Atlantic City 10/2-3, Cape May 10/3-4, Cohansey River 10/4-5
Atlantic City
We left Sandy Hook started down the Jersey coast where our first stop was Atlantic City. We left before the sun came up from Sandy Hook. The sound of of dad using the windlass to pull up the anchorwoke me up. It was a chilly day so we all dressed warmly. It was even too cold to be barefoot up on deck. It was still dark when we passed New York City, and seeing it all lit up was so cool. It was a nice day for the trip we were doing, since it was not too windy or wavy, and it warmed up a little once the sun was up for a little while. We motored the whole way. Dr. Bob, who left a few hours after us, passed us in no time. His new power catamaran is so much faster than our boat so, unless he slows down a lot, he will be in front of us the whole trip. One thing that I noticed about the Jersey Shore is that everything looks the same, All the houses and few trees are about the same height, and everything is like the same color. The beaches looked very nice.
When we got to Atlantic City we rafted up to Dr. Bob's boat. We went out to dinner
at a small popular local restaurant on the water. Someone told us that there was a dinghy dock at the restaurant, but we could not find one anywhere. We had to tie our dinghy up to a dock at a tour boat that was closed up for the day. There was a gate locking the dock up but it opened when we left our dinghy. We had an awesome dinner and a really nice waitress. When we went to go back to the dinghy Jessie had to climb the fence and open it from the inside so we could get in. It was very hard to sleep that night because the city was very noisy, and there was a very noisy, scary siren at like 1:30am. I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.
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| New York City, before the sun rose. |
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| 🌅 The sunrise was beautiful 🌅 |
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| We had a little bird as a tag along for part of our trip. |
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| Our first sight of Atlantic City. |
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| Some of the big buildings of Atlantic City. |
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| Atlantic City at night, it was a lot more colorful and bright in real life than it looks in this picture. |
Cape May
We left Atlantic City a little later than we wanted because we all got no sleep that night and were really tired. We headed out of the harbor and because of the wind direction and the direction of the waves it was super choppy going out of the harbor. Waves were exploding over the bow of the boat. Once we got out of the channel and into the ocean it got a little less choppy, but it was still pretty rough. I steered for a long time while mom and dad sat talking in the cockpit, planning where we were going to go in the coming week. After a little while we decided to try to just sail, without the motor. We did not go fast enough to get to Cape May before dark, so we decided to motor-sail. I steered for awhile. It was cool because I was constantly having to get us back on course, because the waves were knocking us off course.
We anchored in Cape May off of the Coast Guard Station. They did training there too. We got there and anchored just in time because, shortly after we anchored there the anchorage filled up and some people had to either go to a marina or go find another place to anchor because there was no room. We got cleaned up at the boat, and then spent a long time looking for a dinghy dock. We could not find one anywhere so we end up having to tie up under the ramp at for a fuel dock at a marina that was there. We needed to go to West Marine to get a new life jacket and a new handheld VHF. We started to walk there when we realized that we were going to have to walk along a highway and across a highway bridge to get there. It was scary being that close to cars speeding past you, but we walked all the way there. I wanted to get a life jacket that automatically inflates when it senses water so that I didn't have to wear my big bulky life jacket, but I found out that you are only allowed to have them if you are over 18. I guess I am stuck with the big bulky one. Dad spent a while talking and picking out the new handheld. When we were finally checked out and ready to go, Mom decided that we should get an Uber into town, instead of having to walk along the highway. We waited inside West Marine because the air conditioning was very nice. While we were waiting for the Uber one of the guys working there's wife brought in his dog. It was so cute!!! She was really friendly and fluffy (the dog). The Uber finally arrived and drove us into town.
When we got into town Stan, Jessie, and I convinced Mom and Dad to let us go on a 30 minute carriage ride tour of the town. Our carriage driver, I think her name is Dale, told us about how Cape May was the first resort town, and she told us a little about the architecture of the town. She told us that if a house from the Victorian era has the original paint colors, and there are three or more colors, it is called a painted lady and it was the family who lived in that house's way of showing off their wealth. She also told us that the wooden designs on a house are all unique because when a couple would get married, the lady, who had made lace curtains for the house, would give a sample of the lace to a carpenter, and he would make a design similar to that into the house. She also told us about some popular phrases from the Victorian era, and their origins. Like "April showers brings May flowers" It is not about it raining in April and then flowers coming up in May, but it means, if you collect enough water in April for your annual bath, you might get married in May. She also told us that wedding flowers were not originally for looks, but to mask the smell of the bride, because bathing was a luxury that you would not get that often.
