Cape May meanderings

I usually go to Cape May with my family, so I never get to do what I want.  We do what they want.  That's fine, but we go to the same places all the time.  This time I went by myself.  I found some areas that I hadn't seen before.  I explored Cape May Point State Park.  In addition to the lighthouse, the park consists of marshes, ponds, and a series of trails.  It is remarkable.  I was surprised to find a beautiful wilderness hidden away in Cape May.

That's a swan floating through the marsh.

Since it was off-season, the place was deserted.  It was just me and the wildlife.  The only sounds were reeds rustling in the wind, the ocean, and bird calls.  It was great.  Me being me, I almost fell in the marshes more than once.  I tend to get in a zone when I'm taking photos and not pay attention to anything outside of what I see through the lens.  This can be annoying to people who are with me, but when I'm alone, it can get me into trouble.  While some of the trails were dirt paths through woods, others were planks over swampy wetlands.  That's what it was like where I took the above photo- planks over swamp.  This was just one of the places where I almost plopped myself right in the water.

Cape May Light

From the park, I went to Cape May's main beach area.  I parked near the arcade because I wanted to play skeeball.  ALAS, the arcade was closed for the winter.  I love the ocean.  Watching the waves, listening to them crash on the shore- these things are very soothing to me.  Almost immediately upon stepping foot on the beach, a seagull landed near me.

my seagull friend

He became disgusted with me when I had no food for him, so he left soon after.  I walked up and down the beach.  I watched a few birds perched on giant rocks that kept being pounded by waves.  The tiny birds refused to move.  I left this beach and headed over to the bay side of Cape May.  It being a peninsula, one side borders the Atlantic Ocean, while the other side borders the Delaware Bay.  Higbee Beach was empty.  It's part of a huge wildlife refuge, and I walked through some of the trails before hitting the beach itself.

Higbee Beach

It was nice to be in Cape May during the winter.  The Jersey shore is a madhouse in the summer.  It's harder to appreciate the beauty of the place when it is overrun with people.  I had a peaceful day of solitude.  I needed it.  

The Whoathon begins!

The Great Whoathon begins!  January of 2014 will see the start of the Whoathon.  Long talked about but never begun, the Whoathon will see me watch every episode of Doctor Who in order, starting at the very beginning.  Sure, it will take years to accomplish, but it will be fun.

I will try to include those episodes of the first two Doctors that are lost.  For those unaware, many of the episodes of the 1st and 2nd Doctors are no longer in existence as videos.  The BBC used to wipe videotapes to reuse them.  However, all of the audios exist, so fans have remade the episodes, either by matching up the audio with photos or by animating the action.  There are also a few official BBC releases with animation of lost episodes.

If I stick with this, it will take years.  Even if I stay with my goal of one episode each week, which is unlikely, there are over 150 episodes of Classic Who alone.  Keep in mind, what I call Classic Who episodes are really multi-episode affairs.  Most stories are an hour and a half or more, combining four or more episodes to make one story.  Let the Great Whoathon commence!

The gentleman beagle

I haven't blogged about the gentleman beagle lately.  He has not been appreciating the snow.

If I close my eyes, I can will away the snow.

The beagle heads right for the blankets after being outside in the winter.  He prefers to make his own beagle nests.

This is my nest.

Kenobi does not like when I disturb him in his nests, even though he usually uses MY blankets to make them.

Ah, lovely nest.

He often makes nests on my bed, which means that when it's time to wash the sheets and the blankets, he gets slightly annoyed.

Give me back the blankets.  Now.

Most often, I find him lost in a lump of blankets.

No beagles here.  Go away.

I don't mind.  He knows he gets whatever he wants.  I can't resist the power of the cuteness.

I felt a great disturbance in the Force...when you wouldn't give me any bean dip.