Cape May, May, 2002

I flew out last Tuesday, April 30. The flight was quick. The person next to me in the window seat had some awfully smelly feet, and did not like to wear his shoes. Apart from that, I read, and napped (I had to wake at 3AM to get the shuttle to the airport. 5AM pickup for an 8AM flight.)

I spent the night at the Newark Howard Johnsons after a quick trip into New York City to see a friend and eat some pizza.

Wednesday, I woke after a restless night (The Hojo was under the flight path for landing planes) and went out to the Delaware Water Gap. I took a couple pictures, then went back for a pastrami sandwich at Harold's Deli in Parsippany. Then, I drove south to Cape May Court House, where my parents live. They received their booty from my trips of the last couple months. Dinner was a scallion and garlic crusted rack of lamb, with asparagas and rice. We had an escargot appetizer, too. It was a wonderful meal.

I tried to get a good night's sleep, since Thursday my father is a guide on a walk in Belleplaine State Park, looking for warblers and other little birds.

I was awakened at 4:30 by thunder and lightening. I have been trying to remember the last time I was in a night thunderstorm, and I guess it had to be in Taman Negara, Malaysia, when the monsoons came. (This thunder was nothing like that!) Anyway, on my father's advice, I did not go to Belleplaine, although apparently three people did. We had a brief respite around noon, so ventured to Numbing Island. By the time we arrived, it was cloudy again. At 3PM, we were put under a tornado watch. This would have been interesting to see, since I've never had a chance to photograph a tornado.

Thursday night we went out to Karen & Rei (www.karenandrei.com). Our reservations were for 6, and I drove. Karen & Rei is a fusion restaurant, apparently both Karen and Rei have lived in Thailand, so they bring a Thai flavor to their cuisine.

I started with pheasant in a filo crust, which was delicious. My mother had shrimp and crab sausage, and my father had a duck with portabello mushrooms. For a main couse, I had manta ray with crab and lemongrass, which was delicious. They have a "heat scale" and I had it at the hottest spice level, which still seemed mild to me. My mother had Karachi Duck and my father had seared tuna.

Friday, the rain had stopped. Thursday had 1.25 inches of rain which was not enough to end the drought. Friday, my father was a leader on a walk at Higbe Beach. It was quite windy, so hearing birds was not easy. There were about 20 people on the walk, too. The highlight for me was probably the eastern kingbird, which is not normally found in California. The blue-winged warbler was also a good find.

After the walk, we visited my mother at Goshen, and ended up heading out towards Jake's Landing, where there were stories of a Swainson's warbler. It was too windy to hear.

We relaxed in the afternoon. For dinner, my father cooked a pork tenderloin with ancho crust and chipotle butter over white beans and spinach. I am not a fan of spinach, but the rest was very good.

Saturday finally provided us with good weather for birding. Alas, it was Saturday, so there was a cattle charge. We went to Belleplaine where my father was again a leader. Our group was about 25 people. At the bridge in Belleplaine (one of the best spots) there were 82 people. Not ideal for bird photography.

Despite that, I did manage to get pictures of a prothonotary warbler, and a few others. Most of the birds were staying a bit farther away than usual. We spent four hours there looking at different birds, before heading over to Jake's Landing. This time, we did hear the Swainson's warbler, but he didn't come down to the 30 of us for a photograph.

We prepared for the Kentucky Derby in the afternoon. I had predicted that an Arab-owned horse would win in a slow race, thanks to help from a CIA conspiracy. When the race was won, War Emblem won. He had been bought by a Saudi owner, and the race was slow. No evidence of the CIA.

Dinner was at a seafood restaurant in Cumberland County. It was a long-ish drive, and we went with six friends of my parents. Conversation was fairly lively, and the evening was enjoyable. I had crab bites (think crab cakes, but with a bit of cheddar) and a combo platter. Deep fried lobster? Hmmm... Not a bad meal, but I'd be surprised if we couldn't find a better place closer to Cape May.

Sunday, I had to wake early to fly home. My flight was at 11:50 (moved back from 11 AM) so I had to leave by 6 AM. As it had rained overnight, I was mildly concerned.

This flight was one of the worst flying experiences I've had in quite a while. As many of you know, I'm a fairly big person, and I don't fit comfortably in a coach seat. (See http://elliott.org/vault/critic/1999/widebodies.htm for more info.) For flights across the country, I either purchase a first class ticket with miles (if a mileage based ticket is available) or I will fork out the first class air fare. For visits to my parents, I let the availability of mileage based fares dictate the schedule.

Shortly before they flight, they changed the aircraft for the flight to San Francisco, and I was downgraded. So much for paying for a confirmed upgrade four months in advance. If that's how they treat a platinum frequent flier, well...

The only compensation offered was the same as they offer if any reserved seat is lost. There were no other first class seats available on any flights to San Francisco. To add insult to injury, I couldn't even get an aisle seat on the flight, so here I am, wedged into a window seat. It was an extremely painful flight, and my back really does hurt a lot today.

My cats were happy to see me. They were even happier that I am more immobile.