Off-season beach days
Photos by Mark Voger (unless otherwise noted)
author, ‘Son of Monster Mash’
No, we aren’t traveling 4 hours south merely to sample the Brisket Cheesesteak, a Wednesday-only Happy Hour special at Bethany Blues BBQ, a smokehouse tavern in Delaware Bay-adjacent Lewes, Delaware. But in all honesty, that is a weighty enticement.
Another is the mode of travel. We motor from the Asbury Park, NJ, area to Cape May, straight onto the Cape May-Lewes Ferry at the southern-most tip of Jersey. In 90 minutes, we’ll offload, car and all, at Lewes. Above is our farewell view of Cape May (and the Cape May Lighthouse).
The first ferry departs at 7 a.m. sharp, so we padded our traveling time by an hour. (Turns out, that was a good idea.) It is still dark as the ferry disengages from New Jersey, but a magnificent dawn soon follows.
It’s chilly on the decks — not to mention quite wobbly. (I haven’t stumbled like that since the Eighties.)
Yes, the deck chairs are bolted in. And yes, most riders opt for the warmth and safety of the ferry’s interior. Their loss!
Fun fact: The ferry crossing is officially a part of Route 9, which continues from New Jersey into Delaware (delineated in maps with a dotted line on the water). Freaky, huh?
For the longest, this stretch of the horizon isn’t even recognizable as buildings. Then, Lewes finally comes into view.
During our time in Delaware, we focused on the Lewes-Rehoboth Beach area. We resumed our traditional doughnut hunt. (Old World Breads had worth-the-calories apple cider and lemon donut-muffins with a cakey consistency.) Lewes is also a thrift-store-rich destination. Vintage Halloween stuff is everywhere, with vintage Christmas stuff close behind.
Bethany Blues is a blast. It reminds this Jerseyite of a bar you might find in Belmar. I can only imagine how packed it was just five weeks earlier.
Here it is, the Holy Grail — the Brisket Cheesesteak. The perfectly cooked brisket is augmented with smoked jalapenos, bits of sauteed bell peppers and tomatoes, and a cheese sauce. We paired the BBQ with spicy, buttermilk-battered “Boom Boom” Shrimp and crab-topped Delmarva Deviled Eggs. Bar food at its best.
Nuts! I must leave just as the band comes in to set up: Mama’s Black Sheep. Mostly ladies, all dressed to rock, some in cowboy hats. I tell singer-drummer Laura Cerulli that I’m bummed I can’t stay for their set. She gives me a consolation prize: a guitar pick with the band’s logo. I promise her I’ll use it at my next gig (whenever that will be.) Learn more about the Baltimore-based group HERE.
At the Cinema Art Theater in Lewes, which is run by the Rehoboth Beach Film Society, we catch “The Scout,” the directorial debut of Paula Gonzalez-Nasser. It stars Mimi Davila as Sophia, a New York City-based location scout for television. I hesitate to say a word about it, except that I love it and need to see it again to divine more of its mysteries.
We awaken in Lewes and head south to Ocean City, Maryland. The above view of the Atlantic reminds us Jerseyans of Long Beach Island. A bit later, we spot a big, black truck with Texas plates and stickers that say “NAMASTE, Y’ALL,” “HAVE A GRATEFUL DAY” and “TEXAS IS TALARICO COUNTRY.”
Another view of the Atlantic. We next backtrack north, venturing onto the Isle of Wight (it doesn’t take long) off the Assawoman Bay Bridge. At the historic Augustine Tavern on the Delaware Bay, we sample the luscious Mushroom-Crab Bisque and Pumpkin Cheesecake. The light supper is a soothing capper after a nightmarish detour off coastal Route 9.
“I think that’s New Jersey,” says a local about the nuclear reactor across the bay, which indeed turns out to be New Jersey’s Salem Nuclear Power Plant in Lower Alloways Creek Township. It feels like home.
VIDEOS
Here’s Mama’s Black Sheep harmonizing on “Bring It On Home to Me” …
Here’s the trailer for “The Scout” …