Celebrating My Dad's 100th Birthday in Authentic Cape May

Opposing traffic in the Delaware Bay on a hazy July day

It's hard not to think about him in this house that he modified and added to, and furnished with woodworked objects he made while at sea. The fig tree (it had a rough time this winter) and the magnolia he planted are still thriving outside in the yard, but his vegetable garden is gone. Today would have been my Dad's hundredth birthday, and as he wasn't around to celebrate, I tried to imagine what he might like to do.

Albert Montet, ca. 1966

He liked ships and boats having been a career US Coast Guard guy, so I figured I should spend time on some kind of vessel. I selected the Cape May-Lewes Ferry because he liked that particular fleet of ships. He lived in Cape May before the ferry came in 1964, and enjoyed cruising on it once it started running. It was more like a bus on water then, and I think he'd be amused by the newer, more comfortable ferries that run now.

The ferry waits for me to board. (From the Skywalk)

I brought my camera because Dad liked to shoot photos (SLR) and so do I (DSLR). He'd have liked these Osprey chicks I caught at the Lewes (Delaware) Terminal--he was a nature guy, too.

4 chicks

The dolphins were out today, but not exactly posing for photographs.

Dolphins frolicking near the ferry.

One thing I wasn't able to do is swim in the Cape May Canal. Dad used to love to do this, and I remember going with him and the rest of the family. It used to be a big-deal, right-of-passage to swim across and back, but I never did that. At some point in the 1970s they widened and deepened the canal (built during World War II) and there was no more beach and no more swimming. There's way too much boat traffic anyway.

Canal traffic

It just so happened that Dad's 100th birthday fell on a full moon, and even better, a SUPER moon! The Friends of the Cape May Lighthouse (and I am one) open the lighthouse on summer evening with a full moon so that visitors can climb to the top to take in the moonlit view. I think Dad would have liked this because it's an authentic nautical Cape May thing combined with a natural phenomenon. He would not have liked the crowd, and neither did I except that two-way traffic on those narrow spiral wrought-iron stairs slows traffic down a bit, and it would have been impossible to "run" up and down as I posted (tongue-in-cheek) on Facebook. Anyhoo, without a tripod and with all of the other folks, it was difficult to shoot clever photos. I resorted to some quick iPhone snaps.

7-12-14 Super Moon over the Atlantic Ocean with the CM Lighthouse beam

Cape May Lighthouse

I think Dad would approve of his birthday festivities. In just under eight years, it will be Mom's turn: shopping and ice cream, I think (also in Cape May).

Fort Miles at Cape Henlopen, Delaware

Delaware's restored Fort Miles as seen from the Observation Tower with the Atlantic Ocean beyond

During World War II, it became apparent that we Americans should protect our factories and other industries from enemy attack. The Delaware Valley was home to many of these, including some vitally important to the war effort. Fort Miles was built on either side of the mouth of the bay in order to guard the Delaware River and Bay from enemy vessels that could blockade or sink our own. Cape Henlopen on the Delaware side had the bulk of the fort, but Cape May on the New Jersey side had some observation towers, a bunker, and personnel of its own.

Barracks Building A

The area became Cape Henlopen State Park after the war, and more recently the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation has endeavored to preserve the surviving buildings of Fort Miles.The fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2005.

The entrance to Fort Miles on Sandy Lane with the Observation Tower in the background

Fort Miles also has a large collection of "big guns" perched as they were in the 1940s ready to eliminate threats from enemy vessels.

Fred checks out one of the big guns at Fort Miles

Soldiers stationed inside the various

Inside the tower

Observation or Fire Towers kept watch on the Atlantic waters for enemy vessels. It is true that some German U-boats came very close to shore. (U-858 and its very young German crew were captured just off the coast at the end of the war and processed at Fort Miles.) The soldiers in the towers would communicate bearings to gunmen who used triangulation to figure how to aim those guns.

Visitors can climb the tower near the historic Fort Miles section for a stunning view of the park, ocean, beach, a couple of lighthouses, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal, and many ocean-going vessels.

