Cape May, New Jersey

We covered a lot of miles in an overnight passage and tucked into Cape May to ride out an approaching front.  We found deep enough water off the Coast Guard Station.  This is a major training facility for new recruits and we enjoyed the chanting of marching seamen and as always loved to hear our National Anthem played every day.  Besides the station, we spent a day ashore in historic Cape May once the weather cleared.  This has been a tourist destination for many, many years with lots of houses from the Victorian Era.  We stumbled across a beer festival that was a fund raiser for an historic house turned museum so seemed like a win/win for charitably inclined beer drinkers.   I could easily have spent more time there but once again, the weather set the agenda.

The town had no public dinghy dock but this restaurant provided one
in hopes you would spend some money with them.  We repaid the kindness
with our lunch dollars.

A view of Cape May harbor from our dinghy dock.  A bit pricey for
our pocketbooks but convenient to downtown.

The old hotels along the waterfront were amazing in their scope and
differences in architecture.

This hotel is said to have "drunken style" architecture since it includes
just about every style popular in the Victorian Era.  If you can't decide
pick them all!

I love this style of house, all the interesting features unique to each house.

Gingerbread and towers are a main feature of the era.

Beautiful gardens were all over town!

Hydrangeas of all shapes and varieties seem to be New  Jersey's thing.

This house is unusual since it has a reverse mansard roof.

Our Lady Queen of the Ocean church.  This is a common name
for Catholic churches long coast line along with a variation of
 Queen of the Sea.

Like a lot of tourist town, they have closed off several blocks to motorized
traffic to make a pedestrian friendly shopping and dining area.

This old hotel is also a major event center turning it's old carriage house
into a catering venue.  Being June, weddings were booked solid.

The cupola on the hotel.  Lots of surfaces to paint.  The finial on the
roof topped was matched by a finial on the original outhouse, boasting
2 seat!

In this section of Cape May, even new construction must comply with
Victorian Era architecture.  Why mess with a good tourist theme.

Near the shore was a Revolutionary War monument.

These were spec houses.  Just like now, owners were able to add
their own touches to a standard model or buy a house ready built.

There were about 10 of these houses built in a row.  It was interesting
to see the individual touches on a standard design.