Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2005: 1

   This is our first report of the time period between our winter trip (see http://www.capemaybeach.net/OnRoad2005/index.php) and the holiday season commencing with Thanksgiving. We are based in our home in Cape May Beach during these months of the year and, for the most part, don't want to be anywhere else, except that we arrived back far too early this year because of the joyful experience of welcoming our new granddaughter, Rachel.

   As the first day of Spring approached, we took a walk from Cape May around Cape May Point on the beach to Sunset Beach. This was the first time we've been able to do this since 1988, because of the beach erosion that took most of the sand away from the Point's beaches. We also drove to Atlantic City to walk on the boardwalk. We also visited the new Quarter at the Tropicana Casino. We were very impressed with this multi-floor area of shops and restaurants. We also tried to watch much of the NCAA basketball tournament. This was made easier by the cold temperatures, rain, and wind on the first day of Spring.

   On the first Tuesday of Spring, as we were poised for a nor'easter the next day, the weather was gorgeous. The temperature climbed into the low 50s, it was sunny, and the wind was light. We took a 6 mile walk and talked with several people that we hadn't seen since December.

   We headed to Doylestown for the beginning of Easter weekend and gave Katie and Tom an opportunity to get a dinner out on Friday night. En route to Doylestown on Friday, we dropped off our RV at an outside storage lot in Cape May Court House. On Thursday, we had driven the rig to Sunbird RV in Lakewood to finally get a new right-side mirror and to get an oil change. Rachel had grown noticeably bigger since we had seen her last. On Saturday, after the usual beginning at Starbuck's, all of us went to Montgomery Mall for an outing. We followed up with lunch at Moe's. We were supposed to join Alex and Phil and the kids for Easter Mass and brunch, but they were all suffering from colds and so we cancelled the Easter activities. We settled for Easter breakfast at Starbuck's and got an early start back to Cape May Beach. As befits Easter, we saw some early signs of Spring in buds on the trees and some plants growing in our flower beds.

   As March shivered toward its close, we often found ourselves in Hamilton Mall, trying to walk for a couple of hours in a warm place. On one such Monday, we walked the mall with hundreds of bored kids on Spring Break while a nor'easter roared outside. We followed our walk by viewing and enjoying "Sideways" at the Shore Mall and then driving to Cape May for dinner at the Blue Pig in Congress Hall. We welcomed the roaring fires in the restaurant and the Brown Room and enjoyed a "tapas" meal of four appetizers. Neither of us had ever eaten a raw oyster and nothing seemed likely to change that status, but we accidentally ordered a half dozen, thinking that they were fried. After staring at the pretty plateful of slimy stuff, we ate them. Maybe we won't repeat the experience, but it didn't hurt. The rest of the meal was lovely. We drove home in a very dense fog.

        Bill and Cathy