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:

Visitors of the good and bad variety

At last, we had our first real visitors to the RV--Steve's parents and sister Michelle came down for the day. Although his mom and dad were the first to tour the RV on the day of purchase, they'd never actually seen what it looks like when people live, breathe, eat and sleep in it (and neither of us would win any awards for cleanliness). In preparation, I scrubbed the counters and table, dusted dog hair off the couch and dinette seats, scoured the toilet, sink and shower, and Swiffered the floor. All in about 15 minutes, tops! There's something to be said for the ease of cleaning an RV. I get bored cleaning at home very easily because it seems like it takes forever to see results. Here, the results are immediate.

We were all so excited (Lola too) to finally have visitors. And to top it off, they brought us lunch--hoagies from Wawa! Here we are (minus Steve's dad, the unofficial photographer for the day) relaxing in front of the RV:



Wow...Lola's actually looking at the camera!

Steve and I were fresh off our successful (and inexpensive) trip to Cape May the day before, so we suggested going there first for a bit of shopping. This time, Steve vowed to pick up a knickknack or two so we could finally start decorating. He even had looked up special RV hanging things to affix stuff to the walls. (Who is this person, and what have you done with my husband? He's certainly not into decorating at home. I'm *still* coaxing him into hanging some of our wedding pictures!)

It didn't take long for us to find the first two tchotchkes that will inhabit our humble abode. In keeping with our nautical theme, this is what we chose:

Can you tell somebody really wants a boat?

And I couldn't stick with my spending-free stint for long. One of the kitchen stores had the cutest set of casual dinnerware featuring word-and-picture pairs. I might have passed on them, but I *had* to get at least one of the cups (you'll see why). And because you can't just buy one cup, Steve picked out the other:



If you're as dimwitted as me, here's what they "say": Goof ball and happy camper (yes, it took me a minute to figure these out)

We also had some time to pose for pictures, of course:

Steve's sporting his new shades--pretty fancy for him

After we had our fill of Cape May, we went off to soak up the sunshine at the beaches of Wildwood. The water was actually a comfortable temperature, even though the wind had turned slightly chilly the closer we got to the shoreline. Steve and Michelle, polar bear cubs that they are, almost immediately submerged themselves in the water, but I followed not too long after. Man, those waves were fierce, but it was one of the most fun ocean-swimming experiences I've ever had. Almost nobody else was there, including lifeguards, which made it feel that much more freeing.

We were having such a fun day that upon our return to the boardwalk, I was dismayed to find my hives were back in full force. Always something, eh? (As Steve commented, "It's always an adventure with you.") I'd had some random hive breakouts earlier in the week but didn't think too much of it. Now, though, these little puffy splotches had set up camp pretty much all over every inch of bare skin.

Our theories as to the cause of this apparent allergy included:
1) sun
2) sunscreen
3) bug spray
4) the sheets in our bed (I've complained that they were itchy before)

My mother-in-law graciously picked me up a bottle of Benadryl spray. Unfortunately, this didn't really do much for me until a few hours later, and I'd already popped a Zyrtec by that time. A day later, they're showing no signs of dissipating, but definitely seem to get worse after I'm out in direct sunlight. I was all ready to chalk this malady up to the heat, but then my eyes alighted upon this sign in the RV:



WTF?

So...am I allergic to the RV? Interestingly enough, Steve Googled "RV allergy" and found out some people are filing a class action lawsuit after developing respiratory problems as a result of formaldehyde exposure in their RVs. That's not exactly the same as hives, but still. I've never developed any sort of reaction to the sun, sunscreen or any of the aforementioned things before. In fact, the only time I can remember having such a significant breakout is during a particularly grueling shopping trip a few years ago, and even then it wasn't this severe.

Wonder if there's a connection? Either way, whatever it is, it needs to go away, stat!

Midweek Madness

The weekenders at Holly Shores have departed, which means...we're all alone! It's very, very quiet here, which is nice. Now when we go to the pool, instead of having kids do cannonballs and kick water in our faces, we have it almost to ourselves. I guess most people just come down for the weekend, although there are a lot of park models here that some use to stay for the season.


A ghostland



These spots were all filled before

We spent yesterday traipsing through Cape May, which would've been a lot more enjoyable had we not exhausted so much of our spending money on that air conditioner. For me, shopping without being able to buy is like putting an alcoholic in a bar and telling him he can't have a drink. Torture! So we were reduced to browsing, window-shopping and price-comparing. Steve decided we need to have a theme for our RV, and decorate it appropriately. Cape May's teeming with seashore-oriented country stores, so we ended up looking for knickknacks that would fit into our theme (which is going to be nautical or shore-related). Of course, we didn't end up buying anything yet, but we found a lot of possibilities. Our paychecks really need to come in...like yesterday!

View from the bridge going into Cape May

 

"Shopping"...I'm awkward

The good thing about having limited funds is that we don't have to worry about buying food or other necessities. Everything's all here! I do wish there were more activities at this campground, though. There's supposedly a lake nearby where you can rent kayaks and canoes, but it's not actually part of this property. Other than that, there isn't much else. And you can only go to the pool so many times before your skin burns to an attractive red crisp.

I guess we're starting to get a bit greedy when it comes to campgrounds. After getting a taste of the lush resort facilities at Lake-in-Wood, we've come to expect a different kind of standard. In planning our next long trip, which will hopefully occur in August, we found a park in Myrtle Beach that not only has an indoor and outdoor pool, a lake, and a beachfront location, but ALSO a freaking lazy river. That's it, I'm sold. At a certain point, though, we have to realize that we chose this camping lifestyle because we enjoy nature and simplicity without all the frills of resorts.

Still, though. If I can stay somewhere in my trailer for a reasonable price, and there just happens to be a lazy river on the premises, I'll be the happiest camper that ever was.

Speaking of authentic camping, we finally got around to building a campfire last night. Well, Steve did anyway. The firestarters we picked up at the camp store were a bit pricey, at $1.99 a pop, but they sure worked like a charm. By the time I collected all the s'mores supplies, we had a beautiful blaze going.

He's pretty happy