Second Homes
At one time or another, just about everyone in our country dreams about owning a second home. For many it is just that - a dream - but for others it becomes a reality through hard work and frugality.
We realized our dream of a second home in the autumn of 2006. We fell in love with Pocahontas County, West Virginia during a late summer vacation. On the fifth and final day of our stay, we decided to visit a realtor to look at vacant properties. Two days later, back in New Jersey, we bid on and had an accepted offer for 19 acres.
We went to closing on October 4, and our custom built, 2300 square foot log cabin was completed on April 4, 2007. It was done in a remarkable 6 months.
We make the 404 mile trip together once a month. Many months, I go alone another time to cut trees, clear brush, gravel our roads, etc.
There are many parallels between our second home in WV and the second homes that we sell here in the Wildwood area of the southern New Jersey shore. But the biggest similarity is “getting out of your daily routine”.
At our cabin, we never turn on the television unless it’s been raining for a while. We have a library of a hundred books and 575 National Geographic magazines, including every issue since 1956. I read a half dozen NG’s every time I’m there, so it should take me at least eight years to finish. I relish that thought.
We take walks down the many old logging roads on our property. We built a corn feeder that holds 50 pounds of corn at a time. Our dinner guests include 6 whitetail deer, 4 grey squirrels, 1 red squirrel, 2 chipmunks, a half dozen bluejays and a dozen crows. We spend hours everyday sitting at our kitchen table watching them chow down just 25 feet away.
We also built a bird feeder that holds 20 pounds of feed and hangs 14 feet in the air (so it’s bear-proof). Our friends there include nuthatches, black-capped chickadees, bluejays, tufted titmice, hairy woodpeckers, juncos, white-throat sparrows, and more. This bird feeder is in close proximity to the corn feeder, so sitting at our kitchen table often offers a view of so much wildlife that we feel like we’re in a Disney movie.
My point? Breaking out of your daily routine re-invigorates you. It clears your mind of clutter, gives you a renewed perspective on life. It washes away your worries, puts the bounce back into your step.
The Wildwoods offer wide sandy beaches, a world class boardwalk that is 38 blocks long, and countless opportunities to go boating or fishing. There’s restaurants, shopping, a great free county zoo, and a dozen golf courses. You can bike, hike, comb the beach for seashells, or go bird watching.
West Virginia is our sanctuary, our private corner of the world. Don’t you deserve one, too?
- Mountain Man
To find out more about property in Cape May County, NJ, visit our website at http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com