I took time out of my walking project in Manhattan after finishing the Chelsea neighborhoods, walking the 13-mile Broadway walk for the sixth time and preparing to do “The Great Saunter” on my own next week to go ‘down the shore’ as we say in New Jersey (it’s never ‘Down to the Shore”, that takes too long).
I had never been to Somers Point, NJ before. It is a small waterfront community across the bay from Ocean City, NJ, which is a popular resort and recreation town. Somers Point is low key with wonderful restaurants and bars, a popular waterfront and beaches on The Great Egg Harbor Bay and beautiful little turn of the century beach homes and a town steeped in history. I read about three historical spots on Shore Drive in the heart of the Historic District and had wanted to visit them.
Somers Point, NJ by The Great Egg Harbor Bay on Shore Avenue by the Somers Mansion
There was also a traditional ‘Jersey Shore” seafood restaurant named “Smitty’s Clam Bar (The Clam Bar at Smith’s Cove as it is known officially) that I had read about in the magazine “Edible New Jersey” back in 2019 and had wanted to try it. It had been on my “to do/to eat” list for three years but COVID closed the place and it just opened back up a few weeks ago. So there was some things that I wanted to do and see at this quaint Jersey shore town.
I had to plan this visit like I was going abroad as the historical societies were only open a certain hours and were not going to stay open past those times. This on top of the fact that schools were just letting out for the summer and the chance of getting to the shore with no traffic on the Garden State Parkway would be next to impossible after this weekend. So off we went at 8:00am to get to Somers Point by 10:00am. It really was two hours with traffic (of course) especially when you go past the Newark exits. The airport exits still do create traffic jams all over the highway even if you are in the fast lane.
We managed to get to Somers Point by 10:30am and the traffic out to the town was minimal. Most of the traffic was going over the bridge to Ocean City, NJ with its popular boardwalk. It was nice turning off to the quaint bay side town of Somers Point, NJ. The nice part was all the destinations that we would be going to were within three blocks from one another and the main road back to the Parkway.
The three historical sites that I wanted to visit were the Somers Point Historical Society, which specializes in the history of the town, the Atlantic County Historical Society, which specializes in the history of the entire County of Atlantic, NJ and the Somers Family Mansion. For a late lunch, we would be eating at Smitty’s Clam Bar on the bay which I had read about in an article in “Edible New Jersey” so I was looking forward to dinner there.
The three historical sites did not take much time to see even with a guided tour. Each took about an hour and we were able to see all three with plenty of time to tour the historical district of the town and the shore line. The area around the bay was pretty compact.
Our first stop was Somers Point Historical Society at 745 Shore Road (See TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). This small historical society was founded in 1987 as a result of the “Save Old City Hall” campaign and helped establish the historic district with the State of New Jersey. The building was originally a Baptist Church that was built in 1886 and was the town library before it became the historical society.
The Somers Point Historical Society at 745 Shore Road
The Somers Point Historical Society is a pleasant little museum that features the history of the town. The Society is concentrated in the main room of the old church with displays on all sides.
The Somers Point Historical Society displays are in one large room
There is a display on its nautical past with shipbuilding and fishing industries, the region’s retail past with a trolley system that used to run around the shoreline to Atlantic City, and town historical display of the Somers family, the founding family of the town and relics from the USS Somers, named after Commandant Richard Somers.
The memorial to Commandant Richard Somers and the USS Somers
Items the museum features on Shipbuilding and Fishing
Each display gives a glimpse of the town and how it has changed from primarily a community of nautical businesses to a year-round community of tourism and recreation. Once the Garden State Parkway was constructed, it opened all these small towns by the shore to the entire state and changing the population growth.
The museum even showed the changes in transportation to the community with an old trolley system that used to travel up and down the shore for things like shopping and entertainment. It is amazing that almost fifty years since they got rid of the trolley system, they saw how useful it was and energy efficient.
The ‘Christmas shopping at the shore’ display
When talking with the volunteers at the museum what is nice is that they co-sponsor all sorts of special events like lectures and movie nights with the Ocean City Historical Museum. Their next event is showing the film “High Society” with Grace Kelly, a frequent visitor of Ocean City with her family.
The Somers Point Historical Society is filled with all sorts of artifacts of the town and really brings Somers Point to light. The only problem with the museum is that it is open very limited hours so plan your trip accordingly.
The next site that we drove to be the Atlantic Count Historical Museum at 907 Shore Drive, whose mission is to present the story of the entire county’s history. They have an extensive collection of objects from before the founding of the County (even before the State was founded) until today.
The library at the Society is used by people checking out their family’s genealogy and background with the help of the librarian and the history of the town. They have an extensive collection of records of Somers Point in the library.
The Atlantic County Historical Society at 907 Shore Drive
Most of the exhibitions are in the lower level of the museum where our tour guide, Sid, took us around and showed us the different displays. I have to say that each display is somewhat overloaded with historical objects that needed a clearer definition. Each one represented a room in a home over a period of time, but the artifacts were from different eras with some from the 1880’s to others being from the 1920’s and 30’s. They were very interesting but just needed less on display.
