Today’s drive was a quick jaunt down the Garden State Parkway to Cape May where we caught the Cape May Ferry.  The day was absolutely perfect for a ferry ride, the sun bright, the air warm with a light breeze, the sea calm.  I had made my reservation for 1:00 PM because when visiting a couple of years ago, my niece, Brittany, and I had driven from Ocean City to Cape May and I remembered it taking about three hours.  Also, Brittany and I were sightseeing as we drove through all those wonderful south New Jersey beach towns.  So, taking the Garden State Parkway route allowed me to arrive early enough to catch the 10:30 AM ferry.  I was pleased when the toll taker said they were giving me a small refund because gas prices had gone down since the date I had purchased my ticket!

Vehicle traffic onto the ferry was light yet pedestrian and bicycle passengers swarmed the vessel.  Chloe and I wandered throughout the levels, stopping frequently for Chloe to be admired and petted.  I was surprised that, just like on the two Canadian ferries, there were no announcements about life jackets or emergency procedures.  But, one safety procedure that did occur on this ferry was, as we were waiting in line to board, security officers checked under each car with mirrors and even popped trunks.

The ride took a little more than an hour and I was the third car to disembark so we were quickly on our way.  I easily found the residence where my nephew, Kayla and his girlfriend Sami live together with my sister, Terry.  Kayla was at work, Sami was chilling, so Terry took Chloe and I on a tour of the area.

We eventually parked near the boardwalk and proceeded to Zogg’s Raw Bar and Grill for lunch.  I ordered a lump crab cake sandwich with old bay aioli, lettuce and tomato, on toasted brioche served with a spicy remoulade together with an ice-cold Bud Light.  It was good!

After eating, Terry took me on a tour of the boardwalk.  I told Terry that most boardwalks don’t allow dogs during season (I had looked it up when in New Jersey) but she assured me it was okay.  Despite that, as we went up to the boardwalk, I looked for any signs indicating that dogs are not allowed and, since I didn’t see any, we headed north as Terry stated that most of the boardwalk was that way.  We strolled along chatting and looking into the various stores for several blocks when a guy ran over to us and told us to get off the boardwalk or be fined.  This was just a guy, not a cop but we left and wandered around the streets until Chloe decided it was too hot (she just suddenly laid down and refused to walk anymore).

Anyway, we went back to the house, a very nice three-bedroom home with a large yard rimmed by mature trees and an enclosed porch on the back.  Both Terry and Sami have dogs which Chloe made friends with quickly.  A day or two before I got there, Terry’s ex-husband, Larry, had left an African tortoise with them to pet-sit while he is away on a job.  The resident dogs were fascinated with this tortoise, but Chloe completely ignored it until it walked right into her space.  Funny.  I have fake turtles laying all over my house and Chloe pushes them around with her nose, so I guess she was a little shocked when this one moved all by itself.

So, we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about all sorts of topics and Terry made a late dinner as Kayla wasn’t arriving home from work until 7:30 or 8:00 pm.  She made chicken piccata over pasta and a wonderful salad.  I didn’t think I’d be able to eat as I don’t usually eat two big meals in one day, but it smelled so good, I just had to.

After dinner, we sat around telling stories about growing up and sometimes some very embarrassing tales about ourselves.  We also talked about genealogy and the work I have done researching our family which Kayla seemed to be interested in.  All in all, it was a very pleasurable day and evening.