Here are some more phrases and their origins:
● "Dead ringer"- They would tie a string to a dead person's wrist before they buried them and attach the string to a bell, just in case they woke up after being buried. For the first night after a person had been buried there would be a person ready to quickly dig them up and save them.
● "Saved by the bell"- Very similar to the first one. When someone does wake up from a coma after being thought dead and buried.
● "Wake" Like the one where there is a dead person in a coffin. That started because they would keep the dead person in their coffin in the parlor and hope that they would wake up from a coma. (Yes, I know all of these have to do with dead people but I am about to tell you why)
My favorite part of the carriage ride was when she told us abut the ghosts of the town. There are lots of ghosts and haunted places in the town. The most haunted house in the town is the undertaker's house. The ghost or ghosts there are very mean. They have driven many people out of the house. Dale said that some people that took photos of the house on the carriage ride would come back and show her that faces or other things had appeared in the photo that was not there before. She said that nobody is sure who the ghosts are of, but whoever they are, they are mad!!! It might be the ghost of the undertaker himself, or maybe somebody he buried alive.
By the end of the carriage ride it was time to go back to the boat for dinner. We were all really tired and fell asleep easily, except for Jessie, who is terrified of ghosts.
The next morning we got up a little late again to the sound of the Coast Guard's training drills. (We still had not recovered from the sleepless night in Atlantic City. ) Mom was sitting in bed looking through the pictures when Jessie came in and said that we should look through the windows of the undertaker's house. We looked carefully through all the windows and found a face!!! It is so crazy!!! Dad freaked out and dropped the phone when we showed it to him. It was really funny. We all ate a small breakfast and then took the dinghy into the marina. We walked into town and, because of the carriage ride the day before, Stan was pointing to every house and yelling out "Haunted!" We made a stop on our long trek to into town at a place called Swains hardware store. We wanted to see if they had t-shirts. Unfortunately they did not but we took some pictures. When we finally got into town we were all really hungry because we all ate a tiny breakfast, so we decided to go out to eat and get a second breakfast. We went to a restaurant named George's Place. Jessie and Stan shared a giant meal of one big pancake, two eggs, and a bunch of hash browns. I got a bagel with tomato on top, and mom and dad both got bagels with salmon, tomato, onions, and eggs. It was so yummy!!! After that we went to some art galleries. There was one really cool photograph of Obama looking at a framed piece of art, but instead of art inside the frame it was a screen with a video of Bob Ross painting. It was so cool! There was also a portrait of a lady who looks kind of like me with a fish in her hair. After that we walked through town and did some window shopping, and then went back to the boat.
When we got into town Stan, Jessie, and I convinced Mom and Dad to let us go on a 30 minute carriage ride tour of the town. Our carriage driver, I think her name is Dale, told us about how Cape May was the first resort town, and she told us a little about the architecture of the town. She told us that if a house from the Victorian era has the original paint colors, and there are three or more colors, it is called a painted lady and it was the family who lived in that house's way of showing off their wealth. She also told us that the wooden designs on a house are all unique because when a couple would get married, the lady, who had made lace curtains for the house, would give a sample of the lace to a carpenter, and he would make a design similar to that into the house. She also told us about some popular phrases from the Victorian era, and their origins. Like "April showers brings May flowers" It is not about it raining in April and then flowers coming up in May, but it means, if you collect enough water in April for your annual bath, you might get married in May. She also told us that wedding flowers were not originally for looks, but to mask the smell of the bride, because bathing was a luxury that you would not get that often.
Here are some more phrases and their origins:
● "Dead ringer"- They would tie a string to a dead person's wrist before they buried them and attach the string to a bell, just in case they woke up after being buried. For the first night after a person had been buried there would be a person ready to quickly dig them up and save them.