The Living Room had multiple items as way of entertainment with musical instruments and things like radios and phonographs. The furniture came from both the 1890’s with classic Victorian looks and 1920’s furniture that was in fashion of the day.
The Dining Room was set from the 1920’s but would have been at home in the 1930’s or 50’s as well as formal entertainment was the highest form of flattery and it was the job of the host to show off their best crystal, china and silver to their guests.
For recreation, there were all sorts of board games, puzzles and other amusements that adults and teens would have played over the years. They also had an extensive toy section with dolls, dollhouses, clothing and objects to prepare children for their roles in life.
Children’s playthings changed during the Victorian age to about the 1930’s
The bedroom and manner of dress changed as well, and the Atlantic County Historical Society has an extensive collection of clothing both men’s and women’s that includes coats, hats, gloves and shoes. Even in the bedroom display, you can see how the roles started to change during the Industrial Revolution.
The Bedroom display had all sorts of items needed to make living more comfortable including quilts, chamber pots and basins. There was even a bedwarmer, but these items were no longer part of the household as fireplaces and then steam heat came into the home.
Even the local industries of Shipbuilding and Fishing came into play in the displays both in the lower level and the upper level with the advent of tourism and modern swimming, sunning and dining at the shore.
Shipbuilding and Fishing were big industries in Somers Point
An early rolling chair from the Boardwalk in Atlantic City with amusement advertisements to show the modern-day leisure with the five-day work week.
The upstairs even had a complete office to former Senator Frank “Hap” Farley who helped open up the State of New Jersey to tourism with the opening of the Garden State Parkway.
The recreation of Senator Farley’s office on the third floor of the museum
After our tour, Sid gave us the history of the museum and how they were making changes with the museum displays and the programing they were planning in the future. There is a lot to see and do at the museum but take your time to wonder around the museum on your own.
Our last stop on the tour of historical sites was the Somers Mansion, the home of the Somers family from the 1700’s to the 1930’s.
The family mansion was lived in by five generations of the Somers family and the house had been added onto over the years. The home was built between 1720 and 1726 and was lived until the last family members moved out in 1937. The home was deeded to the Atlantic County Historical Society in 1937 by the last two family members living in the house (Somers Mansion NJ Park.com).
It became a NJ State Park site in 1941 and the home was stripped back down to its original look from the 1700’s (it had a more Victorian look with all the additions over the years). Inside the home, the mansion has been brought back to the late 1700’s to early 1800’s.
Inside I hate to admit there was not much to look at nor could you take pictures inside the home. There was some period furniture both upstairs and downstairs and there was a china cabinet that held some of the family china that was donated to the house as well. In fact, all that was left from the family that the tour guide told us was the china, a bedwarmer, and a few pieces of furniture.
The “Keeping” or “Everything” room was on the first floor with a giant hearth for cooking and heat and where all the housework would have been done and the back part of the main room was for dining. You have to climb with a rope banister (not the safest thing) to the upstairs where there was a bedroom with a fireplace and a smaller room in the back with a spinning wheel and crib for a baby. There was not much to see in the house. The tour guide did not seem too interested in telling us the history or any stories of the house, so we made our way outside to see the replanted gardens.
The local Garden Club of Somers Point planted a recreation of the old kitchen garden with fruits and vegetable that would have been used in the colonial kitchen.
The recreated ‘Kitchen Garden’ of the Somers Mansion
The Kitchen Garden was planted for the summer season and all the things that the family would have served on their table for the main meal were planted in the backyard. The garden club did a nice job keeping the grounds and the gardens looking nice. The inside of the house needed a lot of work along with a curator to design all the objects inside to look like a period home.
After the tour of the three sites, we took a driving tour of the historical part of the town, driving all the side streets between Bay and Shore Roads. There were a lot of homes big and small that dotted the streets all in different conditions. You could see that a lot of the homes were built at the turn of the last century.
Having some time before our late lunch at Smitty’s, I got nostalgic, and we stopped at the local Dairy Queen at 501 Shore Road for a snack. I had not been at a Dairy Queen in years, and I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted a Banana Split which is my favorite thing at Dairy Queen. Yes, the price had gone up over the years and the little yellow plastic container that they used to serve it in is no longer part of it, it still tasted the same as it had in 1972 and that is what I loved about it. My aunt had the Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream and we just sat outside at the tables and talked about the visits.
The irony was that when we got back in the car and still had what I thought was an hour and a half before dinner, I found out that Smitty’s was open the whole time. The Internet was wrong about the times, and they opened at 11:30am during the summer months. I thought they opened at 4:30pm. So, I had no appetite for dinner.
At first, we could not find the place because there is no sign that says “Smitty’s Clam Bar”. It is actually named “The Clam Bar at Smith Marina” at 910 Bay Avenue. “Smitty’s” is a nickname the locals have given it over the years. I had just read and the people at all the historical sites confirmed that they just lost their lease, and the marina has been sold so this will be their last season operating. So, I was glad we visited when we did.
