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On July 29, Mary Agnes and I started a 3 day journey that would provide a boat ride across the Delaware Bay, a wedding on the beach in Cape May, New Jersey and a nostalgia trip of sorts to old haunts.
My sister Robin’s oldest son Ari Ford would marry Amanda Mosley on the beach in Cape May. The bride and groom are both teachers in the Woodbury, NJ school system. Amanda is an English teacher while Ari plies his trade in Math, Robotics and coaches girls soccer. More on the wedding later.
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| From the field of dreams to the sands in the hour glass. |
We left home early on a Thursday and drove leisurely through the Eastern Shore Maryland and Delaware to Lewes, DE and the Lewes, Cape May Ferry port. After checking in and getting in line we rolled the windows down and waifed the salt air for 15 minutes or so until it was time to board. I spent some time during my youth living on the beach of Wildwood Crest, NJ and have never tired of that smell of salt air. In Eden/Allen, MD, where we now live, it is the smell of the Salt Marsh which tantalizes our senses when the wind is right. “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.” Isak Dinesen
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| Courtesy of CMLF.com |
We followed the line and boarded for the 70 minute crossing on what was a gorgeous day, soon to reach 91 degrees. The sky was a 9/11 blue, the wind was gentle and from the South. The seas were calm save for a gentle rolling swell that could lull one to snooze, were you so inclined to do so.
We noticed a large compliment of armed Coast Guard personnel aboard as we parked and exited our car and made the climb to the second deck. I asked myself was this the norm or was there a special threat to their presence. I was satisfied in thinking to myself, this is just a sign of the times.
Mary Agnes and I took a position to the front rail as we left port with our nostrils inhaling the smell of the sea. I was Leonardo DiCaprio and Mary Agnes was Kate Winslet, and this was our Titanic. Ah, but this was summer, and the ice bergs were gone, we would make the Jersey Shore.
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| Courtesy of democratic underground.com |
We would people watch during the crossing with an occasional glance to the port side and watch porpoises frolic in the wake of our boat. There was a Mennonite family from Pennsylvania traveling by bus to a family reunion. The men, all dressed in casual attire, non uniformed, so to speak. The women, dressed in various colors of long dresses and wearing a bonnet. This kind of strikes me a bit sexist that the women remain uniformed, why is this I wonder.
There was a family of 4 sitting next to me and for the entire time, the father was on his cell phone conducting business for the company he owns and the wife was chit chatting with someone on her phone. Their two teenage children were doing their own thing with their electronic devices. This was the entire 70 minute crossing. Wow, they must have great batteries.
I was amazed at the Tattoo designs that people sported. Since this was summer a large area of skin was left uncovered. Many women had neck, ankle and thigh tattoos. I guess this surprised me the most. My son has quite an array on his body as does my soon to be married nephew. I just never realized what I judged to be 20 something women all painted up. Fiddler I thought, your getting old. A child of the 40’s I am.
Mary Agnes would leave my side constantly and walk about the deck seeking her 10,000 steps, the norm is much greater, the over achiever she is. Sitting alone and observing the other deck walkers, I realized she was not alone in her quest. Young and old alike could be seen sporting Fit Bits and the like as they quick stepped about the decks. For their pleasure, the seas were calm.
As we started to approach the canal in Port Cape May, we once again headed to the rail. As a youth I had been through this canal many times in small runabouts, feeling like a veteran sailor at the time. Many pretend adventures could enter the mind of a young teenager. Was I envisioning myself plying a large trawler, a pirate frigate or some other trade winds vessel back then, I wondered, oh to have another roll of the dice and return to those days once more, where would the seas take me?
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| Courtesy of Miriadna.com |
After easing into our dock we returned to our car for our exit into Cape May. As I clicked the fob, I noticed we had had a visitor extend a greeting to us. My deduction was a Sea Gull. The drivers side of the windshield was anointed with bird droppings of great proportion, as was my door. Looking up I saw no evidence of the feathered stowaway, but he surely left his moniker.
