New Jersey

New Jersey, we met a little unexpectedly and maybe not on the best of terms. On our google maps it shows Highway 9 going from the tip of Delaware to the bottom of New Jersey. But not quite to our knowledge its not actually a highway at all, but instead you have to take a ferry. We had heard of the ferry but didn’t realize that was the only option. Looking back, a 17 mile bridge would have been a bit ambitious for any construction team. So after reluctantly paying our kinda pricey fee, we boarded the ferry. Anxious to take advantage of this time not driving we dove into some much needed study time. Turns out Daniel and I’s stomachs did not enjoy the rough seas and the multitasking. An hour and a half later of tossing and turning nausea, we finally reached the shoreline. Land sweet land! Shook up and sea sick we greeted New Jersey. Exhausted, we found a nice parking spot, set up camp, and knocked out for the night! 

Feeling refreshed and much better in the morning, we set out to make the most of our day. We started in Cape May which is a cute little port town that is full of shops and brightly painted building. Think a little old lady’s tea house and you’ve imagined 50% of the Victorian styled buildings. Anyways, we started our morning off with Sunset Beach, a little ironic as we watched the sunrise and ate our breakfast there. Sunset Beach (warning the road to get there is the absolute worst, which is really saying something because we voted New Jersey roads as the worst so far!) is a really neat little beach because there is a sinking carrier probably about 150 feet out in the main body of water. Yes, I meant sinking, (as in still sinking) over the past 50 years it has progressively sunk lower and lower in the ocean. It is expected in the next 20 years or so you won’t be able to see it above the water at all. Either way, a good breakfast spot and I can imagine a nice place to watch the sunset. 

From Sunset Beach, we decided to explore downtown Cape Cod. What a quaint little place. We got coffee, explored their beach themed home decor shops, and admired the fall decorations that covered the town center. Every light post was covered in corn stalks or scarecrows. There was an almost overwhelming amount of pumpkins and hay bails scattered about. We visited The Magic Brain Cafe, to get our caffeine fix, and headed North.

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But, wait, before we actually headed North, we HAD to stop at the Cape Cod Lighthouse. Seriously, Daniel and I have an unhealthy obsession with Light Houses. It isn’t even because we love them so much. It’s the simple fact that if we were to miss, even possibly one light house, the world would literally self implode. So you’re welcome citizens. We’ve made it our personal goal to see every light house ever built in order to protect the greater good. *Takes a polite bow. Rest easy Americans.

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Now, northern bound (for real this time) we had to visit the famous boardwalks. Atlantic City, the more commonly known, and Ocean City (a bit smaller) are known as the longest board walks in the United States. Even though it was off season, I would say it’s still worth a visit. There are a ton of quirky little shops and puns everywhere to catch tourists attention. Atlantic City had a lot more open store than Ocean City, and is well known for their Casinos. Daniel and I not being huge gamblers, but not wanting to miss an experience, wandered into the most dramatic and cringy spot. Commonly referred to as, The East Coast Las Vegas, we had to take our shot at making millions. We were imminently greeted by a wave of stale nicotine, and slot machines. Being the middle of the day, our crowd consisted mainly of an elderly, quite depressing, group of gamblers. Having no clue what we were doing, but trying to play it cool Daniel and I wandered over to the machines. Being pretty tight on our budget, (and we didn’t want to blow our millions) we saw the neon “1 Cent” sign shining like Lady Liberty beckoning us to our fortune! With our nature of being Cheapskates, we found ourselves spending, (are you ready people?) a whole whopping dollar bill. That’s right, we gambled one crispy George Washington. No luck. Nope we got a few points, but didn’t earn our planned fortune. I know, it’s truly tragic. Especially with Daniel being 13% Irish, I have no idea what happened to all our good luck. Tragic. Oh well, guess our big break will come later. Bummed out, we decided to cut our gambling addiction cold turkey and give up the life of risk. With the thrill of blowing a dollar behind us, we finished exploring the board walks, and were met by a  much greater treasure. Salt Water Taffy. Holy Cow, it was so delicious! Shriver’s was our golden arches of freedom, and they have actually been serving taffy on the board walk for the longest since 1898. Literally, eating this candy was like an explosion of flavor and a gentle cloud of love between your teeth. It was not the normal chewy-break-your-jaw taffy I was used to. But instead, an absolute dream of sugary heaven offered in so many flavors it could satisfy even the most picky Americans. I’m telling you, this cheap little pockets of gold, made our boardwalk adventures the best it could possible be.

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With our sweet tooth satisfied, we decided we should burn off some of our recent treats. Batona Trail seemed to be a good escape. Batona is actually a 53 mile trail that is an acronym of “BAck TO NAture” and was designed to get people outdoors and exploring. We selected a 8 mile trail that took us from a Mexican Aviator Memorial to Apple Pie Hill. The trail was small, but incredibly beautiful. When we reached the top, we cooked some soup via our nifty little portable stove. It was a pretty brisk afternoon, and we made it back from our journey, right at dusk. The perfect ending to a wonderful day in the garden state of New Jersey.

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Though that ended our time in Jersey, we did do one more little waterfall excursion before venturing into New York. We woke up bright and early to begin our trip to the Big Apple. However, along the way, we made room for one more hike in the great Garden State. Well, we thought it was a hike but it turned out that it was a waterfall that you could just drive straight to it. We visited Great Falls Park, home of the Great Paterson Falls. It was a tremendous display of power, and it reminded me of the Willamette Falls in Oregon City, OR. The town was built around the great resource that was the falls, yet its full beauty was not completely smothered, and added to in its industrial brace. This stop was definitely worth it, and it was a great way to say goodbye to the neat state of New Jersey.

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Cheers!

McKayla