‘Smitty’s Clam Bar” The Clam Bar at Smith Marina at 910 Bay Avenue
“Smitty’s” is one of those classic Jersey shore restaurants that has never changed since its opening except for the prices. You go there for deep-fried everything and I got a kick out of the waitress when my aunt asked her what she recommended and she said, “Oh, the Salmon with the Miso sauce and fresh vegetables is really good.” I looked at her like she was nuts. When I said that we came down for the fried fish she gave us more time with the menu.
The lunch specials at “Smitty’s”. There was no Salmon with Miso Sauce here.
I ended up ordering the New England Clam Chowder ($3.95) which was thick and rich and loaded with clams and touched off with cream. The reviewers were right about it, and it lived up to its reputation. What didn’t live up to the restaurant was its prices. The entrees were all $3.00-$5.00 more than the menu posted online and that really surprised me. Thank God I brought enough cash because they are still a ‘cash only’ restaurant.
This was the reason why I saw so many people on the outside counter sharing meals. Most of them probably did not have enough cash. In the era of COVID and people not even accepting cash as payment, I could not believe that the restaurant still had this archaic form of payment.
The counter on the outside of the The Clam Bar
Since I had just downed a banana split a half hour before lunch, I just shared some of the fried shrimp and French fries that my aunt was having ($14.99 at the restaurant/$9.99 online) and then we shared a piece of the Key Lime Pie ($4.99). I have to say that their Key Lime Pie also lived up to its reputation. It was rich and sweet, and you could taste the tartness in each bite. It really was the best way to end the meal.
The Fried Shrimp with French Fries and Cole Slaw at Smitty’s
After lunch was finished, we walked around the Marina for a bit. It really looked like a place on Martha’s Vineyard or even some of the places I knew on Long Beach Island that I had seen in previous late summer days. I can imagine that it will be going upscale as soon as its sold and the classic look will be gone.
Smith Marina where The Clam Bar is located. How much will this change in the future?
(*Note to all readers: Smitty’s just signed a contract with the marina and will be open in the summer of 2023)
We drove down Bay Avenue after lunch and stopped by the small beach where the last of the swimmers were finishing up for the day. I have to say one thing. Somers Point, New Jersey is a really charming town.
As we headed out of town on Shore Avenue passing all the sites we had visited in the morning, I wondered how many people in town appreciate all the little ‘gems’ located right at their doorsteps. For those of you who have not visited, it is a nice day out.
Don’t miss this historical museum and its role in WWII. It showcases the accomplishments of the people of New Jersey and the soldiers who trained here.
The Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum is located at the back of the Cape May Airport. Just follow the road to the back of the airport at 500 Forrestal Road in Hangar #1.
This interesting museum is a treasure trove of artifacts from WWII to today from jeeps to cars and trucks to airplanes. Some of the vehicles you can step into and see what it was like to ride these pieces of aviation history.
The displays are very interactive
There are several airplanes that with the assistance of the staff you can enter and see what air travel was like for these pilots. All the planes have been carefully restored and displayed for viewing and use by tourists. There…
The entrance to the museum is inside the Municipal Building and Library 1735 Simpson Avenue
I made a trip to many of the beach towns at the Jersey Shore recently visiting the small historical societies that explain the history and development of these small towns. It is amazing to see how they have developed in just 150 years from Native American fishing villages to thriving vacation spots and permanent residential districts. Ocean City, NJ itself has an interesting history.
As you enter the museum from the back of the library, you are warmly greeted by a docent who will explain the museum to you. Then you will follow a semicircle through the exhibitions in a genealogical order from when the town was founded to modern times and events.
Johnson’s Popcorn at 1360 Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ
Taking a trip down the Jersey Shore is always fun especially on a late summer afternoon during the week when there are not too many people around and you have the whole Boardwalk to yourself. When I arrived at the Ocean City, NJ Boardwalk, it was mostly locals walking around, enjoying the sunny afternoon jogging, power walking and conversing with neighbors. You could see it was a tightknit group on the Boardwalk that day.
I have been coming to Ocean City, NJ only recently staying the night six years ago when I thought I might have a job close by. I started to explore the shore towns and made Ocean City my headquarters for that trip…
I swear it was full steam ahead for the rest of the holiday season. December for me just keeps getting busier. From the time we finished the Victorian Walking Tour to after the Epiphany my feet never touched the ground. Christmas tree sales kept me busy on the weekends, class finished up with my final exam night on the second week of December (I am very proud to say that I gave out 28 A’s, 2 B plus’s and 2 B’s) and then I really got busy with my volunteer work.
After the weekend with the Victorian Walking Tour and the Washington’s Crossing event, it was off to visit Lillian again. I had just seen her at Thanksgiving and here it was three weeks later, I was out on Long Island for another family event. The facility she lived in really does a lot of nice things for the families.
