Off To Cape May and....

Probably nowhere else!

We are currently in Cape May, New Jersey. It was supposed to be a combination of birding with the South Shore Bird Club on their trip to Cape May and a relaxing trip to Assateague National Seashore, but the Seashore, like all National Park Service sites is closed. So, here we are...sitting in the rain. At least it is dry inside of Speedy.

We are at a commercial campground, Seashore Campsites, just outside of Cape May. We've stayed at commercial places before, but this one seems a little stranger than most. First of all, it isn't on the seashore, but only on Seashore Road. The actual shore is a couple of miles away. I suppose it is all relative. If you live someplace inland, say Parsippany, NJ, then we are at the seashore. If you live in Cohasset, the seashore is along Jerusalem Road or on Nantasket Beach.

It is a huge place, with somewhere near 400 sites and more than half of them are "seasonal" sites, meaning they are rented for an entire season. Actually, most are rented permanently, some with dwellings that could be houses. Most of the sites are somewhat wooded. The full-hookup sites (electricity, water, sewer, cable TV) are also paved, but quite close together. The water and electrical only sites and the tent sites are sandy. And...it isn't cheap. Our site, with water and electricity, is $35 per night and (insert jaw-dropping emoticon here) the showers are pay showers, as is the WiFi!

Our trip down was uneventful, but long. It is about 500 miles from home to here. We drove the route that takes the Mass Pike to Sturbridge, then down through Connecticut to the Tappan Zee Bridge and onto the Garden State Parkway, then the entire length of the parkway to Cape May. We didn't run into rain until the last half of the parkway and it varied from mist to downpour. More is expected overnight and tomorrow.

We are meeting the folks from the bird club at their motel in the morning, but it is unclear where we will be going and what we will be able to see. Cape May is a big birding hotspot with several well-known wetlands and beaches on the fall migration. We stopped at the Cape May Point lighthouse this afternoon, which is also the site of the Cape May hawk watch. The watching platform overlooks a pond and wetland behind the beach. There were no hawks to be seen in the rain, but lots of ducks, swans, egrets and herons were in and around the pond, with swallows zipping overhead. This is just one of many birding sites in the area. It should be interesting, especially if the rain holds off a bit.

We will be here until Monday and unless there is a breakthrough in squabbling in Washington, we will be heading back then.