On the Way to Cape May

There is something about me and Cape May, NJ. I do not know what it is but when I go to the Marianist Retreat Center, there is just something special about the place and being there. It is like the rest of the world does not exist, my worries are pushed a side and I can focus on the people I am surrounded with and my own faith journey. At any given time I am there, I can meet at least 10 new people and share my life with them and visa versa. There are so many different walks of life that pass through the doors, which makes this place unique in my opinion. 

A little history on how I got involved with the Retreat Center. Not many people know but I was not raised Catholic. My immediate family is Protestant but no longer attends church. There is the usual dinner grace but that is about the amount of faith that circulates. The only reason they go to church is for weddings or funerals. It is the way they choose to live out their faith and that is fine for them, but not for me. 

Rollie, Me, Brother Tom, Toni, David

Leaving the long story for a different post, short story is I became a Catholic at the Easter Vigil in 2010. When I went to college at Rider University, I met a friend named Rollie. Right before winter break of 2011-2012, he invited the organization to attend this College Aged Retreat at Cape May. Four of us including Rollie headed down there. When I first walked in, I noticed that everyone was hugging each other as if they knew each other. It was a bit intimidating at first but within the first hour, I felt as if I was home with people that I had known for years. During the weekend, we talked, laughed, and cried. There was a bond, a connection that was different than any other I had been involved with. At one point during the weekend, I was asked to tell my story, and so I told it in front of the 40 ish college age students that were there. It was a great experience, and I felt comfortable being up in front sharing my story, it inspired people and I was even given great feed back.

By the end of that retreat, I had told the Program Director, Jessica that I would love to volunteer any time they needed help. This conversation occurred in January of 2012. By the end of this summer, I will have volunteered with 14 retreats.  If nothing else tells you how special I think the retreat house is, hopefully the number of times I have been there speaks volumes. Most of those retreats are also week long. Another special thing about the Retreat Center is that even though it is a predominately Catholic organization, it is open to all walks of faith. We have opened the doors to those who are Christian but not Catholic, I have even been on retreat with a Jehovah's Witness. Everyone is welcome to come no matter their faith, no matter where they live.

That is another thing that I enjoy. People come from all over to attend the retreats. We have regulars that come from the tri-state area but also there are those from Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, England, even Switzerland. There are those who have moved away but continue to make the trek to the retreat house for that special quality it has. 

The last feature that I enjoy is that the Retreat House is located 1 block from the beach. The ocean is literally a stone's throw away. What more could you want, to be able to go on retreat and get the beautiful views from the ocean and swim while there.

So that is my plug for the retreat house, but I also wanted to share that since I will be going to Cape May, one thing I have to deal with is meal planning. The Retreat Center provides all the meals for the days but for my own personal lifestyle, while everything they make is amazing, calorie wise I cannot take a chance. So, I have to spend time coming up with a menu for the week that is similar to what they are eating but on a healthier scale (that I can count for LoseIt!). For the last two weeks I have been creating my menu and after having some monkey wrenches thrown into my week at the Cape, I finally have my menu printed and finalized. Now it is a matter of either cooking the food or getting the dry food together. That is what I will be doing the rest of the night, and that is fine. Thanks to the cook, Andrea who gives me the list of meals ahead of time, I will be prepared to dine with everyone else and not be obsessing about not knowing calories or feeling singled out.

☺Ashley☺