As the vehicles exited the ferry we began what would be a snails paced ride into Cape May proper. I pulled over and set my Garmin to the Alcott Hotel on Grant Street, the wedding would start from the hotel to the Grant Street beach for the service at 5:00 PM the next day. I always like to do a reconnoiter when traveling to a location early. I also like to vet those I will be associating with. Mary Agnes says I’m like Robert DiNero from “Meet the Fockers.” I say, “I like to be able to stay on common ground,” whatever.
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| Courtesy of culturalwceekly.com |
After avoiding the crazy Jersey drivers without incident we pull in front of the Hotel Alcott. There are people unloading a vehicle in front, I immediately spy the bride to be and say to Mary Agnes, “that is Amanda.” I look to the right and there stands the groom, my nephew Ari. God it’s a small world.
We park, exchange pleasantries, and help off load the goodies, wedding dress, favors and other things after being introduced to the brides mother Debbie. After getting a run down on where my sister Robin is, she’s Ari’s mother, and other fill in the blank stuff, we let them to their tasks and head out on a nostalgia tour of my old homestead from my youth, Wildwood Crest.
We leave Cape May, jump on the Garden State Parkway and head north a few miles to route 47, also known as the Delsea Drive. We exit, head east and cross the mash grasses and Inter Coastal Waterway and enter Wildwood. I first head to Davis Ave. and Park Blvd. I am looking for the Gingham Club restaurant where I worked as a Busboy back in the day. The restaurant is no longer there. Click on the link for the 86 year history.
The days working at the restaurant were good. A lot of the staff back then arrived early and took part in a family style dinner. Tables were set up in a back room, Chianti in a basket was on the table and plans for the evening were discussed. Mama and Poppa Russo treated everyone like family. One of their grandsons, Billy Thompson was a close friend of mine. Towards the end of summer I was taught how to work the Short Order Grill. I was enjoying life, had a dollar in my pocket and swam every day. The summer prior to the Gingham club I rented chairs, umbrellas and rafts on the beach.
There was a jetty at the inlet separating the Crest from Cape May where we would fish and watch the Coast Guard recruits row their 26 foot Monomoy surf boats through the jetty. After winter storms my friend Gary Hoffman and I would walk the beach in search of Conch Shells. We would load them in bushel baskets and take them to the fish house in Wildwood. It was our understanding that they would be transported to New York City and find their way to restaurant tables as Escargot. I was always earning a buck during my youth.
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| Money in the bank. |
The town of Wildwood reminds me of the past but I recognize very little. Time changes so much. We make our way south on Park Blvd and head south towards Wildwood Crest. This was my home in the late 50s and I have many grand memories. We pass by where the Phillip P. Baker school once stood, it is gone. I look for Snuffy’s soda shop, it also is no longer, I retain the memories though.
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| Phillip P. Baker school |
As we drive south towards Miami Ave. where I once lived, I recognize street names but little else. We pass Sunset Lake and turn east, I’m looking for Pacific Ave and south to Miami. At the corner of Pacific and Miami where my best friend from those days lived in a nice ranch, now sits a condominium. I turn right on Miami and find my old house. It is dull grey, now has a peaked roof and is rundown. Seeing it in this condition is disappointing.
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| 307 E. Miami Ave. |
After taking a few pictures we continued south and took the toll bridge ($1.50) back to Cape May. We stopped opposite the Bumble Bee seafood plant at a glistening stainless steel food cart where a woman under a large beach umbrella was selling lunch fare. It would be a Hot Dog for Mary Agnes and a sausage for me, with two waters for $7.00. What a bargain, and were they good.
Now our task was to find a place to park for the next day’s wedding on the beach. I did some research on my iPhone and we learned that there was free parking at the Cape May grammar school. Every half hour or so a free trolley came by and on its circular route would come within four blocks from our destination. This would be our modus operandi for the next day. I especially liked the free part.
