Ryan Robinson Reports on Wildwood Crest – Days 1-5 1

Day 5

The air was warm. The sun was high. The water was cool. It; was Day 5. A late start to the day, we got to beach at 2:30pm. It was a good day to go, not as busy as last time. While on the beach, I say something occurred and I think this has a lesson and a moral to it. It is very touching.
There once was a boy on the beach with his dad making a fort in the sand. The boy was so happy to build it and his dad liked it, too. After hours of building canals, walls, bridges, and tunnels, the boy and his dad stepped back to admire their work. Then, from the ocean came a huge wave and started to destroy their just completed work. They boy was scared that all their hard work was going to be destroyed and all that time was wasted. The boy got right back on his knees. He started to dig out the wet sand. The dad did the same. Even though they kept working, pelting waves kept pounding against their castle. They dad suggested the move to the back wall of the fort and rebuild that for the waves were coming bigger and faster know. The boy and his dad built up their walls and made a little island in the middle of their 4 walls. The waves though continued to weaken the new wall and the boy kept trying to repair it. The dad and the boy did everything they could, but the wall was going to collapse. The dad stood up and walked back to his seat leaving the boy by his castle. The boy, shocked, asked his dad why he was not helping. He replied that it was pointless and that he should give up on the castle. The kid, though, got up and still continued to rebuild his fort. Although wave after wave decimated the fort, the boy did not give up. Soon enough, there was nothing left to the giant walls except one little plop of sand right in front. The boy digging sand up to try and make the wall bigger saw a feather and put it on the top of his so-called castle. The dad looking at the time told his son to leave it and go home. The kid though didn’t budge. The dad stood in awe as the kid did not move and even with the waves, the feather did not fall. Minute after minute the boy added sand to keep his wet pile of sand alive and his feather standing. They boy and his dad stayed on the beach until it was closed but as they left, the feather was still standing, even with the waves pounding on the now almost flattened fort. But, the boy sure taught a lesson, to never give up and the lesson of perseverance.

Isn’t that touching? Well, then after the beach, we went to The Red Oak Buffet. The food was okay, but there were very few choices of what to eat. but, if you have a large family, and want to save money, this is the place to go. Also, in one of the local magazines, they usually have coupons, so that will definitely save you money. After we we were stuffed, we spent the remainder on the boardwalk. We went to an Amusment Park on the boardwalk called Morey’s Piers. They have about 3 or 4 different “piers” on the boardwalk, but this one had what we were looking for. We rode our two favorite rides, particular to this one. We rode on the Ferris Wheel and a flying pirate ship ride. Last, I got to try for the first time, a funnel cake and we played more Skeeball. Well, it’s late now and this entry sure took a while to write, so I need some sleeeeeep…..good night…..

Day 4

This morning was so nice. It was crisp, cool, calm, crisp….cool. Oh, I said that….Anyway, it was the perfect day to take our dog Scooby to the beach. We decied to take him to sunset Beach instead of Higbee. First though, we took him to the PetSmart in the Shoprite shopping center (called Rio Grande Plaza) and man did he have a blast. He say fish for the first time, birds for the first time, and other dogs; he’s seen those before! Then, the humans got hungry. since we were going toward Sunset Beach, we thought we should eat down there. It just so happened there was restaurant there called Sunset Beach Grill. We got hamburgers, fries, and I got root beer, my favorite drink. While sitting eating reading their signs, they said they were rated the #1 hamburger beach stand in Cape May county! Second, we learned that a lot of dogs go to Sunset Beach.

Scooby socialized, played in the water, rolled in the sand, dog things. I though were searching up and down the beach for not just any cool rock, (which they have a lot of) but for Cape May Diamonds! Cape May Diamonds are quartz crystals, that look like translucent pebbles, found on the beaches in Cape May Point, New Jersey. I got some of those, too. After, we went back to the Sunset Beach Gift Shop and got an Exit 0 magnet. Exit Zero is a popular magnet, because Exit 0 is the last exit off the NJ Parkway, which is Cape May. We brought Scooby back to sitter and we went to another pool at our condo. We then had diner, but what about dessert? Well, my dad and I were going to find a place. We already went to Duffers, so we wanted to try somewhere different. After some driving and searching, we found a very popular ice cream place called Seashell Ice Cream. It’s right across from the Seashell Motel, hense it’s name. Although the portions were not as big as Duffers, it was good. The line though just to sit down was really long. How long you ask? How about standing outside for 15 minutes..JUST FOR ICE CREAM! So, my dad and I just ate it in the car. That’s it for today vacation fans!

