Beautiful Cape May

Our vacation was, in a word, wonderful! We had beautiful beach weather..Ava enjoyed making sandcastles and holes in the sand, and Andy loved the ocean. Tim and I got to catch some rays and I even got to read my book!! Tuesday night was our planned family meal at Menz Restaurant, so we all decided to stop and get some family photos. I really wanted pictures of us on the beach, but Tim drove us to a harbor, with a gazebo. Not really what I had wanted for photos, but I didn't say anything. We were all kind of standing around, and then a man came over and shook hands with Tim. I'm thinking, "how in the world does he bump into someone he knows in Cape May"? He introduces me to Dr. Edward Mahaney. I ask Tim if he knew him from the Coast Guard, and he said, "no, he's the mayor of Cape May and he's going to renew our wedding vows." Okay, so now I start to cry. Ava walks over with a little bouquet of blue silk flowers and a headband with a pretty white flower on it, and Andy is holding a sign that says, "congratulations Mom and Dad". Everyone (but the kids) knew about this and I was completely stunned! Tim said he had been planning it for months and had even invited my parents as well. Dr. Mahaney read through the vow renewal and we exchanged rings again, with a beautiful harbor and boats in the background. I told Tim that this ceremony actually meant more to me than our wedding in some ways because this time he really knew what he was getting into! It was beautiful and touching...and I will never forget it, especially since Andy and Ava were able to share in this moment!

The rest of the week was great: shopping at the Washington Street Mall, dinner at our favorite restaurant, The Lobster House, early morning bike rides for coffee and a bagel, evening walks on the beach with the kids, Sunset Beach, seafood, days spent lounging on the beach....what more could you ask for!