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| http://www.capemay.com/gettingaround-trolley.html |
Now that we had our plans in order for the wedding it was time to head an hour north to Millville, NJ where we would spend the night. We were budgeting wisely for this venture. Additionally I wanted to go through Green Creek, an area along Rt. 47 where my great grandfather William Pechman and great grandmother Lena lived back in the early 1900s. I’ll save that bit of history for another time.
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| A Salt Marsh |
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| We would pass the St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church, Est. 1879. Perhaps my great grandparents attended services here. |
Upon our arrival at the Fairfield Inn and Suites we relaxed with a glass of wine before heading out to dinner at the “Old Oar House” Irish Pub. If your ever in Millville try it. The food and service were great. There are over 40 beers available if you’r so inclined. Just a nice pub feel and great comfort food. Your platter is sure to fill the hungriest of eaters.
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| http://oldoarhouse.com |
After dinner we retired to our room, watched a bit of TV and crashed for the night. It had been a long day. We highly recommend the Fairfield, clean, good service, great free breakfast and shopping of every dimension close by.
We awoke on July 31, the wedding day to a bright sunny sky. After breakfast we drove around the town and did a bit of sight seeing on our own. We went by the airport where the Millville Army Air Field Museum is located. We didn’t do the museum as we had another stop in mind. If there’s a next time it looks like something worth visiting.
At 10:00 AM we found ourselves at the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center. This was a great choice and we spent two plus hours there. We observed artists blowing glass, making pumpkins and other pieces of various proportions. We toured the museum , visited the General Store and listened to a most informative lecture on the art of glass making through the years. Mary Agnes wants to return for a hands on workshop with the girls at a future date. We could have spent more time but we had a wedding to go to in Cape May.
We returned to the hotel, cleaned up, gathered our things and headed back to Cape May. The Wedding hour was growing close. Thanks to Garmin we found the grammar school parking lot, made a phone call to the Trolley number and spoke to the operator. She goes by the moniker Sunday and told us she would be there in about 15 minutes. She was true to her word.
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| Mary Agnes cools in the shade as we await the Trolley. |
We climbed aboard the trolley for the short ride to the beach area and off loaded on Perry St., a three block long walk to the Grant St. Beach where the wedding was to be held. Did I mention it was hot? The high for the day was 87 deg., no clouds a light land breeze and I was cooking by the time the wedding began around 5;20 PM.
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| Setting the stage. |
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| The lineup begins |
The procession through the sand to the preacher was picturesque. The bride’s maids in their blue dresses walking barefoot, save for a sequined foot necklace, were exquisite. The Groom and his men were dapper in their linen pants, white shirt, tie and vest. As for the bride, I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.
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| Ari, always coaching, calls the next play. |
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The bride's father escorts her through the sand.
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After exchanging vows, Pink and Blue sand was mixed by the couple in a glass box, signifying their union on the beach. The bathers a short distance away were caught up in the ceremony, as were those walking on the boardwalk behind us. For those of us in attendance, I’m sure each of us had reflective moments to the past or future events planned or wished for.
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| Sand is mixed to seal the bond between Ari and Amanda. |
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| A beautiful smile on a beautiful bride. |
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| L to R, my nephew Mark, sisters Megan and Robin and The Rooster. |
It wasn’t my place to offer a toast to my nephew and his bride at the reception. Were I offered the opportunity, I most likely would have selected an old Irish/Celtic traditional toast. From The Rooster to you, Ari and Amanda.
To Amanda and Ari:
May your mornings bring joy and your evenings bring peace.
May your troubles grow few as your blessings increase.
May the saddest day of your future
Be no worse than the happiest day of your past.
May your hands be forever clasped in friendship
And your hearts joined forever in love.
Your lives are very special,
God has touched you in many ways.
May his blessings rest upon you
And fill all your coming days.
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| Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers |
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| Just a beautiful venue. |
Our trip north after the reception took us back through Millville, Wilmington, DE and Elkton, MD. I was in awe of the amount of traffic heading south to the Jersey Beaches so late at night. Once reaching our destination for the night, long past the midnight hour, we breathed a sigh of relief and thanks for our safe trip. It was a memorable trip which was thoroughly enjoyed.
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