One of the most remarkable things about Fort Miles and today's Cape Henlopen State Park is that it sits on top of a giant sand dune. It's labeled The Great Dune on my map and takes up 543 acres of the present-day park. The sandy soil and sparse vegetation create a desert ambiance charming for campers and beach-minded visitors, but how must this environment been for the soldiers of World War II?

The dune between Fort Miles and the Atlantic Ocean beach

Drive or bike along Cape Henlopen Drive, past the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal, and bear to the right once inside the park to get to the restored Fort Miles area. Cape Henlopen also features swimming, camping, fishing, birding, and a nature center.

Dog Beach, A Guest Post by Gladys

This is what low tide looks like:

Low tide means there's more room to run around without getting our feet wet. This is Dog Beach, but Mom says it's known to humans as the Delaware Bay beach in North Cape May, NJ, USA. Dogs are allowed on this beach all year 'round which is very unsual. We always see lots of dogs and their owners here.Some dogs like to play in the water, but I don't! I'll maybe get my feet wet like Mom does, but that is all. I prefer the sand.

Our walk is about two miles: from home we walk on a sidewalk for four blocks, then along Dog Beach up to the canal, and back home. Last year, when I was a pup, I walked behind Mom. Now that I'm grown, I walk ahead to show her where to go. There are big rocks by the canal called the getty. People and their dogs gather here to watch the ferries go in and out and to watch the sunset. This me on the rocks:

The Cape May-Lewes Ferry parks near here, and tonight it went right past us. It's huge! People on the ferry wave at me as they go by. People here seem to really like Shelties. This is me watching the ferry pull into its dock:

Dogs are allowed on the ferry as long as they don't go inside where the food is. Mom says we have a trip planned soon: we'll go on the ferry to Delaware, USA, where we'll stay at a hotel that welcomes dogs! While we're in Delaware, we'll go to Cape Henlopen Park and play in the dog run at the hotel. There is a dog boutique in Lewes, Delaware, USA, that Mom says we'll visit if I manage to keep the hotel room clean. Please tell Mom that you want me to guest blog again about our vacation!!

I Want to be a Travel Writer When I Grow Up

I had the most fabulous time this weekend at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino! I was there on a research trip--I have to write an article about gambling on both sides of the Delaware Bay and other interesting things to do in and around the casinos. Atlantic City is easy. I've been there plenty of times and it's about an hour from home. But Delaware would be all new. I chose Dover Downs to explore although there are a couple of other places. Well...

They treated me like a queen! I was able to set up a comp night at the posh hotel and I had a great tour with Lisa from their PR department. she showed me all around the "property" as they call it, including the casino, the grandstand (by the NASCAR and harness racing tracks), the year-'round simulcast area, the dozen or so restaurants and bars, the beautiful new Colonnade with its retail shops, the spa (they gave me some free goodies), and last but not least, the swanky upscale restaurant, Michele's. The whole tour took about ninety minutes, and then...

Bob at Michele's offered to feed me and I had a wonderful dinner. Minestrone soup, warm bread, filet wrapped in bacon with a herb demiglaze and four-cheese sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and fresh vegetables, and ultimately the ultimate warm chocolate lava cake with a side of raspberry gelato. After that meal, I was ready to crash, but I really wanted to explore the casino late night. I didn't make it, but a surprise was in store : Chef Tara from Michele's sent up to my room a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and brownies. What a decadent late-night treat!

I finally hit the casino the next morning and signed up for my gold card. Slot machines are a lot different now from the last time I played. Everything is digital. The machine reads your cards and keeps track of your winnings and points towards bonuses. The machine is operated by buttons rather than the arm of "one-arm bandit" fame. Machines have diverse themes from all areas of human existence including Ebay, Tabasco, Mona Lisa, and my favorite, Moolah Rouge. My best winnings came from the Tabasco machine. I had only planned on losing ten dollars at the most (this was research after all), but I walked out of there with TWO THOUSAND cents. Yeah, I won a cool twenty dollars at the Tabasco machine.

What a great time I had at Dover Downs. It's only about an hour from the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, so it's within reason to go there for races or shows (Jimmy Dorsey's, Glenn Miller's, and Harry James's bands are all scheduled to appear this summer!!!), or just for dinner and some slots.