● "Saved by the bell"- Very similar to the first one. When someone does wake up from a coma after being thought dead and buried.
● "Wake" Like the one where there is a dead person in a coffin. That started because they would keep the dead person in their coffin in the parlor and hope that they would wake up from a coma. (Yes, I know all of these have to do with dead people but I am about to tell you why)
My favorite part of the carriage ride was when she told us abut the ghosts of the town. There are lots of ghosts and haunted places in the town. The most haunted house in the town is the undertaker's house. The ghost or ghosts there are very mean. They have driven many people out of the house. Dale said that some people that took photos of the house on the carriage ride would come back and show her that faces or other things had appeared in the photo that was not there before. She said that nobody is sure who the ghosts are of, but whoever they are, they are mad!!! It might be the ghost of the undertaker himself, or maybe somebody he buried alive.
By the end of the carriage ride it was time to go back to the boat for dinner. We were all really tired and fell asleep easily, except for Jessie, who is terrified of ghosts.
The next morning we got up a little late again to the sound of the Coast Guard's training drills. (We still had not recovered from the sleepless night in Atlantic City. ) Mom was sitting in bed looking through the pictures when Jessie came in and said that we should look through the windows of the undertaker's house. We looked carefully through all the windows and found a face!!! It is so crazy!!! Dad freaked out and dropped the phone when we showed it to him. It was really funny. We all ate a small breakfast and then took the dinghy into the marina. We walked into town and, because of the carriage ride the day before, Stan was pointing to every house and yelling out "Haunted!" We made a stop on our long trek to into town at a place called Swains hardware store. We wanted to see if they had t-shirts. Unfortunately they did not but we took some pictures. When we finally got into town we were all really hungry because we all ate a tiny breakfast, so we decided to go out to eat and get a second breakfast. We went to a restaurant named George's Place. Jessie and Stan shared a giant meal of one big pancake, two eggs, and a bunch of hash browns. I got a bagel with tomato on top, and mom and dad both got bagels with salmon, tomato, onions, and eggs. It was so yummy!!! After that we went to some art galleries. There was one really cool photograph of Obama looking at a framed piece of art, but instead of art inside the frame it was a screen with a video of Bob Ross painting. It was so cool! There was also a portrait of a lady who looks kind of like me with a fish in her hair. After that we walked through town and did some window shopping, and then went back to the boat.
We left for the Cohansey River in Delaware Bay at around 11:30am.
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| ⛵ Me steering as we sailed ⛵ |
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| Its hard to take pictures on a bumpy day!!! |
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| Stan, Jessie, and I on the horse carriage ride. |
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| Dale and her horse carriage. |
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| 👻 The undertaker's house 👻 |
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| Do you see the face? |
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| Swain's Hardware! |
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| Strongman Stan holding up the sign. |
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| 🦈 Great White Shark 🦈 We have our Gills Club shirts on! |
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| Breakfast at Georges Place!!! |
Cohansey River
We left Cape May for Cohansey River, a river on the east side of the Delaware Bay. We had to leave Cape May at low tide so we could get under the bridge into the canal that leads to Delaware Bay. Our mast height is around 50' and the bridge clearance at low tide is 53', it really didn't look like we were going to make it! (Mom hid her face in her hands and couldn't look)
The canal that lead to the Delaware Bay was very beautiful and full of Great Blue Herons, which is my Mom's favorite bird. We were very lucky that it was a calm day and the Delaware Bay was peaceful, we heard that it can be a rough place. We stayed just outside the main channel to avoid all of the tankers, this is a major shipping route. That afternoon while we were underway Mom and I made homemade bread for the first time, it takes over 2 hours! Towards the end of the day the wind came up as we were looking for the Cohansey River, which was really more of a creek with some islands at the mouth. It was a tricky place to anchor and took a couple tries. A few other sailboats followed us into the river and anchored nearby for the night. As we anchored we smelled the baking bread which came out amazing! It was a beautiful full moonrise and we had soup and warm bread for dinner then settled down for a windy bumpy night. We woke to a beautiful sunrise!
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| The moon looked a lot bigger in real life than it looks in this photo. |
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| Yummy bread!!! |
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| Hurry up and take the picture!!! I want some bread!!! |
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