I flew out to Newark on Saturday, October 20, 2001. I used miles to get myself upgraded to first class, so I had a comfortable flight. The jet stream was with us, so we landed early in Newark.
Of course, this is Newark, so naturally things didn't go well on the ground. First, we waited for 20 minutes for a gate to become available for the flight. Then, at baggage claim, the flight was not even listed as having arrived. They still had the last flight from the day before, though. After 20 more minutes, I went walking from carousel to carousel to see if the flight was listed on the specific carousel. Eventually, I saw one of my three bags on carousel number two. Cool... The flight wasn't listed but the luggage was coming off. The second bag followed in short order.
I waited an hour until the "last bag" indicator came out, upon which time I went to file a claim for the bag with my clothing. I was told to recheck carousel 9 (not 2!) which is the carousel that was supposed to be used, and there I found the bag. Oh, according to the electronic signs, the flight was still not listed.
Went to my hotel, unpacked, and went into New York City. I've chronicled that experience elsewhere.
After some pizza in New York, I went back to the hotel and went to bed. The next morning, I was driving to Cape May after a quick pastrami sandwich at Harold's Deli. I got to my parents' house at about 1PM, and we spent the afternoon relaxing in conversation.
Dinner that night was supremes with asparagus and a special potato dish. Pretty good. Also there was some fresh corn, which was exquisite.
I slept well that night.
The main reason I go to New Jersey in October (besides to see my parents) is to see the autumn hawk migration. Things did not look good with the forecast: warm with variable winds. I met the temporary hawk counter Derek (the regular counter doesn't work Mondays or Tuesdays) and we chatted a bit. He did not expect to see 100 birds the whole day.
We were lucky, though. The winds were light, but from the northwest, and a noticeable flight of sharp shinned hawks started. From 10AM to noon there were over 225 sharpies, as well as some coopers hawks, merlins, kestrels, and a peregrine. We left the platform at 12:30, when the heat started to rise and the winds died down. We picked up a pizza for lunch on the way home.
Cooper's Hawk |
Cooper's Hawk |
Sharp-shinned Hawk |
Peregrine Falcon |
That afternoon, I logged in and finally got a good connection. My dial-up was not exactly clean most of the time.
For dinner, we went to Lobster House in Cape May. This will be my last trip to Lobster House; they changed their policy about refills for drinks, and were charging 75 cents per 8 ounce glass of iced tea. I was stunned. The stuffed flounder was OK, barbecued clams were good. Still, that's robbery.
Tuesday was my last full day. We woke to fog, and as we went to the hawk watch platform it became even foggier. I'd guess we spent an hour there and saw two harriers. We interrupted the hour with a visit to the CMBO gift shop, where I bought a pair of tee shirts, and some books.
We went to the depot for lunch, then went to do more exploring. It looked like the bay side was not as foggy, but we doubled back to Stone Harbor, where the fog was even thicker. Not much to see. We went by Numbing Island, where, like usual, there was also nothing.
My mother was playing bridge at a club in Cape May, so we went to pick her up. Got home at about 3PM and soon discovered there was no water to be had. It looked like the pump on the well was dead, 1 year and 6 days after the end of the warranty. It was a 1 year warranted.
We called, and were told we'd get a call back. We did not get a call back that night.
Dinner was beef in a bag with mashed potatoes and Lima beans. This was cooked primarily by my mother, and was very good. (My father cooked the supremes, they divided the rest of the effort Sunday night.) My mother also got to watch several episodes of Law and Order, her latest televisual obsession.
The next morning was to be my last in Cape May, and there was still no water. I hadn't showered since Monday afternoon, when I showered for Lobster House, and I felt dirty. About 20 minutes before I was to leave, the contractor showed up to repair the pump -- I had to leave as Mr. Stinky.
I met up with friends at Dino's Fishery in Hazlet on the drive to Newark Airport, which was pleasant.
At the airport, I had a rude shock. I apparently matched a profile for a more rigorous search (including x-raying articles of clothing, examination of every content on every bag, etc...) before checking in to the flight. It was not pleasant.
Miles to upgrade, and a seven hour flight home. We flew over Manhattan, then up western Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont before turning west; we were avoiding storms in the Midwest. We also fought the jet stream most of the way. It did mean that I waved to my friends Buddy Womble in Vermont and Betsy Truax in Pocatello, but I did not see them wave back. I guess it was pretty dark in Pokie (9PM local time) when I waved, though...
Landed at 9:40, and was home by 10:30. The cats were happy to see me again.
All images are © Copyright 2001 James C. Armstrong, Jr.