the shoulder season

I spent last weekend in Stone Harbor with my whole family. Both my brothers were on fall break, and I took my last two vacation days before I head to Germany on November 3rd (three weeks from today -- wild). Stone Harbor helpfully provided us all with pretty fantastic weather, so warm on Sunday that Dad and I went swimming without need of wetsuits. "Hypothermia sure feels nice," we joked.

The town is dressed up for fall, with corn husks on the lampposts that shed dried kernels all over the streets. It's meant to be monarch butterfly migrating season but we only saw a few here and there; we're thinking maybe next weekend will be actual migrating time.

It's always time for horseshoes, though. Thanksgiving? Christmas? You bet.

We didn't quite make it to any of the local festivals over Columbus Day weekend: Avalon Seafood Festival (I remember bagpipes and chowder as a child, and I still own a carved cedar chest Gran gave me for Christmas that she bought there); Columbus Day/Italian festival in Sea Isle; and, my favorite, the Lima Bean Festival in West Cape May. I'm beyond sad to have missed the crowning of the Lima Bean King and Queen. Maybe next year.