Lillian and I with her Christmas present, Petula the Pup from FAO Schwarz
I had given Lillian a choice, would she like me to come out for the Family Dinner or the the Family Concert the next week? I unfortunately could not do both. Work was getting busy and I had two Christmas parties to plan. So we decided on the Family dinner. We really had a nice time.
We joined her roommate, Marie and her two daughters for dinner that night. The facility had a nice dinner for us with roast beef, mashed potatoes and broccoli that was surprising well cooked and seasoned for a nursing facility and they gave you plenty of it. We had a nice time chatting and getting to know one another when Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance and greeted all the residents and their families. The two staff members who played the roles did a marvelous job with it and made it extra festive.
After dinner and a tour around the building greeting other residents and their families I said my goodbyes to Lillian and her roommate and her family. I had a long trip ahead of me as well. I could tell that Lillian was a little sad by it but I said that I would see her at Valentine’s Day and we would see each other after the craziness of the holidays was over. That is when I surprised her with the small Petula the Pup that we both used to sell in both of our time in the Pre-School Department at FAO Schwarz. She was very surprised and touched by it. It must have triggered something because I saw her cry a little. It made her happy that someone remembered (Please see the blog on Day One Hundred & Thirty-Lillian passed away three weeks after our dinner together).
The next morning myself and the volunteers who work with me at work had our Christmas party for the residents of the Maywood facility that I work with on my job with the County of Bergen for our Post-Stroke & Disabled Support Group. We had entertainment with Van Martin Productions and we decorated the tables with garland and candy and the room for the holidays. The whole affect was very festive.
The ladies who are part of the group that comes to our events had a wonderful time. Each one of us baked a special dessert for the event and at all the place settings were chocolate Santa’s and candy canes for each resident. We served desserts and coffee to everyone, handed out gifts to all and had a wonderful afternoon of good food and wonderful entertainment.
That evening, I hosted an Italian dinner at my home for the ladies who volunteer for me. Taking everyone to a restaurant gets expensive plus at the holidays everyone rushes you out so I found it more personal to have it at my house.
As I was serving dessert which I made an assortment of cookies and cakes, the noise got louder. Other guests joined us later and there was a lot of catching up to do. It was a enjoyable way to spend our last day together before the holidays.
The next day I joined a friend that I had not seen for almost two years for lunch in Sanducci’s at 620 Kinderkamack Road in Paramus, NJ (see review on TripAdvisor). It was just nice to finally catch up as it had been a long time since we talked. We both agreed that our lives had us running in different directions. We spent our afternoon laughing at things from years ago and in our current lives. It is nice to spend time with friends at the holidays. I had not realized that Nancy and I had not seen one another in two years!
Sanducci’s at 620 Kinderkamack Road
After lunch, I had to prepare another dinner as we held our annual Men’s Association Christmas Party at the tree-stand to end our season of selling. That Friday night, we had four trees on the lot and by the time the party was over we sold them out. We sold 338 trees (one was stolen and one was donated) during the holiday season and that was a new record for us.
I made a batch of stuffed shells for dinner and a batch of chocolate brownies for dessert. I never know what to make as it is a pot luck and all the guys bring something different but two years earlier three of us brought baked ziti. So I know shy away from that. That and I wanted something quick because I was still tired from cooking the night before.
It a fun evening of great food and conversation mostly dwelling on the success of this year’s sale. God, can some of these guys cook! Our former President, Mike, makes a venison chili that is always the highlight of the dinner especially on a cold night. The stuffed shells were put under the warmers and were a big hit. I never have to sell brownies to anyone. I was sure they were gone by the end of the evening.
The weather started to drop that night and after an hour at the party it went down to 35 degrees. Even sitting by the barrel fire, I could not take it anymore. I said my goodbyes by 9:00pm. I was exhausted from a week of cooking and had still more to do over the weekend. I had to plan two menus for that Sunday and had to have back to back meals. One of the guys later on told me that a group of them were there until 2:00am. Not a night I would have been out.
I had to sleep in that Saturday morning because I was worn out from the running around that week but there was food to prepare, a house to clean and a table to set. I needed a break from it all to put me back into the spirit of the holiday so before I started all the prep work, I went to Ringwood Manor for their celebration and to see the decorated house.
Ringwood Manor every year is beautifully decorated by a group of volunteers. The house was open for tours of life in the Victorian Age. Each of the rooms was decorated to the hilt with garland and plants and all sorts of decorations.
The Ringwood Manor Dining Room
Ringwood Manor has an interesting history. The area around Ringwood, NJ was the center for iron ore manufacturing and was a big player in munitions during the Revolutionary War because of both the amount of ore in the hills and the strategic location near New York City.
Ringwood Manor
In 1807, the land was bought by Martin J. Ryerson who built the first home of the property which was a 10 room Federalist style home. In 1853, Peter Cooper bought the mines and the home and it became one of the biggest suppliers iron ore to the Civil War effort. Peter Cooper’s partners were his son, Edward and his future son-in-law, Abram S. Hewitt.
