either kept us awake or woke us up throughout the night. Lines tapped and banged, fenders screeched and squealed, and the boat occasionally went thump when a particularly strong gust of wind shoved the boat up against a piling on the portside of the boat. At some point during the night Clark put on a coat and went out to add some lines to cut down on the noise and thumping.

With no boat travel planned for the day, we took our time getting up and around to a variety of chores including a bit of laundry as well as phone calls and tests to diagnose the failed a/c / heat unit in the master state room. As part of our chore list, we rode our bicycles into town to mail our absentee ballots to vote for our next NJ governor, et al. On the way to the post office we passed the “Scarecrow Alley” display at the Carriage House Café and Tea Room.

Carriage House Cafe Scarecrow Alley Contest

Zombies

Moana & Maui

After mailing our ballots we continued on to have a look around the pedestrian mall to see what shops were still open this late in the season. I tried to convince Clark to have ice cream, but he said he was too cold to partake of a frozen treat!

Pedestrian Mall in Cape May, NJ

"Wish You Were Here"
Store in Cape May, NJ

On our bike tour we got to see a couple of Cape May’s lovely Victorian homes.

King's Cottage in Cape May, NJ

Clark finds the most interesting sites on our bike rides. Rounding a curve in the street I found him looking over the edge of a bridge saying, “I haven’t seen that for a long while”.

"S&H Green Stamps" Boat
I wonder how many books of stamps that took?!

 After our little excursion into town, we returned to the marina to find the folks on the sailboat docked next to us working on removing their bent rudder from their boat. We loaned them a rubber mallet which allowed them to work the rudder loose. As they examined their chipped, bent, and broken rudder, Clark offered an abundance of suggestions on how they might address the damage to the boat. I finally managed to drag him away.

Back on board we wrapped up our own chore list, ate dinner, and watched some internet TV before retiring early in preparation for a very long day on the water headed towards the D&C Canal. Unfortunately, the current will be against us the whole long way!

Tuesday 10/31/17

Halloween

Depart: Cape May, NJ 8:30 a.m.

Arrive: Delaware City Marina, Delaware City, Delaware 3:45 p.m.

Distance: ~ 53 NM

As we headed out of Utch’s Marina in Cape May, I worried that the seas were reminiscent of our trip into Cape May. The boat crashed over waves, and on occasion our bell, Wilhelmina, called out her complaints of the roughness of the waters. Looking out the back of the boat, I watched a very large flock of sea gulls tenaciously following our boat with the mistaken idea that Sunset Delight is a fishing boat and eventually they would receive free fish for breakfast. I gave up watching them and have no idea when they finally gave up on us.

The trip up the Delaware River to our marina for the night was long and tedious. With the current against us, our normal 8 to 9 knots of speed became 6 to 7. Although we did not have rough seas on the river, we did have strong winds. The wind gauge registered gusts up to 27 knots – mostly in our face. Almost eight hours after leaving Cape May, we arrived at the Delaware City Marina. We saw very little boat traffic and not much scenery – just the occasional lighthouse.

Delaware River Lighthouse

 We did a quick check-in, grabbed our bikes, and headed into town to visit the small food market.  At the marina’s office I saw a lovely, handmade piece of wooden artwork depicting the marina.

Delaware City Marina (entrance to office)

Wooden artwork depicting Delaware Marina

Our trip into town lasted no longer than it took to get there, buy a dozen eggs, and return. Even so, the sun was rapidly sinking low in the horizon. Clark ran a hose over the boat to wash off an abundance of salt while I put away our bike equipment and started dinner.

We lacked internet tonight being too far from the marina office, but we did find a number of digital TV channels over the airwaves. I settled in for a night of television. Being Tuesday I watched some of my favorite CBS TV shows then said goodnight!