5/27/18 Sunday: Yay for a sleep-in day! Even though I woke up at 5:00, I did not get up. Roll over and snooze some more. We had a little bit of rain over night, but not much. The morning was nice – overcast and upper 60’s, but really humid. I thought about opening the doors and windows, but no – the air conditioner is more comfortable. Relax, have some coffee, and figure out what to do today. It is supposed to rain later. Hey – I know! Let’s get the bikes down and ride to town. DeeDee (Rejoice) said it was a good 45 minute walk to town, so our bikes sound like a better idea. Captain rolled upstairs, had some coffee, and perused the little cartoon map of the area.
He found an advertisement for golf cart rentals. THAT would be a gas! He looked them up online. Are you kidding? We don’t want to buy it! Over $200? What happened to the $40 like in the Bahamas?! I guess we’ll ride our bikes!
There are lots of neat looking Victorian houses in Cape May. I found this one that I am especially welcome at – they had a Welcome flag with a picture of Scoobie Doo on it! (That’s me!)
And then … a turkey?! Yes – a turkey who thinks he owns the road. He was holding up traffic, and wouldn’t budge as the cars got closer to him. I finally got off my bike and shooed him off the road. A lady on the porch on our side of the road told us it wouldn’t do any good. The turkey has a real attitude about “his” road, and likes to hold up traffic. It’s his thing. Welcome to Cape May, she said!
Along the way we saw the Southern Mansion, which is a bed & breakfast. It was originally built in 1863 by George Allen, a Philadelphia industrialist. It was held and used by his family as a country estate until 1946.
We found town, parked our bikes on one of several huge bike racks, and we walked around Washington Street Mall. It is an outdoor plaza, several blocks long, with all sorts of shops. I have never seen so many ice cream shops and coffee shops in one place! This place could rival Seattle for the number of coffee shops that are crammed into a 4 block area!
Right at the corner of the mall stands the Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church. The parish dates back to 1848, and this gothic style church was built in 1911.
This building was in town – we think it could be a bed & breakfast, but we didn’t see any signs. It was pretty fancy and different colors than most!
The Presbyterian church is a stone gothic revival style, built in 1898.
We walked out to the beach…. or more appropriately, the shore. You know – the Jersey Shore! It wasn’t a big busy day on the shore. It was plenty humid at 79%, but only the mid 70’s for temperature – and a bit breezy. We did not go out on the sand, because we didn’t want to pay the entrance fee. Entrance Fee?? Seriously?! Yes – you must pay to go on the shore here in New Jersey. Even to just walk on it!! I must say that I prefer beaches to the shore. Beaches are free for everyone to enjoy. Looks like nobody paid to go out there today.
Apparently the fee pays for the life guards and for keeping the beach clean. $6.00 per person to be on the shore. WOW! 😳 Dogs are only allowed in the winter. I wonder how much they cost.
It was early afternoon, so we stopped in at the Cabana Beach Bar & Grill for some lunch. Captain had a Bloody Mary, and I finally tried an Orange Crush – which is orange flavored vodka, orange liqueur, fresh orange juice and sprite. I’ve been seeing them on menus in the last couple of states, and figured it was time to try one. YUM! This seems like it should be a Florida drink with the fresh squeezed orange juice! I might see an orange press squeezer do-dad thing in my future kitchen! It was fantabulous!
Next stop was a little bakery. I thought it was a good idea to get a couple of pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast. So I picked out a couple of apple fritters. Captain thought it was a good idea to get some fresh baby donuts. For right now. With cinnamon sugar and caramel syrup drizzled on.
Doughnuts = Happy Captain! These little bits of heaven didn’t last long. (He did share with me 😊 )
Until planning this trip, I’d never heard of Cape May. It claims to be the oldest seashore resort town in the United States. It is really a nice beach town, with many nice shops and restaurants. It didn’t feel cheezy or cheap. There were lots of rental bikes, 4 seater peddle buggies, a trolly, vacation rentals and B&B’s. It was pretty busy on this Memorial Day weekend. We biked back to the boat, and watched the clouds come in. The thunderstorms were coming! Sure enough – it winded, and rained, and winded, and thundered and lighteninged, and winded some more. We’ve been thinking about going north on the big water tomorrow. But this weather is not nice! Tomorrow’s forecast still looks better than Wednesday, for doing route option one. But this nastiness needs to settle down. Usually the weather is best first thing in the morning, but tomorrow looks better if we sleep in and leave closer to noon. It’s a 45 mile trip ~ at 8 miles/hour (with current and wind in our face) = 5.5 hours. Hmm. We have reservations at Atlantic City for tomorrow night, and then three nights in New York after that. It is time for Zeus and Poseidon to settle their crazy selves down!
Ned here again in Seattle. As a child in the 1940s, I recall taking the ferry from Cape May to Delaware on a road trip to Florida. I clearly remember waiting for the ferry and trying to understand the sign above the water fountain, “Whites Only.” Cape May is south of the Mason-Dixon Line.