The Ryerson section of the house decorated for the holidays.
The home became the summer estate for Mr. & Mrs. Hewitt and added on to the house in 1864, 1875, 1900 and 1910. The home then had 51 rooms and was designed in the Classic Victorian style with furnishings from all over the world. In 1938, the home, it contents and grounds of the estate was donated to the State of New Jersey (Ringwood Manor Park History).
The tour was self-guided and you could take as much time as you wanted seeing each room. There was a docent on hand to explain all the decorations and furnishings as well as the purpose of the room. One of the points that was made when I was visiting the decorated homes during the holiday season was that Victorians never decorated every room in the house like on the tours.
They decorated maybe the living room and dining room with a tree and garland. Only the wealthiest families would decorate more than that because they had servants to maintain it. Trees and garland were used after the Civil War because Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert was from Germany and brought the Pagan tradition of putting a tree inside the house with him to England (Victorian Christmas History).
Auntie El’s Farm at 171 Route 17 South.
After my visit to the manor, it was off to Auntie El’s Farm at 171 Route 17 South in Sloatsburg, NY (see my review on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com) for some baked goods and a tour of the farm. I roamed through the farm stand who just like us were wiped out of Christmas trees. I bought cake truffles ($5.00 each) and a Caramel Apple Cake ($10.95) for my Christmas dinner and munched on Apple Turnovers ($3.50) and Cider Doughnuts ($1.00) while I was there looking around the bakery. In the farm stand area, they have to most delicious jellies and jams to choose from and other gourmet products.
Auntie El’s desserts!
When I got home, I spent the rest of the time cooking for our Engine One Brunch for Company members and families on Sunday morning and then for my Christmas dinner with my family on Sunday night. I never left the kitchen.
That Sunday was a busy day for me as I had to pull off two back to back meals. In the morning from 10:00am-1:00pm was the Engine One Brunch and after clean up and saying goodbye to everyone was the early Christmas dinner with my family from 4:30pm to 9:00pm. I had never done back to back meals before and don’t plan on doing it again. Way too much work!
I got to the firehouse at 8:30am that morning and had to deal with a major mess. The Department Christmas Party had been the night before and they did not clean it properly. So the first thing I had to do was clean all the tables, throw out the garbage and mop the floors. That took almost an hour.
Then I had to clean and set up the kitchen for Brunch. Once I got that done, I set the buffet table for the food and then put all the table clothes on the tables in the main room. Then I set up and started to cook and set the tables for breakfast. By the time I was done with all of that, the first guys started to arrived to help me.
Me setting up breakfast
I cooked an elaborate breakfast menu for the members of our company, our honorees and family members.
Me in front of the Brunch Buffet Table
It really was great meal. I prepared two egg casseroles, one with bacon and the other with Italian sausage, a French Toast Souffle, homemade waffles (I drag that waffle iron all over), fresh fruit salad and then I baked a cinnamon crunch coffee cake, blueberry muffins, a chocolate chip pound cake and brought in assorted bagels from Panera and doughnuts from Mills Bakery in Wood Ridge. There was something for everyone.
We had a wonderful time. About 54 people showed up for breakfast and did people come hungry. We did not have much left. Our Lieutenant, Bernie Valente, gave the welcoming speech and greeted everyone for brunch and wished everyone a happy and safe holiday season. It was a nice morning of good food and conversation.
The Engine One Members at the Brunch
After the Brunch was over, I said my goodbyes to everyone and had to clean and mop the room again. That took some time but the place was spotless when I left.
I ran home and thank God, I had already cleaned the house, set the dining room table and prepared the house for guests. I was able to take a 45 minute break before my family showed up for a pre-Christmas dinner. I relaxed on the couch for about twenty minutes before my family showed up. I was so grateful they showed up late.
What a great time we had that night! My Aunt Dee and my cousins, Wayne and Bruce came to dinner and we had a wonderful time. Since I was joining my brothers at my Mom’s house for Christmas Eve and Day, I would not be seeing my aunts and cousins this year.
I cooked a four course meal that was my pride and joy. We started with an assortment of cheese and crackers, sauteed shrimp on toasts and mozzarella sticks with a bottle of bubbly to toast the holidays. We had a nice time just catching up with work and family events.
About an hour later, I served dinner. I kept it simple this year making chicken cutlets, a potato puff and string beans with butter. It was the perfect evening of good food and conversation. My cousins told me about work and what was going on in their lives and my aunt was telling me stories about her upcoming holiday events. We always have a nice time.
For dessert, I had the desserts from Aunt El’s. I served the caramel apple pie and the cake truffles. I have to admit that they were all a little sweet but still good. There was a layer of caramel and chocolate on the top of the apple pie. It was a nice way to end the evening.
After a week of cooking for five parties and dinners, I took a break from the kitchen and planned a couple of Christmas events. The first was I attended the Hasbrouck Heights High School Holiday concert. I had a nice time listening to the choir and jazz band. The school was packed with people filming the whole thing. I have never seen so many cells phones out.
