4/27: New Jersey

We lingered in the sun for just over an hour while waiting for the 4:15 ferry across Delaware Bay to Cape May, NJ. This felt like a significant step to me after being focused on the act of just getting there for nearly a week.

The ferry itself is a commuter that mostly transports drivers between NJ and Delaware, so we may have been the only actual foot- passengers aboard.
The crossing itself takes 80- minutes, and with the perfect weather, gave us an opportunity to wander about, take pictures and just relax, basking in our badassitude. I also discovered that my heel had healed to where I could wear my boots once again, and was able to determine that much of my misery was likely caused by my sock liners... that were supposed to prevent blisters!

Once off the ferry, I filled up on water to the sounds of Glenn Beck preaching Gloom 'n Doom over the Apocalypse of the Month: Swine Flu. We both recited in unison the line from "V for Vendetta": "I want everyone to remember WHY THEY NEED US!" I wondered what new "legislation" would be sure to follow on the heels of this, and in advance of the implementation of Codex Alimentarius in December. Not that anyone will care, of course.

From the ferry terminal, it was off to find beach, and hopefully bikini. We never found the Tropicana models, but boy, did we ever find the beach. Not even a mile away, on the Bay side of the Jersey peninsula. This meant that we could cook Chris's concoction of rice and mac & cheese (there ya are, Steve!), and watch an intense sunset while alternating between camera and spork.

The beach was nearly deserted, save dog walkers, a couple of families, and the typical sunset watchers. There were also rolling mini- dunes directly behind us which, with a little sly action, would provide the ultimate camp site for the night. We are not short on sly.

We waited until the beach was deserted, which was a matter of minutes after sunset, then walked a couple hundred yards away from the access until we found the perfect spot. In the bivies we'd be hidden from morning beach traffic, but still have a grand view of the ocean, moon, and sky full of stars. Not to mention the sounds of surf all night. I could not have painted a more perfect place.

Once nestled in, there was a funny, familiar scene replayed in duplicate. We were ecstatic, and began to call people in a vain attempt to share the joy. Just as I had called Chris, Eric, & Shalain from the beach in Santa Barbara, and while riding the freight train thru Oregon. We felt like we were absolutely tuned in and, in an odd way, like we were being "rewarded" for our patience, calm, and serenity of method over the past couple of days. We were fully immersed in that same joy and rush of pure energy that we had tapped into in Albuquerque, and tried to articulate between ourselves where it was coming from. It again, as always it seems, came back to the side- car analogy. Taking the role of the ultimate observer in the drama that is your own life... and not getting caught up in the mundane, bullshit- details that consume us most of the time. It was a striking conversation that perfectly complimented the night before, at the state park in Denton.

We were up chatting on adrenaline until nearly 2am, and just before fading away, I had one of my "wake 'n sleep" moments. This happens when the comparison of the place I awoke with the place I went to sleep is dramatic. From the woods in Maryland, to the ocean in New Jersey. Nice!

Fittingly, one of the observations that were made surrounded how struggle helps to highlight these moments of mini- enlightenment. If everyday were like this, they would be meaningless. Tuesday would be a stark reminder of this for me.

4/27: Delaware

This day will go down into my personal Hall of Fame, right up there with the train ride, Florian, Pat, Ciel, and Ken.

After the events of the night before, I awoke at the familiar time of 8:30 in a fittingly calm state of mind with the impressions, conversations, and realizations still resonating loudly in my head.

I was in no rush to do anything. In fact, one could infer that I was just dragging my feet. That was far from the case, I simply felt... synchronized. Doing things in their own time, and it was good! Chris was in the same state, and it took us nearly 4- hours to eat, shower, shave, and re- pack. The weather was again nearly perfect, for me anyhow, with a blazing sun and approaching 90 by the time we left the campground- at around noon.

We set up again on 404, but further out of town than before. We were now completely away from the Food Lion and Shell station, by a stop light. We figured that if we had no luck here, we'd try to swoon some unsuspecting Lewes- bound traveler at Food Lion but, after finally getting our thumbs in the air to go along with our sign, the idea quickly became moot.

We had only been there for 30- 45 minutes when a Prius pulled over and offered to take us as far as Laurel, Delaware. He assured us that Laurel's route 13 would take us straight to Lewes, and that Laurel was about half way there. That was good enough for us, and we were finally leaving the hospitality of Denton, and Maryland, behind us.

Brian looked to be in his mid- 20's, and was the perfect person to be our first ride. He is a biology grad who had recently returned from Osaka, Japan where he had taught English. Portland and Nicaragua were also on his list of possibilities. We got a kick out of that, especially considering our Latin America aspirations. He was very, very interesting to chat with, and we both felt that we would have enjoyed getting to know him more, if only we had longer than 30 or 40 minutes. He got our cards, and he's one I genuinely hope makes it to the website.

Brian dropped us at a busy intersection in Laurel, right at route 9, and hurried off to his dental appointment. Chris and I crossed the highway, bypassing the gas station, finding a sign that said "No Stopping or Standing". We found this appropriate... since we'd be sitting.

We never got to even sit down; Ben and John are now officially the quickest ride I have ever gotten. They had seen us walking, and turned around to catch us offering to take us to Georgetown, about half of the remaining 28 miles to Lewes. These two seemed to be a couple of guys that I would love to guzzle beer with. Ben was a direct, borderline abrasive, guy that told you precisely what he thought whether you liked it or not. I liked his authenticity immediately, and felt right at home. John was a big guy who reminded me of my nephew. He struck me as a person who liked the notion that he has a rough exterior, but once you got to know him, you would realize that there was much more to him. I enjoyed this ride immensely, and when Ben said he would have taken us all the way to the Lewes Ferry if he had more gas, I was more than happy to offer him $5 to finish this leg of the trip. He accepted, and before long we were all the way thru Delaware and sitting in front of the Lewes- Cape May Ferry terminal. I snapped their picture, and we were off to get our $10 tickets.

We had gotten thru Delaware in less than 2- hours, and I had not gotten to get to know it nearly as well as eastern Maryland. I did see enough to realize that it is a pretty, albeit flat, state with a very "Oregon" vibe. I had not seen much, but liked what I did!