Leaving Rock Hall, we traveled up the last 35 miles or so of the Chesapeake Bay. Our plan was to stay at the free dock in Chespeake City before going through the C&D canal. We passed this barge on the way.
Nearing the beginning of the canal, we passed by the Turkey Point Lighthouse, shown here
.This is the entrance to the canal.
Arriving in Chesapeake City early, (about noon) we decided instead to go through the canal today since the weather was good and anchor behind Reedy Island at the most inland part of the Delaware Bay. That would make our run down the bay so much shorter.
It is interesting to see the osprey nests and where they build them. Here is one on a pretty narrow pole across the water. A good blow would surely knock it down !
As planned we anchored behind Reedy Island for the night. We rafted on to Beth and Darrell's boat and had dinner with them that night. Planning to leave early the next morning, like 5 AM to catch the outgoing tide on the Delaware Bay, we were in bed early. We also hoped for none to little wind since this body of water can get choppy. We were'nt totally prepared for this fog though! Here we were in the morning, with visibility about 100 feet. With radar and the GPS we traveled slowly. One thing in our favor was that all big boat traffic had been stopped on both the Bay and the canal.It was chilly going down with the fog and we were dressed in long pants and sweatshirts. Arriving in Cape May, it was HOT ! And BUSY---it was the week-end and everyone was out enjoying the water. The Cape May Harbor and was buzzing with boats of every size--I wondered if they knew what "no wake" meant.
The Marina we stayed at (Utch's) was very nice and we were given a welcome package with wine, biscotti, soap and information on the area. The showers were super clean and private, so we were already feeling pretty good about this place.
That evening, we went next door to the Lobster House for dinner--this was said to be one of the top 10 restaurants on the East Coast and had been privately owned for 70+ years. We agreed with it being a top 10--the service, food and prices were all A1. There was a large formal dining room, an outdoor area where you could order your food, pick it up and sit outside to eat or take out, and a very large seafood market where you could buy most of the kinds of foods served at the restaurant--seafood, breads, desserts, etc. The building housing all these parts and parking lot stretched about 1 block. We went back before we left Cape May and bought some of their seafood and stewed tomatoes which were very good.
The next day it was still very HOT- in the 90's, and it did hit 100 for a short time. We had elected to walk to the historic district in the morning and we're glad we did it then. We took a tour of the town covering their beautiful Victorian homes, the beaches and Cape May lighthouse. No pictures to show as neither Bob or I wanted to carry any more than we had to when it was so warm ! We had lunch at another soda fountain which was like an old 5&10 store. Amazing that this town of about 3500 people could be so busy and big---tourism is their primary industry other than fishing--but it is, and always has been known as the seaside resort of the east coast. Many, Many condo's but the city has a strict building code because the whole place has been registered as a National Historic District. Despite the heat, it was a nice, interesting day.
Leaving Cape May on Monday, we began our trek up the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway. Because it was still very hot, we decided to stay in a marina, so we could get electric and air conditioning. And, considering the traffic there is on week-ends, we found it quite pleasant with little traffic. The fisherman here though find that the best fishing is in the center of the channel and we can't go far out of it because it is really shallow. We have brought up a little mud now and then.
The next day, we left early (probably too early as it was low tide and pretty muddy again) and resumed our ICW journey. We knew that there would be delays waiting for several of the bridge to lift around Atlantic City. However, when we got to Margate, south of Atlantic City, the bridge tender asked if we were continuing on to the next bridge---when we said yes, he said he'd check for us but he thought the next bridge was closed for maintenance. Sure enough it was. So we back tracked a few miles and went out the Great Egg Harbor Inlet to the Atlantic. It actually was pretty nice and a whole lot cooler for the next 10 miles or so. And we did get some nice views of Atlantic City.
Here are views of the casinos from the water. The narrow building on the far left, had TRUMP on it. We weren't too impressed..
Closer to the inlet, we passed the Taj Mahal, Trump's other casino which was definitely more opulent.
This shrimper met us on the way into the channel.
Harrah's Resort and Casino.....
Sunbathers on the opposite side of the channel from the casinos..
The Absecon Lighthouse...now overtaken by all the casinos..
Re-entering the ICW, there was a contrast in
scenery with the flat green marshes. We planned to stay at a marina again because of the heat. Tomorrow we definitely will anchor out. That's the plan for the next couple of nights until we get to New York City on the weeke-end
