I was originally going to have only one post highlighting our visit with Steven & Linda, but since I got so long-winded last time (imagine that! – ha!) I figured it best to divide and conquer our time together.  

After our whirlwind day in Central Jersey, up around exit 117 off the GSP, we traveled south the following day, to Cape May County.   Cape May was our first destination.  It’s such a cute little town with great shops and restaurants, and surrounding neighborhoods have some unique architecture.  

I purchased a few garden flags – couldn’t resist – they were $3.99 each!  We each got a gadget to use to reclose wine bottles – I know it’s rare that wine will be left over – but it’s good to be prepared just in case!  

Bill looked up an address so we could go see the Cape May gingerbread houses.  There is a street lined with Victorian Gingerbread homes – and one has been turned into a B&B.  

Pics were snapped and we moved on starting our trek toward Wildwood Boardwalk.  As we drove across the causeway the outer island of The Wildwoods came larger into view.   Bill and I have been to Wildwood many times, our most recent visit back in the summer of 2015, when we brought Jo, Craig and their cousin from Spain, Alberto.  You can check out that visit here:  Down the REAL Jersey Shore 2015   What an awesome time we had!  This visit would be much different in that it is still very early, as opposed to the height of the season.  Our last visit was also at night, which is a much different experience than walking the boards in the middle of the day.  

We were getting hungry, so first order of business was lunch!  I think it was Linda that spotted Doo Wop Diner and a quick TripAdvisor check revealed good reviews.  Sounds good!  Let’s eat!

As expected, Doo Wop Diner had a 50’s theme, complete with black and white tile floor and red accents.  50’s music playing, just loud enough to enjoy.  Steven ordered the strawberry shake he had been wanting for several days; 3 of us ordered hamburgers; Bill broke the 4 way tie by getting porkroll, egg and cheese sandwich.  It was all yummy!

We walked some more, taking in the sights. Sadly, there were lots of clouds – but the rain held out.  

S & L were a bit skeptical but we talked them into trying SkeeBall, one of the arcade games we’ve always liked to do.  Bill and I put in our $1 for 3 games and they, thinking it was $1 per each game, put in $3 each – that’s a lot of SkeeBall!  We had fun rolling the little balls – trying to top each other’s score!  Best part of that game is giving the little tickets to the nearest child and having them get all excited – adding to their loot!  Those tickets can be turned in for prizes at the counter!  

Before heading back (Bill and I had to work at 5) we just happened to walk by the Brittany Motel.  This is where Bill and I spent 2 nights way back when right after we were married.  We had a few days in between the wedding and leaving for our dream Hawaiian trip!  Our wedding party chipped in for us to have 2 nights in Wildwood!  

The following day, we conquered another boardwalk – this time our fav Ocean City.  The weatherman completely got the weather wrong – we had clouds instead of mostly sunny but we didn’t let that hold us back!  

Starting out at Shrivers Salt Water Taffy, we each picked a few pieces to sample.  Unfortunately, they weren’t making any candies that day, so we didn’t get to see any of their equipment in action behind the glass wall.  I remember my kids, especially my son, back in the day, eyes glued to that glass, watching the taffy pulling machine with their eyes HUGE!  

Next stop was pizza at Manco & Manco.  I still can’t get used to saying that!  I typed out Mac & Manco and had to backspace to correct!  Our half cheese/half sausage arrived piping hot and delicious as usual!  We each scarfed down our 2 slices, loving every bite!  BEST boardwalk pizza EVER!  Simple, fresh ingredients – thin (but not too thin) crust, homemade sauce and fresh whole milk mozzarella – that’s all that’s needed!  

Next up on our food coma inducing tour was Curleys French Fries.  They were just right – little crunch on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.  

Walking further down, I decided I wanted an orange twist cone from Kohrs Bros – just a kiddie size – the small just seemed too big at this point!  

We almost crashed the art show happening at the music pier, but the on-alert ticket collector shooed us away when we didn’t want to hand over $3 a piece.  It wasn’t a total loss looking around the music pier, however, as Bill continued the food coma tour with a hot pretzel, being served with a bunch of different types of mustard.  

Eventually, it was time to move on and we unanimously voted to go north to Margate, to a Roadside America attraction, Lucy the Elephant.  I actually only learned she was listed with Roadside America because I looked it up for this post;  I first saw Lucy way back as either a teen or young adult.  We opted not to take the tour, instead just taking our pics from outside.  Lucy was first built in 1881, and has served as many things including a hotel and real estate office.  She is HUGE at 6 stories tall and weighing 90 tons.   

Wanting one last peak at Ocean City, we drove back through the residential section on the north side of the island, back past the boardwalk and then further south, all the way to 58th St, which is where Bill and I normally park when going to the beach.  We walk down about half a mile or so to Corson Inlet State Park and plant our chairs in the sand.  We took the southern bridge into Strathmere, which led us into Sea Isle City.   Right hand turn onto John F Kennedy Blvd pointed us back toward Country Oaks.  

What an awesome couple of days!  

Our last couple of days, we had Happy Hours and dinners together after Bill and I were done with work.  The first of those two evenings, we gathered at our place and shared left-overs from the week.  Love dinners like that!  Our last evening (boo!) Steven & Linda treated us to a fabulous dinner of Shrimp & Grits.  Neither Bill nor I had ever had this before, but expectations were high!  Let me tell you – it was delicious!  Like I have to learn to make it delicious!  Creamy, cheesy grits and crisp, perfectly cooked shrimp, sautéed with bacon, mushrooms and scallions.   OMG – perfection in a bowl!  And, as if that wasn’t enough, they followed it up with this wonderful lemony cream cheese whip cream sorta pudding like creation served with crispy gingerbread cookies.  What a meal!  Thanks so much guys for ending our week together in such a memorable way!  Get ready to drool – here’s some pics:

It was sad to watch them pull away the following morning, but our time together was awesome!  We did make plans to see each other again next week in Lancaster, after they finish up in NYC.  After that we will be seeing them when we both work Amazon for the fall.