1515 Miles Covered/Day 117 - 125 Bear DE, Cape May, Atlantic City

At Last we leave Bear,  DE

Our stay in Bear, DE ended up lasting a few more days than we had anticipated with small craft advisories for the delaware river/bay over and over again. The overnight stop turned into 5 days  It really is a very pretty area with one stop shopping if you need to go to the grocery, deli, post office or buy fire wood. Yep, they are all the same place.  Fortunately for us it was about 2 miles down the road which gave us both something to do and some exercise. 

The Marina, Summit North, is a hurricane hole off of the C&D about 2/3 of they way through the canal.  All along the canal are some very nice walking/biking trails.  The place is actually kind of weird - it's like there was a plan for a resort type facility that only got half implemented.  A very nice miami/south Florida style restaurant on the hill overlooking the river.  Roads and infrastructure as if a hotel or houses were going to be put in, but stopped in time.  All in the middle of NO WHERE - just weird. 

With the arrival of Friday, and the weather/marine forecasts clear, we were VERY excited to head south (wait, isn't this the wrong direction???) down the Delaware. The Delaware is a very busy river for commercial vessels, in our 6 hour trip, we saw at least a half dozen tanker, cargo ships & barges. The first 4 hours of our trip were great - the last 2 hours kicked the crap out of us.  Nothing dangerous, but again we had very confused 2-4 foot seas hitting us randomly from all sides.  Things were rolling around everywhere.  At one point, we heard something bang and the dingy engine that we stowe behind the ladder in the cockpit had rolled 1/2 way across and was blocking the door.  You should have seen the gymnastics required to put it back and tie it up while pitching side to side.  You can be sure that we have everything now stowed away and secured before leaving the dock, even if we are expecting a nice day!   

link to Bear DE Stop

Cape May, NJ

Scheduled for a 2 day stop, ended up being 5.  At least this time we were in a pretty cool place with lots to do and see.  I never really gave Cape May much consideration before, but it is an old fishing town, with some great beaches and lovely neighborhoods.  The entire city of Cape May is designated the Cape May Historic District, a National Historic Landmark due to its concentration of Victorian buildings. (The most outside of San Francisco).  We stayed at the Canyon Club Marina, it was great, infinity pool, a short bike/walk from restaurants, shops and the beach.  The weather continued to be sketchy - cold and windy.  We were in Sweaters and jeans (again - I had already packed them away for the summer, or so I thought). Overall a pretty great place, that we would like to visit again, but right now, we are itching to get moving again, and Wednesday looks like it's going to be the day.

Link to Cape May Pictures

Atlantic City, NJ

So happy we left the docks today!  What a great ride we had as well.  Sunny skies, a nice slow roll on the ocean and a 4 hour trip from Cape May to A.C.  We rode about 2 miles off shore, which gave us a great view of the "Jersey Shore".  It was really enjoyable all around. Here we sit under clear skies and a view of the casinos across the inlet.  We have Bally's, Harrrah's and the world famous Golen Nugget.  We had opted not to leave our $$ at the tables this time. 

The strange water patterns continue, the winds have picked up and the marine forecast for tomorrow is borderline for making more northern progress.  We are learning patience over the past few weeks for sure.