The one event I had gone to last year was the holiday concert at Carnegie Hall and looked forward to seeing it again. The ‘Home Alone Concert’ with the New York Philharmonic had been sold out as was the ‘Holidays with Brass Concert’. So I scoured the internet to see if there were tickets left to the concert and I was in luck. It looked like someone had given up their two tickets and grabbed the second to last ticket for the concert and it was on the isle! What a concert!
First, I love going to Carnegie Hall during the holidays. It is so beautifully decorated for the holidays and everyone from the staff to the concert goers are in the festive spirit. The concert was called “Under the Mistletoe” with the New York Pops with singer, Ashley Brown who had originated the role of “Mary Poppins” on Broadway.
Here is Ms. Brown preparing for the concert I saw on December 22nd.
What a wonderful concert! Ms. Brown was accompanied by Essential Voices USA which was a choir that sang during the concert. They opened with much excitement the songs “Deck the Halls” and “It’s the most wonderful time of the Year” and then introducing Ms. Brown singing “Jingle Bells” and “Winter Wonderland”. The rest of the concert was filled with traditional Christmas songs and a lot of holiday cheer.
Ashley Brown singing “Winter Wonderland”
Ashley Brown singing “Jingle Bells”
In the middle of the second act, Santa came down the aisle near me and greeted the crowds. I swear I was having a somewhat rough holiday season missing my father and all and when I saw Santa, I really believed it was him. I was so happy to see him as was everyone else in the room. I could see how emotional people were and knew they felt the same way. It looked like everyone just wanted to believe that night and we are talking of a crowd of concert goers who were in their fifties, sixties and seventies. I guest you are never too old to believe in Santa. It has been a rough year for everyone.
The concert ended with a big sing-a-long with Santa, the Essential Voices USA and Ashley Brown leading the “Jingle Jangle Sing-Along” with the songs, “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”, “Frosty the Snowman”, “Here comes Santa Claus” and ending with “Jingle Bells”. Even Santa joined us singing! I swear, that whole concert hall rocked with people singing all the classics and it brought the house down. People were on the feet applauding at the end of the concert. I had never seen so many smiling faces in one spot in a long time.
The Sing a Long with Santa
The next morning, was still singing the concert in the back of my mind as I was preparing breakfast at the firehouse for the Department’s Annual “Santa Around Town”. A group of us got to the firehouse early to wash the truck, so I cooked the traditional Engine One breakfast before we started the wash and decorating. I made a pancake and sausage breakfast for the guys. We had a ball eating, laughing and talking about upcoming holiday plans.
The Brothers of Engine One Hasbrouck Heights before ‘Santa Around Town’
We then got to work washing the whole truck and preparing it for the long trip around Hasbrouck Heights greeting residents with holiday cheer and assisting Santa handing out candy canes to all the kids. It is a long evening but we really lucked out with the weather. It was warmer than usual around 45 degrees and people really came out to see Santa. We had large families of kids and dogs taking group shots with Santa. It is nice to see that people still do believe (See my Blog: The Brothers of Engine One participate in “Santa Around Town” December 23rd, 2018). We had a great time that night.
The next morning it was off to visit my immediate family for Christmas. I know I have visited Woodstock, NY and Cape May, NJ in the past for the holidays (as you have seen in this blog) but it was time to join the family again on Christmas Day. I had not spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my mother and brothers since 1981 and the last time I had spent Christmas with my Mom was in 2010 so it was something I was looking forward to this year.
I spent my morning visiting cemeteries, paying my respect to my aunts, uncles, cousin. grand parents and finally my father, dropping off flowers and arrangements to all locations. I say a small prayer and send my wishes. I think this important at the holidays.
Then it was off for the four hour trip down to my mother’s in Delaware. It really was a wonderful Christmas with my family. We all had not been together for the holidays for such a long time. The last several years I would go down after the holidays and we would spend time together then. Since my father’s passing this is the first time the rest of us have been together as a family.
Christmas Eve was always a lot of fun in my family growing up. We would go over to my parents long time friend’s house from 1969-1981 until my parents divorce. Christmas Day was with my Aunt Elaine and my cousins from 1969-1990 right before my aunt passed away. Those were very special Christmas’s and I will always remember them. Since then it changed from year to year as was Christmas Day. All of us kids moved around the country and with school and jobs everything kept changing.
Somehow the stars aligned this year and we were all available. It really was a nice four days and it was fun connecting with everyone again. My younger brother came up with my niece and my older brother with his husband, so the extended family was all there.
We went to Confucius Chinese Restaurant at 57 Wilmington Road in Rehoboth Beach for Christmas Eve dinner (see review on TripAdvisor) and it was packed that night as if everyone in town had the same idea we did. We spent most of the evening either yelling over the table or saying hello to the dozens of people my mom knew in the community. The town was hopping for Christmas Eve and there were cars all over the place with people eating at restaurants up and down the downtown area.
