Nataliya and Seth's Lewes, Delaware Vacation

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We woke up early enough, packed up the car, and headed out on our weekend getaway to Lewes, Delaware. We didn't have any real plans once we got there, but Nataliya had researched the area and saw that it was very pretty and it could be a relaxing trip. At least it would be a LOT less walking after our San Francisco trip last month!

The plan for today was fairly simple - get up early but leave after the rush hour traffic. With that in mind, we left after 9 AM. Our first destination was North Cape May, NJ. We toyed around with the idea of stopping at Point Pleasant or Belmar (a.k.a. The Joisey Shohr) but decided to go all the way down to Cape May. The reasoning is that we'd be close to the ferry (in North Cape May) and we could still hang out by the ocean and have lunch at whatever restaurant we find.

We found a parking spot by the ocean and began walking through the town. We found this restaurant called Carney's Inc. and we enjoyed a nice lunch. The food was pretty good, but the service seemed a bit slow.

We then walked around the local shops and although we didn't buy anything, it kept us busy for a while. We don't usually spend much time at the shore but I knew that, for some reason, salt-water taffy and fudge candy shops seem to flock to, flourish and reproduce. It's just sickening how many shops sell this stuff along the shore. Yet, we didn't see a single place that sold fresh fish. The salt-water taffy and fudge is sickly sweet. I remember trying this stuff years ago and it's still fresh in my mind how sickening this stuff is. They could use this as a crime deterrent instead of a prison term! Anyway, this is not related to the trip, so ...

Nataliya wanted to get her co-worker Dena some peanut cluster candy and I urged her to hold off - we'd just begun our trip and there was no reason to carry around candy that may melt before we return home - and that there will be many opportunities to get them again. She agreed and so nothing was purchased.

Awww... ain't it romantic? After a quick visit to the car to feed the meter, we then walked along the beach, relaxing under the afternoon sun as it began its descent into the western heavens. We sat on some nearby rocks as the water lapped the shore and caressed the smooth stones. The warm breeze was very soothing as we sat there relaxing. I picked up a shell and started writing in the packed-down sand by the water. I thought it was a bit childish of me, primarily since I hadn't done such a thing since I was a child. Of course, when I was younger, the messages were not as romantic or as sweet.

We started walking back when we noticed some people standing up, staring at the ocean. One man said to us, "did you see them?" I didn't know what he was talking about, but before I could ask him, he repeated, "did you see the dolphins?" He pointed out to the water and we were in for a pleasant treat. There were about 30 dolphins in all, jumping out of the water a few at a time. They were only a couple hundred feet away from the shore, too! I took out my camera out and took a bunch of pictures, hoping that at least a few of them would come out! They were only out of the water for a moment, so I wasn't sure my camera was fast enough to take a decent photo - so I kept snapping. It was very cool to see!

Yum!  Dolphin meat!  Hey, if 
dolphins are so smart, why do they live in igloos?

We made our way off the beach and to the Cape May Lighthouse. We paid for admission and walked around and around the spiral staircase until we finally got to the top. Once there, we saw some amazing pictures of the beaches and we could still see some dolphins in the distance. After a few snapshots, we descended and made out way for the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

This would be a great picture if this lighthouse wasn't so tall! This would be a great picture if Nataliya stopped trying to bend the bars!
This would be a great picture if the bars were not blocking the beach in the background!
THIS WOULD BE A GREAT PICTURE IF... oh, sorry... This would be a great picture if Nataliya's hair would cooperate and not block the camera lens!

We made it back to the car with time on the meter to spare, and drove along the shore towards the ferry. We found the ferry entrance and drove back to a small shopping mall we had passed on the way to the ferry. We decided check out a "going-out-of-business" sale by an Ames department store. It's a shame to see these stores go under under the pressure of similar giants like "Target" and "Walmart", but if we could find something worth getting, we would. Nataliya struck gold by finding a few large cuppuccino cups for $0.80 each!! From that point, she would be looking forward to that first cup of cuppuccino on Sunday night when we returned from Delaware! (Simulated Image)

We were both a little hungry and we stopped off for some Chinese food at a restaurant in the same shopping center. We asked them if they could hurry because we didn't want to miss the ferry, and sure enough - they did! They took our orders and got us our food very fast. Within a half-hour, we were out of the restaurant and on our way to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. We gave our reservation number and id to the toll person and drove the car on line and waited. As I watched one of the last episodes of The Sopranos (season 3), Nataliya laid down in the back for a little nap.

The boat was late and we loaded up later than expected. Soon, though, we were on our way. We got ourselves a couple of drinks and made our way to the top of the boat as the sun started to set. We were far enough out that the sun seemed to set on the water, although it was Delaware in the distance. We had planned this time of year and this transport to go on. I'd crossed on this boat once before with a friend and thought it would be nicer to do it with Nataliya, so we made sure we'd get on this cruise by making a reservation. I think it was worth the precaution, because this was a very pleasant and romantic way to end the day.
Sunset Over the Atlantic... with Delaware in the distance. Nataliya enjoying the evening cruise. Radiating neck pain?  Try Extra Strength Doan's Pain Relief. Another wonderful moment in the company of each other...

We got off the ferry in Lewes, Delaware and tried to make our way to the Greystone Bed & Breakfast. Unbeknownst to us, Market Street is separated by a canal and I had to call up Bill Stevenson, the owner of the B&B. With his help, we were able to find the B&B within three minutes.

We met Mr. Stevenson at the door and he showed us around and to our room. It was a very nice home and our bedroom was very comfortable. Tired but hungry, we asked Mr. Stevenson for suggestions for a place to eat. He suggested several places and we decided on Irish Eyes (a.k.a. "Anglers"). We decided to walk to the restaurant and took a wrong turn before realizing that the restaurant was across that canal. Although the restaurant was probably about 100 yards away from our B&B, we had to walk a lot further to get to the bridge to cross the canal to walk back to the restaurant. Although dinner was okay, it wasn't worth a repeat meal. The food was a bit too salty and the service was slow. Still, we were hungry and it wasn't too bad.

After dinner, we headed back to the B&B and fell asleep right away. Tomorrow we explore the town and figure out where everything is located!

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