Monthly Archives: September 2006

Beachcombers

We were finally able to make the reservations which utilized our free weekend that came with the camper.  There were quite a few restrictions, so it took us a while to figure out the best time.  We convinced the Mennellas to join us on this excursion.  They rented a camper for the weekend from Beachcombers.  It was pretty nice, a 38-foot camper with slide-outs, neat and clean.  Maybe not the best location in the park, but a pretty quiet section overall.

The campground was laid out nicely and had plenty of activities.  I would say that it is predominantly a seasonal campground (more than half the sites were seasonal).  They had many different park models and the layout ensured that everything was pretty close to the action.

The first night was dinner followed by a hayride followed by a smoke by the fire (after the kids were put to bed).

 

Saturday there was a craft show/flea market from 10:00 to 2:00, both Kathy and Denise had setups for their wares.  The kids went nuts on the playground and painting pumpkins for most of the morning.

 

Saturday afternoon we went to the Cape May Lighthouse and Sunset beach.  We tried to get Maggie to go into the water, but she was extremely afraid of the waves.  At Sunset Beach, the kids were searching for “Cape May Diamonds“.

Saturday evening was dinner at the Mennella’s camper.  Burgers and dogs followed by s’mores by the fire.  All were in bed early (including the adults)… although rumor has it that the Mennella kids didn’t stay in bed.

The trip was originally scheduled for Friday through Monday; however, due to the wild weather, we decided to wait until Saturday to head down.  It turned out to be a very good decision.  Tropical Storm Ernesto was moving through the area and thankfully, it moved quickly.

We headed down Saturday with no real plans, we were just going to get away for the weekend.  I had to hook up in the rain and wind before heading down, but we were dry upon arrival.  We camped at Jellystone Park in Mays Landing, it’s a nice little campground.  It has a large percentage of seasonal sites.  We were right next to the playground and close to the miniature golf course (which pleased Matt).

We were greeted by the tremendous hospitality of a group of families from Long Island.  Chris and Michelle, Tim and Kathy, Tim, Mike and Joe were wonderful neighbors and were not shy with the beverages and food.  We watched the Notre Dame game on Saturday night while smoking some nice Ashton cigars and partaking in some cold Budweiser.  I ended up having a little more than I’m used to, but we had a great time.

Chris, our immediate neighbor, invented a game somewhat similar to horseshoes, just with a wooden box and some washers.  It was fun, and I was able to pick up on it pretty quickly.  We played for a while Sunday afternoon while having just a few more cold ones.  Matt and I went miniature golfing on Sunday night… we each had a hole in one.

Sunday morning, we drove down to Cape May to take Maggie out to the beach and have a little picnic.  We found out when we got there that pets aren’t allowed on the beach until September 15th, so it was a short-lived walk.  Emily and Kathy enjoyed a presentation of some animals while Matt found some coral on the beach.  In the afternoon, we took a hay ride through the campground.