Day 3

We started today off early and went…shopping! In the same mall as the Shoprite, they have other stores. Some of them include a JC Penny, PetSmart, Peebles, and Payless Shoe. We however, went to the Dollar Tree. Man it was nice! Better than the ones up here! They had a Dairy Section, frozen foods section, seasonal section, travel section, you get the point. Then, we went on a great boat ride. It’s called the Silver Bullet. It’s a very large speed boat with seats and can go FAST! At top speed, the nose comes out of the water! The Captain tried to get us all wet, as well as, see some dolphins. Dolphins? Yep. There are dolphins and even whales down there! In Cape May, a little south of Wildwood, and at the tip of NJ, they also have whale and dolphin watch boats. There is lots of competition, so do your research to find which boat is best for you, and your budget! We then went to the Boardwalk and go something to eat. We got pizza at a local shop and it was fantastic! It hit the spot! Afterward, we went to another business because they had our favorite boardwalk game: SkeeBall. According to wikipedia, Skeeball is a common game found in arcades and one of the first redemption games. It is similar to bowling except it is played on an inclined lane and the player aims to get the ball to fall into a hole rather than knock down pins. Our day wasn’t done yet. We then went to Sunset Beach and Higbee Beach. There we learned that those beaches are the only beaches to take your dog in the area. We might bring our dog tomorrow… Then, we did some more shopping! We went to the Sunset Beach Gist Shop. By the time we came out it was late and we all needed some sleep. Wait! I need to have some of the Duffers Ice Cream from yesterday….

Day 2

This morning was beautiful. I opened the door to the deck and I saw the sun rise over the beach. I could several others do the same as I. Later on, we walked to the beach which was filled with people. No wonder why…Wildwood Crest has one of the Top 5 beaches in NJ! Anyway, we found a spot on the beach and built sandcastles, dug motes, read books, and all that other beach stuff. We spent a good part of the day there and then went to another pool. This pool was multi-layered. One area of the pool was small, shallow and had big decorative rocks.Then a staircase led to another section 3 feet deep and had a slide made with tile. That led to another section 4 1/2 feet deep. Since the pool was big, large and freeformed, there was a nice white picketed bridge leading from one side to the other. Then, we went to a great ice cream parlor. This place is called Duffers. In addition to an ice cream parlor, they have a mini golf course and a restaurant. They serve Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and especially dessert! How good is it? Good enough to be open for 34 years! It is kind of like what Jan’s used to be up on Rt. 4 near 208. They have a Victorian atmosphere and have mostly booth seating. Want to go? It’s at the corner of Hildreth and Pacific Avenue in Wildwood. I ordered a waffle sundae and it was HUGE! I couldn’t even finish one side of it. No wonder why when I got to our room and read an ad by them, they said “Huge Sundaes!:”…..didn’t see that! I have the leftovers in the freezer in a doggie bag, Well, 2 days done more to go!

DAY 1

Wildwood may be great, but the drive can take a while. It should only take about 3 hours but with traffic on the Parkway, it can go up to 4! Trust me, once your past the traffic, it’s easygoing. You also know when your getting close when the Parkway has traffic lights! After we got to Wildwood, we drove our dog, Scooby, to his sitter. The sitter is in Cape May Court house, NJ. Annalee and Sam Steele run their business year round. “Summer is the busiest time of the year, but we get locals as well.” They have dog boarding and day care in their home for dogs. They also have a fenced in yard and a gated play area for the dogs. If you want to learn more, call them! Their business, Coastal Pet Sitters, can be reached at (609)-465-7184. After Scooby was dropped off, we drove to where we were staying for the week: Seapointe Village. (Pictures can be seen for Seapointe Village at: http://www.seapointerealty.com/photo-gallery.html)
It’s located in Wildwood Crest on a section called Diamond Beach. According to Wikipedia, Diamond Beach is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the place population was 218.
At Seapointe Village, they have 4 pools which includes one indoor-outdoor pool. It is located on the beach and the room we got was a nice size and clean. It is a rental, so we rented it through a Wildwood Crest realty office. We got down there around 4pm, so we were very hungry. Thankfully, they have two major supermarkets down there, one of them including Shoprite! It is very nice in there and it reminds you of home. They also have an Acme Supermarket in Wildwood and another in Cape May. Tomorrow, we will go to the beach. What else will we do? Ready Day 2 to find out…..