TRAVELING AGAIN -- JOE'S BIRTHDAY TRIP TO WILDWOOD PT. 1 (FRIDAY)

We are a traveling family this year.  We were home from the Conference for a couple of weeks and then headed out again to go to the Wildwoods for Joe's birthday.  It was a special birthday for him (65) and I wanted to do something to celebrate.  We are still having difficulty with our neighbors and the best thing to do was to get away.  So that's what we did.  We have wanted to go down the shore for about four years and haven't made it.  So we decided this was the time to do it.  We found a hotel we wanted to stay at, made the reservations, saved up some money, and went.  Life is too short to just think about things.  You need to do it.

It was nice to travel this time with our own car.  The rental car was great for going to the Pocono Mountains for the conference, but there is nothing like having your own things around you.  We decided to split up the driving.  I drove down and back (2 1/2 hours each way) and Joe drove around Wildwood.  It gave us each a break.

We went down I-95 to the Walt Whitman Bridge and headed to Jersey that way.  I am not familiar with that bridge and was a bit hesitant because I wasn't sure where I was going.  But it is a beautiful suspension bridge and reminded me of driving over the Golden Gate Bridge when I was in San Francisco.  Joe took some pictures of the Delaware River for me.

We were using the Waze app on our phones which gave us excellent directions.  How did I drive anywhere before GPS?

We stopped at the Farley Rest Stop which was the halfway point to the Wildwoods to take a break.

After getting something to eat and using the facilities, we went over to look at the memorial to the USS New Jersey.  The real New Jersey is docked in the Delaware River across from Philly in Camden, NJ.  I have never been on it, but would love to take a tour someday.  This was a brass model of it in exact proportion to the real thing.  A masterpiece really.

There was also a nature garden and a memorial to the World Trade Center.  If my legs were better, I would have taken those tours also, but I just couldn't do it this time.  But I did take a picture of the World Trade Center memorial.  I will never forget that day.

Then we got back on the road and continued on.  Here we are crossing the bridge over the Little Egg Harbor Inlet.

Finally we made it to Wildwood.  I took a couple of pictures of these fun huge beachballs while I was stopped for a red light.  They were all over the place.  I found out that they are a symbol of Wildwood.  Just like the Liberty Bell is a symbol of Philly.

We got to our hotel and found the office to check in.  It was difficult to find!  Joe had to ask someone out on the deck outside of their room.  We were on the top floor (the 5th) and it was a suite.  More like a little apartment.  We had a living/dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a huge bedroom wih a king-sized bed and large closet.  We had brought some food with us so while Joe brought up the luggage, I started putting it away (there was a full sized refrigerator, a stove, coffee maker, microwave and sink).  I didn't realize how much we had brought with us until Joe came up with a full luggage rack.  But we used it all.

The view from the deck outside the room was great to see the boardwalk, beach and ocean each day.  And we were right by the Wildwoods sign.

It was almost dinner time by the time we got settled.  We both were beat from the drive.  It took us almost three hours with the rest stop.  Instead of going out to eat, we decided to use the food we brought with us.  So we had ham and cheese sandwiches (Joe even brought mustard), chips and chocolate chip cookies.  It was so nice to be away.

After we ate we turned on the TV and found a Phillies/Cubs game.  We were surprised.  We can't get the games on TV at home because they are blacked out.  It was the first of a three game series.  And we won.  Yay!  Both Joe and I love baseball so this was just perfect.  Then we climbed into our beautiful huge bed and went to sleep.  Rather quickly I might add because we were tired!  

But before I went to bed, I did get a picture of the Wildwoods sign at night.  So pretty!  It is lit up like the American flag.

Lots more to come, but that's for another day.  I have to get this day started.  I don't know if I will post tomorrow or not.  I will try to before I go to the dentist to get my bad tooth pulled.  I am dreading it, but I know I will feel better after it heals and the pain is gone.

Hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy whatever you are doing.

Kathy