When we got home after a wonderful dinner and tour of the downtown Christmas tree, we just relaxed in the living room and talked. It was nice to finally catch up with everyone in a peaceful environment. In the back of my mind, I still could not believe how Christmas creeped up on us this year or that it was actually Christmas Eve. I slept like a rock that night.
The next morning it was all hands on deck as I was helping my mother in the kitchen after breakfast. After a quick bowl of cereal and a shower, it was off to chopping, cutting and rolling in the kitchen. My mom said she would need my help in the kitchen helping with dinner which was a surprise as she never lets anyone in the kitchen when she is cooking.
I helped her make the breaded broccoli, the pigs in a blanket, making sure that she tied the crown roast the right way (it took some time) and stuff it and then arrange cookie trays for the dessert. Four of my mother’s friends joined us for dinner so there would be ten of us and did we eat that afternoon. My mother is an amazing cook and host and knows how to entertain at the holidays.
Cooking in the kitchen with my family
We had a nice afternoon of reminiscing about family Christmases of the past, what my mother’s friends were up to and how all of our lives were going. It was a nice evening of good eating and wonderful conversation. My brothers and I even cleaned the whole kitchen for my mother so she could relax and enjoy her guests.
Christmas with my family
The next two days we spent at my mom’s house just catching up and relaxing and my brothers and I each hosted a meal for the other members of the family so that we could give my mom a break from cooking for a large group of house guests.
In the afternoons, pretty much everyone did their thing and then we would meet up for meals. My brother and my niece brought their little French Pug named “Boogie” up to my Mom’s so she would not be lonely. God, did we spoil that dog with attention and treats. She was the cutest most well behaved dog and what was funny was when I was lying on the floor watching a movie with my family, she plopped down next to me on the pillow and slept.
Boogie sleeping next to me
Our first afternoon after Christmas, our family met at “A Touch of Italy” restaurant at my mother’s recommendation. The food was excellent. The most delicious thin crusted pizzas I have had in a long time. The pizzas, pastas and sandwiches are delicious here. For dinner the next night, we went to ‘Big Fish’, a local seafood restaurant my mother wanted to try.
It was now two days after Christmas and people looked like they were having family dinners before everyone had to go back to work. The place was mobbed! Our waiter, Scott, really handled the table well with our ten people. “Big Fish” (see my review on TripAdvisor), is a local seafood restaurant whose most popular dishes is everything fried. A friend of my mother’s said that she always has the fried shrimp when she is dining there. So that is what I had for dinner.
They were like heaven in every bite, sweet and briny and the breading was cooked perfectly. The potatoes and vegetables were also perfectly cooked. Between the entree and appetizers, there was no room for dessert to the shock of my family. Me miss dessert?
Our last morning was tough. My brothers were leaving for home and I was heading up to Cape May that evening to go to the theater to see “The Actors Carol” at the Cape May Theater and spend the night at the Chalfonte Hotel. It was baby steps back into the family Christmas and I still wanted some time alone for the holidays.
My mother made a big family breakfast and then we said our goodbyes over a fritata and sweet rolls. It was nice being able to spend some time with my brothers who live in other parts of the country and my niece who was off from school. We chatted on about the holiday and what we were doing for New Years and then it was off to travelling for all of us.
For the first time, I took the Lewes-Cape May Ferry from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey (see review on TripAdvisor). It was about an hour and a half and had it been a warmer sunny day it would have been a beautiful trip. When I got there, I sat outside and watched dolphins swim by us. Of course, it had to be a cloudy day and then started to get cloudier and sprinkled so I spent the rest of the voyage inside watching a tourist film. I was able to watch the bay go by and it is quite a site. There is a beauty to the Delaware Bay.
I got into Cape May within the hour and settled at my hotel. I had just been at the Chalfonte in September for the Firemen’s Convention and the town was still hopping with tourists. It really has become a big destination for the holidays. It is funny though to see the main hotel closed for the season. It really does look haunted at night when only the spotlight is on it. The place was buzzing when I left nine weeks earlier.
The Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May.
I settled into the Southern Annex (see review on TripAdvisor) and took a nap before the show. It had been a long but fun four days. It was nice to just relax and be by myself now. It was funny what a year can bring to you and how different you can become. I guess I was no longer that person that needed Cape May or Woodstock anymore. They were perfect for their time in my life but even I felt it was time to step out in the world again.
The show was funny that night. “The Actor’s Carol” was a take on the classic “Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. The star of the show within a show was a Prima Donna whose best acting days were behind him and made everyone miserable in this small town production. He was in turn visited by three ghosts from his past to show him how he got to where he was in life. It was not the most original show but very clever in premise.
After the production was over, I looked for a place to eat but a lot of the popular places were either closed for the holidays or closing for the evening. Just wanting a snack after the show and before going to bed, I stopped at Dellas 5 & 10 at 501-503 Washington Mall (see review on TripAdvisor) in downtown Cape May for dinner. This small drugstore has a soda fountain and restaurant in the back like Woolworth’s did years ago. The food is very good and the burger I had was well prepared. I had fun as the only customer talking with the waiters.
