Loop Life with Greg and Reenie: DELAWARE - NEW JERSEY

Ahoy⚓️

We have enjoyed an absolutely beautiful weather window the last few days 😊. Traveling from Chesapeake City, MD all the way to Staten Island, NY. Most Loopers stage (have to wait) in Delaware City, DE to make the long (about 90 mile) trip down the Delaware River to Cape May, NJ. Well.....we got lucky 🍀 and decided to skip Delaware City and head directly from Chesapeake City to Cape May.

Cape May is a historic picturesque town on the southern tip of New Jersey, where the Delaware River meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of our country’s oldest vacation resort destinations. The town has a year round population of about 3,500 and swells to over 50,000 in the summer months. The entire town of Cape May is designated a National Historic District due its concentration of Victorian Buildings. Cape May was awarded a top 10 beach destination by The Travel Channel in 2008.

Cape May’s Congress Hall, was built in 1816. It is recognized as the United States oldest seaside resort. Reenie has many fond memories ♥️ of visiting Cape May and (sometimes) staying at Congress Hall, while volunteering for the United States Surf Lifesaving Association.

Atlantic City was our next port stop. Atlantic City is known for its many casinos, wide beach and iconic Boardwalk. The City was originally built in the 1800’s as a health resort (FYI: We didn’t see too many health conscious visitors...🤪). Today Atlantic City is dotted with glitzy high-rise hotels, ubiquitous gambling and night clubs. The famous Boardwalk was originally built in 1870 along the beach in an effort to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. Another piece of history we enjoyed learning, was that the original Monopoly board game was based on the Streets of Atlantic City (Hope this helps your Jeopardy score someday)! I know you are wondering......🧐? ....Yes, we played Blackjack for an hour or so...and actually won our slip fee 💰.

One night in Atlantic City was fun, but enough....😝. The following morning we pushed off the dock headed to the Manasquan Inlet. The Inlet is notorious for extremely strong currents and dangerous docking conditions. Boaters need to plan carefully to arrive at a slack tide. We planned and replanned ...everything was great at Hoffman’s Marina, we were very happy for the experienced Dockhands assistance. The town of Manasquan has a gorgeous beach and voted one of the best places to live in New Jersey.

The next morning we couldn’t leave the dock until the slack tide @ 11am. It was another perfect day to travel along the 130 mile Jersey Shore 🏖 🌊☀️. We continued north about 30 miles and turned to port after Sandy Hook and dock at Great Hills Yacht Club on Staten Island.

Stanton Island is the third largest, least populated and wealthiest of the New York City boroughs. It’s name comes from early Dutch settlers. They purchased the Island in 1630 and named it after “Staten-General”, the highest governing body in their home country. We have really enjoyed our three nights at the Yacht Club. John our Harbor Host has been wonderful here “ON” Staten Island (Trying to speak like a local)...People live “ON” Staten Island and “IN” Manhattan (an easy way to spot an out of towner😉?). Everyone seems to be Italian here on Staten Island, including lots of great Italian restaurants and markets😋. It’s actually almost like being in a foreign country...a few times we had ask someone to please speak a little slower?

Staten Island was home to the worlds largest landfill (dump). It closed in 2001 and is scheduled to open as a park in 2019. Staten Island is also the hometown of three Jersey Shore TV 📺 stars ⭐️. The show is known for its crazy on screen antics....after being here for four days we feel like Staten Island Life is basically a continuous Reality TV Show (and we are whole heartedly enjoying every monument 😀).

Looper Tip: Great Kills Yacht Club is a must stop.

We are going to sleep tonight with mixed emotions (excitement, pleasure, sadness, happiness, pride, anticipation, love, joy, gratitude)......Weather permitting we will head to The Statue of Liberty 🗽 next and “Cross Our Wake”, finishing The Great American Loop❗️