Day #326 – Cape May, NJ

We are still waiting for the weather to improve.  So we are still in Cape May and decided to go out for more exploring at 9:00 this morning.

Our first stop was the Cape May lighthouse.  It was built in 1859, was automated in 1946, and continues operation to this day.  The tower is 157 feet 6 inches tall, from the ground to the tower’s cast iron spiral staircase. There are 217 steps from the ground to the top, with 199 steps in the tower’s cast iron spiral staircase.  We decided not to climb to the top.

The beach is expansive there and many bike and hiking trails run through the area.

Then we drove back to the boardwalk area.  This time we walked along their boardwalk and saw the ocaen front.  Interestingly, they charge to get onto the beach.  Guess that is one way to support it.

Little huts are available to screen you from the wind and sun, of which there wasn’t much again today.  This whale and dolphin watching boat went by.  Wonder if they saw anything.

These beautiful houses must need constant maintenance.  This guy was on the tiny roof three stories up.  No thanks.

You can see how high they were up.

This lovely home is named May West.

We then drove to the Fishermen’s Memorial overlooking the Cape May Harbor.  It is a statue of a women and two small children looking out into the harbor where the fishing boats return from the sea.  The memorial honors those who never returned.

On June 20th they held a memorial service and six new names were added to the wall. The ceremony was to honor the six scallop fishermen who lost their lives on March 24, 2009 about 75 miles off shore.  Their boat, named Lady Mary, began taking on water about 5:00 am and by 7:30 it had sunk.  Two of the fishermen were found alive in the water.  One later died so there was only one survivor.  Seven men left and only one returned.  The Smith family lost two sons and their uncle.  Such boats routinely bring in up to 18,000 pounds of scallops after a week at sea.  It hit this area particularly hard as many of their livlihoods are based in the fishing industry.

In the afternoon a diver named CJ came to the boat to replace the zincs.  He was a nice young man and replaced all six zincs.

The good news was that the props and bottom paint are all in great condition.  That is always a relief.

Day #291 – Beaufort, NC

It rained all night long.  We got so much rain that it set a record, 2.4 inches.  When it rains that hard and that long boats tell you where the weak spots are and the VIP stateroom sprung a small leak.  No damage done, but when it stops raining we will have to find out where the leak is coming from.

Good News sits at the dock in Beaufort and it has rained hard all day. Oh, and did I mention today is windy and the high was 55?!?!?!

We decided the take advantage of the courtesy car and head out to do a few errands.  They gave us what they call the Roadmonster.  It was a bit like driving a boat but it did the trick and we ran errands and were back on the boat in a little over an hour.

After our chores we walked into town and found a great little lunch spot.  They had the best (self proclaimed) hamburgers in North Carolina.  Not having eaten the others we had to agree, they were pretty good.

After lunch we decided to walk around in the rain and do a little strolling and shopping.

We aren’t very good at keeping ourselves busy on rainy days as we haven’t had many.  This is how we kept ourselves entertained…Andy did computer time

and I cooked.  Tomorrow is our anniversary so I decided to treat Andy and make him his favorite meal, Colby Casserole.  That may be as good as it gets in Beaufort, NC.

We are scheduled to leave for Oriental, NC in the morning, but the dockmaster called and said that no boats are leaving as the winds are expected to be high.  So, they may not have room for us.  If that is the case, we will spend one more day in Beaufort.  Patti is feeling a little under the weather today so that may work out fine anyway.  Stay posted as the excitement unfolds.

As a reward for spending a rainy day in port, we were treated to a beautiful sunset.