I walked all over downtown Cape May that night as I had the year before. It just seemed different this year as the experience was surreal. It was still Christmas to me but I just felt changed by the last four days. Still downtown was beautiful with all the lights on the trees, the creative window displays and the bells from the church sounding in the back. The gazebo in the main square still had the Christmas lit up and that put me back into the Christmas mood.
The Gazebo in downtown Cape May
I got back to the hotel and slept like a log. All this driving and running around got to be too much on me. The hotel annex was really quiet even though it was full of guests. I did not hear or see anyone in my time at the hotel.
The next morning as I checked out, I was surprised to see Uncle Bill’s Pancake House at 261 Beach Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor and DiningonashoestringinNYC@Wordpress.com) open this year. It was locked shut last Christmas. I guess they figured the town was busy for the holidays and trust me, a smart choice as the restaurant was busy. They have the best breakfasts and their pancakes and scrambled eggs are cooked in butter so there is some extra caramelization to them. The service there is always so friendly and welcoming.
Uncle Bill’s at 261 Beach Avenue
After breakfast, I walked the downtown again, walked all through the Congress Hall Hotel, where I stayed last year for Christmas (See Day One Hundred-This is Christmas) and then visited the Physick Mansion for another Christmas tour of the house (See TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.com). It is always a nice tour and the mansion is so nicely decorated for the holidays. The tour like everything else in Cape May was busy. It was sunny and around 48 degrees that morning.
After the tour, I left Cape May, probably to see it later again in the Spring and then headed up the Jersey Shore line to visit Margate and the Lucy Elephant statue (see my review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). I had not climbed the top of the elephant yet and since it was a nice day wanted to take the tour before the statue closed for the day. I drove up the shoreline to Margate, NJ and got there by 2:00pm.
The famous Lucy the Elephant in Margate, NJ
I got on the tour which was just about to leave and we climbed the whole statue and got to the top of the ‘howdah’, the transport on top of the elephant. That was the reason why I went the statue. I had not been able to go to the top in 2015. It is the most beautiful view of the ocean and the best part is that it got warmer toward the afternoon. I was able to walk around the statue and by the beach and it must have gone up to 50 degrees.
I decided since it was early to double back to Ocean City, NJ and have some lunch before I drove home. What a spectacular afternoon walking in the Boardwalk. It was crowded because of the weather and surprisingly this late into the holiday week, a lot of the businesses were open.
I was able to go to Johnson’s Popcorn at 1360 Boardwalk (see review on TripAdvisor), which had a line ten deep, for caramel corn. They were making it in small batches and when I started eating it was still hot from the machine. There is nothing like warm caramelized corn on a cool day.
Johnson’s Popcorn 1360 Boardwalk
After that, I went to Manco & Manco Pizza at 8, 9 & 12th on the Boardwalk (see reviews on TripAdvisor) for lunch. Their slices were the best. They make a good sauce and it was so busy that the pies are coming constantly so it was fresh. This is a real Jersey Shore pizzeria and the attitude of the guys working there showed it. You have to visit the Jersey shore Boardwalks to know what I am talking about. As the sun started to go down, it was time to leave. It was getting cooler. I got home later that evening in good time because there was no traffic.
New Year’s Eve was just sitting at home relaxing and calling friends. It looked like everyone was bunking in this year and the fact it went down to 10 degrees on New Year’s Eve night I could not believe all those crazy tourists were sitting in Times Square. I went to bed right after Midnight.
Later that week, I did make a trip up to Woodstock, NY to see their Christmas tree before they took it down but it was down already. The town just seemed depressed when I arrived. I had not been up here since Christmas of 2016 so it had been over a two years since I celebrated a holiday up in the mountains. First, it had a cool damp feel to the town but since you are in the mountains it can be that way. Also, since the holidays were over, a lot of decorations were already down and usually you would keep these up until the Epiphany on January 6th.
The worst was several of the restaurants and clothing businesses that I had remembered from a few years back had gone out of business so there were empty storefronts. It just did not seem like the magical place that I had enjoyed three separate, wonderful holiday season’s. I really wanted to see the tree in the square but you can’t have it all. Still I had lunch at Shindig located at 1 Tinker Street (see review on TripAdvisor) and they have the best burgers and mac & cheese around. It was nice to sit by the window on this cold but sunny day and watch the world go by. I just walked around the town on this quiet afternoon.
The Epiphany brought my only church visit to Corpus Christi Church and the service was nice. The church was still decorated for Christmas so it was the last thing to keep me in the spirit of the holiday. We had our Installation Dinner at the fire department a week later but that is another story Check it out on my blog, The Brothers of Engine One HHFD below.
Overall, it was a nice Christmas. Different from the last five years since my father’s passing but it was time to move on and enjoy the new family traditions we are creating. I was ready for the change.
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