Beaches, a Lake and a Crazy Dog

You know how I was lamenting the lack of things to do at Holly Shores? Well, I found something, almost by accident. Lola and I were running through the campground when I saw a small opening next to the dog park area that branched off into a trail. Turns out that's the campground's nature trail, which leads you directly to a lake (I'd known there was one somewhere in the vicinity, but I didn't anticipate it being this close).

Ooooh

Lola, of course, wanted to swim, but the water looked a bit murky. So I just let her sniff around a bit in the interest of keeping her somewhat clean. But it didn't really make much difference because a few minutes later, she hurdled straight through a giant mud puddle, despite my attempts to steer her around it: 

Naturally, she's proud of herself

Needless to say, Steve wasn't too thrilled to see a muddy dog scampering up when we returned, but that's what outside showers are for!

Another bonus of the nature trail: A decent amount of wildlife. I spotted two wild turkeys, and then when I took Steve back there, we saw a turtle. (And some evil biting flies close to the water, which weren't as welcome).

By the time I got my camera phone to work, they were already running away

Not quite as swift on his feet

I was really pleased with myself for finding the lake, because I knew Steve was hoping we'd get some canoe/kayak action in. However, when I gave him the grand tour the next day, he wasn't too impressed. The water did look stagnant, so the waters probably wouldn't carry a boat very far. Still, it was pretty cool to be able to find this little area tucked away in the woods, and fairly untouched by human presence. Score one for Holly Shores!

Our walk behind us, we opted to go to the beach for yet another day: 

More wildlife--Scuttle and Co.

Since we'd enjoyed ourselves so much shopping in Cape May, we thought it'd be nice to try out the beach there as well. Unlike Wildwood, you have to pay for beach tags in CM, but you also don't have to walk a mile and a half just to get to the beach, like you do in WW (okay, maybe it's not that long, but it certainly feels that way). It ended up a disappointment, though. You would think that for a beach that charges a daily rate of $5 per person, they might take extra care of the sand. I understand we're still in Jersey, but come on. I don't want to not be able to walk barefoot because of the sharp stones and shells scattered everywhere. To make matters worse, it was rather windy, so every time a breeze picked up, you got pelted with little pieces of stones and shells. Not fun.

Wildwood's beaches might not be the cleanest in the world, but at least they're free. And look...they even have random motocross competitions, which I doubt you'll ever see in Cape May!

In other news, the other day in Cape May we bought Lola a new toy--something called a Jolly Egg. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The guy at the store promised it was completely indestructible because dogs can't get their mouths around it. Well, this one can, but so far it's still in one piece. I made the mistake of introducing it to her on our campsite while she was on leash, and she got herself all twisted up around the picnic table trying to wrap her jaws around the thing. Good thing we could let her run free at the dog park, because the Jolly Egg is kind of an off-leash activity: