This sort of family gathering has become increasingly rare as we have all scattered to different states. In addition to Elly and I, my parents were there, my sister Tracey and her husband Joe with their six month old son Nathan, and my brother John with his girlfriend Sarah. Cape May Point is a place that we used to visit each summer as kids, staying in a rented house for the week. It is a quiet place with a nice beach, unlike the more hip and crowded beaches of Wildwood and other parts of Jersey. It has been ten years since last time I was here, so it was nice to come back. There were a number of highlights to the trip, including:
The Journey - In my heart of hearts, I really enjoy journeys. A long, back-breaking, dust up the nose trip is almost always a good time for me. The trip from Columbus to Cape May is about 600 miles through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Southern New Jersey. In addition to lots of good scenery, we enjoyed a chinese restaurant with a separate vegetarian menu (score!) and the cheap gas in Cambridge, Ohio.
Fishing with John and Joe -I can not remember the last time that I have gone fishing. Something moved me this year at the shore and I strapped on my father's old as dirt pole and played out my very own "Old Man and the Sea". While I did not catch anything large enough to eat, I did catch quite a few sharks and croakers. From what the guy at the bait shop said it is not a good year for fishing, perhaps global warming even impacts this. Or, it may be as simple as the fact the mostly fishing is just sitting and watching water with little to no action. Perhaps it will be another 10 years before my next try.The Beach - Cape May Point is unique as it is not commercialized, the beach is quiet and not overrun with tourists. We had a couple great days on the beach getting pounded by waves body surfing and soaking up some sun. The weather was great and the water was awesome.
Mom's Pie -My Mother makes the best pie in the world. There is no competition. She has totally ruined store bought pies for me as they all taste like a mix between cardboard and a snickers bar. Mom made a blueberry peach pie that was awesome and quickly gobbled up by the troops.
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