Our jacks were lifted and we were on our way eastward by noon on a Friday. We landed at our first stop, our home lodge in Ephrata, hoping to find a site available for us. I was only concerned because it was a holiday weekend and thought it possible someone would find themselves without a reservation and need a place to crash – like us! Thankfully the camping area was completely open and Bill got us parked easily. It’s really awesome staying here, each time we return there are a couple of improvements made – see pic below.

The following morning, after taking care of some banking we decided to go get our local food fix. Bill headed over to get broasted chicken wings and guess where I went?

The drive through Lancaster is always beautiful, but this time I just couldn’t stop snapping pics along RT 23 on our way to Shady Maple.

As has become our 4th of July routine, our next stop was our friends’ driveway near East Windsor, NJ. We look forward to our visit with one of our fav families all year! We were welcomed with open arms and REAL hugs this year! AWESOME! We were so busy catching up and having a great visit that we completely forgot a pic!

Our next stop would be a new one. No more Country Oaks – how sad is that? Here’s what happened – when I went to make reservations I learned that Bob and Lynn had SOLD the campground! I had no idea! The new corporate owners, Spacious Skies, didn’t have their reservation system up and running yet (back in March) and since we were looking for the week of the 4th of July, I didn’t want to wait to have a site, so I started looking for somewhere else. After investigating a few options, I chose Colonial Meadows Family Campground in Egg Harbor Township. It is an older park with a lot of seasonals. The owners, Mike and Adriane, are young and are in the process of updating the place a little at a time with mostly sweat equity. Some people might not like it due to it not having sewer on all sites and only 30 amp electric, but they offer a honey wagon service once per week (more often for a small fee), and even though we were in full-sun, having solar allowed us to run everything in the rig on it while leaving the full 30 amp to run both air conditioners. Mike (the owner) was shocked we were able to do that, but it worked and kept the RV nice and cool all day for Callie.

I was extra super excited because, for the first time in a LONG time, my whole family would be together, including the newest additions. Sadly, the last time we were all together was when my nephew Andrew died back in December 2014. That is way too long!

I think as the week progressed, we found a good balance between resting and keeping busy. One of our busy days included taking the girls to the Cape May County Zoo. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it is one zoo I will go to because of the HUGE enclosures the animals have to roam around in.

I kind of regretted not joining them, but Shannon and Billy got up super early one morning and were on the sand for the sunrise. I definitely missed it! Next time!

We all went to the beach one morning, complete with umbrellas and sand chairs and sand toys – the works! The girls had a great time playing in the sand and Freya even tried jumping in the waves. We loved walking along the boardwalk and having Manco & Manco and Kohrs Bros. Delish!

Remember my BFF Linda? The one who bought a truck and 5th wheel from Jo & Ben and sold her house and went full-time? Well, her son Jimmy came to hang out with us for a couple of days while we were in NJ. It was so great seeing him!

Bill’s Uncle George had fun on our outing to Mr. Softee for an ice cream sundae. We also took him for a walk in a local park.

I wasn’t sure it would happen, as this family is always on the go, but Bill and I were both very happy we were able to have dinner and catch up with these two. Michael is one of our longest and dearest friends, who we’ve known literally forever. Michael was one of our groomsmen and Bill was one of his when he and Johanna got married.

This is how Bill does the beach sometimes.

On one of our last days in NJ, we finally connected with Susan, Bill’s brothers’ partner. She had sold the house in Whiting, with its huge property to care for, and bought herself a really nice place in Toms River. She’s done a great job updating it for herself, Bella Boo Cat, and Cooper Puppy.

We headed to Keyport to visit the cemetery where most of Bill’s family is buried. That means we had a mandatory stop to make at Keyport Fishery for some fried flounder, shrimp, and scallops! BEST ANYWHERE!

This is taken from the Keyport bulkhead looking at Cliffwood Beach, which is where Bill and I were raised. It will always be home in our hearts.

We were originally supposed to leave NJ on a Wednesday until we learned that these two would be in town for a wedding and we could see them on Thursday! Thankfully we were able to add two nights to our reservation! We headed to Seaside Heights and spent a few hours on the sand and walking the boards.

Angela and Will were meeting her father, Mike, for a late lunch and when he heard we were in town, he invited us to join – we happily accepted!

On our way back to Hickory Hollow, we stopped again in Ephrata to break up the drive and also to have dinner with Ken & Nancy! Great dinner and great visit!

Previous Post: Summer in Somerset 2022 Part 1

Next Time: Summer in Somerset 2022 Part 2

Looking Ahead: Still working on Settling Ken’s Estate; Scotland and Ireland

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