First, we stayed at the Gaylord Hotel in the national harbor...at least I think that's what it was called. Our room had a dining area, a sitting area, and a nicely sized balcony that looked over the shops and restaurants below, and allowed us to witness the awesomeness of an 18-floored all-windowed hotel lobby. Sah-weeeet! But the sweetest part was the food. Everything was delicious, but the food from The Old Hickory Steakhouse must be especially noted. Tim and I both agreed, neither of us had ever eaten so slowly, relishing in each bite. Who knew steak could be that flavorful, that... smooth. Oh it was an explosion of juiciness in our mouths and we almost got sick later from over-eating. Simply delicious.The day we left the Gaylord, Tim and I ate at the Pianza, an Italian food buffet. I don't know who invented this, but they deserve the Nobel. Four Cheese Lasagna should be illegal Then, Tim discovered the music we heard around us was an instrumental trio...a bass, a violin, and an achordian player, all wandering around playing songs like "Moonlight Sonata" and "Theme from Romeo and Juliet." I was almost crying it was so beautiful. But the trio hung around the far side of the extensive restaurant and I never got a glimpse of them. Until Tim secretly asked them to come over and play for us! They played "Anything Goes" and ... oh heck, something else I can't remember. But then, the violinist commented on our "glow." "You look so in love!" she said. "We just got married," I told her. "We're on our honeymoon." She was the only woman of the three, so the other guys were ready to move on, but she awwwwwed and said, "Wait, let's play something romantic and special for them." She turned to us with a tender smile and asked, "Do you know Phantom of the Opera?" I laughed. "Yes!" She nodded to the other two and they began, "All I Ask of You." Tim held my hand and smiled at me. I wept a little and kissed his cheek again and again. It was magical.
Cape May was pretty much awesome as well. We walked along the beach and collected sea shells, driftwood, and two horseshoe crabs. One still alive. That's right. Tim ran over to a huge lump in the tide that looked like a rock, but it was a horseshoe crab. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "It finally happened!"
"What?" I asked.
"I found one!"
"One what?"
"One of these things!"
Later on, we found out they are labeled as "the cockroach of the sea," but this was before we took it with us while it was still moving. "Can't we throw it back?" I asked, kinda grossed out. "No," Tim answered sadly, "He's dying anyway. If we throw him back he'll just come back up with the tide. He'll probably be dead in a couple of hours."
So we took him with us, along with all the other seashells and sea sticks and driftwood we were collecting for an art project. We left him in the trunk all night, along with all the other sea things we'd collected. But in the morning, he was still moving. So when we got back, we left horseshoe crab with Tim's family in a bucket outside, hoping the end of his days would come sooner than later. All I have to say is, I'm glad Tim didn't want to bring this home:
Our first morning in Cape May, we got tickets to go Dolphin Watching! Here's the boat that carried us into our adventure:
Everyone on the boat either had a blanket or a big jacket to keep them warm. We brought Dr. Pepper and water to strengthen and nourish our bodies. Though we were cold, that didn't stop us from exploring the little boat and getting front row seats to see the dolphins.
The lady that took that picture was pretty ancient, but totally rad. She was sitting in the front of the boat, too, and once we started talking to her, told us she bet her friend we were honeymooners. Indeed we were, and now that no family were around, we didn't have to worry about people telling us to stop smooching or hugging. The captain of the boat spotted dolphins for us pretty quick, and we tried to get the best shots we could with what we had.
In the last picture, the tiny black dotty thing is a dolphin jumping up from the water, riding the waves. The captain played the "Wipe Out" song while they were doing it, and announced the dolphins love to ride the waves and do it most of the time on tours. And while we were watching them, he said the dolphins were intelligent enough to watch us watch them. Before he even said that, though, I could've sworn one of them looked right at me while he was swimming by. It was the strangest thing in the world, having a dolphin look at you and be like, "Hey! Watch this!"
Back on the beach, we got some pictures in front of the Cape May Lighthouse. If you look closely, you can see it sticking up in the background.
Then, we went shopping in the outside mall.
While at the mall, we encountered a little feathery friend that Tim kept throwing Oyster fries to. We should've had Lizzie there to name him something cool like "Dombay," but all we could come up with was "Larry."
Boy, was Larry loving those Oyster fries. When some of his friends came along, he cawed at them to chase them away. When they wouldn't go, he flew into the restaurant encasing we were in, circled right by my head, and flew back out, cawing the whole time. I would like to think he was saying, "MINE! MINE!"
You're probably thinking, Hey, they went to the beach, so did they ever get in the water? The answer is- sort of. With it being the beginning of swimming season, the water was freezing. It's not like I necessarily enjoy getting salt water in my mouth anyway, let alone down my shorts. I only dare to go in so far.
Tim was a little more daring.
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