To The Beach . . . After Labor Day, Of Course!
Tuesday
Moving day. In our previous life this phrase would have meant we sold our house or our lease was up and it was time to move all of our possessions to another residence. In our new lifestyle, this means it’s time to pack everything away in the trailer, close the slides, hitch up Charlie to The Big Tow’er and head to our next destination.
Well, that is exactly what we did. We left Drummer Boy Camping Resort around 11:00 am and began a leisurely drive to the Jersey Shore. Betsy packed us a delicious lunch so we stopped at the King of Prussia Rest Area on the PA Turnpike and enjoyed a nice little break from the drive. A couple of hours later we arrived at a fairly familiar camping destination, Ocean View Resort Campground. Although we’ve been here in the past, it is always a little different going to a place like this after Labor Day weekend. Most of the sites are empty, most of the seasonal sites are void of human life, the pool is closed, the lake is closed, the ice cream shop is closed; all signs of the post-Labor Day world.
Annette and Mike, who were also relocating from Drummer Boy to Ocean View, joined us on this moving day. We left Drummer Boy approximately 15 minutes apart, but we did see Annette, Mike and Soli go by on the PA Turnpike as we were preparing to leave the rest area. We took separate routes through Philadelphia, but as we were approaching the Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River, we spotted Soli just ahead of us. Since we both utilize the same Garmin RV GPS, we were now on the same route, so we followed Soli through South Jersey. We were also joined this week by our brother-in-law and niece, Kris and Lexi Kapusta. Lexi is on break from her studies at Drexel University, so it was a perfect time for a father-daughter vacation at the beach, a place they both love.
Wednesday
It’s a short drive from Ocean View to the beach at Sea Isle City. Betsy and I don’t really enjoy spending all day long sitting at the beach so we took a little detour on the way to the beach through Ocean City to visit the local Wednesday Farmer’s Market. It was the last market of the season for this particular market, but it was a really nice market. There were approximately 30 vendors; plenty of parking, a nice ocean breeze, and we even spotted Nutty Novelties, Vera Pasta, and Anita’s Guacamole, who we recognized from the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market. We purchased some veggies, baked goods, pickles and hot pepper jelly.
There also happened to be a Starbucks in Ocean City so we stopped in for an iced coffee before heading to the beach in Sea Isle City where Kris and Lexi were already sunning themselves. Annette and Mike had taken the day to drive up for a visit with our Dad in Phoenixville.
The Sea Isle City beach was not crowded with people, but there were definitely way too many flies for our liking. Yes, flies. And they were biting too. Not sure if it was the way the wind was blowing or their post-summer harvest, but it definitely shortened our visit. We’re sorry there’s no video to accompany this thought, but Kris and Lexi were armed with fly swatters they purchased and flies seemed to swarm around Kris’s legs like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown.
Thursday
Betsy and I were the last to go, but all six of us went to the beach today. It was closer to a typical day at the beach. A nice breeze, sunny blue skies, and way less flies than yesterday. An occasional fly, but definitely manageable. We enjoyed our packed lunch on the beach and the pages of my book seemed to go by with ease. Dolphins - oh the dolphins! There was tons of them. Betsy accused me of maybe calling in advance and ordering up the dolphins to swim by. She was definitely in her happy place watching all the dolphins swim and play fairly close to shore. All in all, a nice beach day.
