Hey Everybody,
It rained through the night and into mid-morning, but once I hopped on the ferry in Delaware I never felt another drop. The Delaware Bay was a bit choppy this morning, but not bad....please tell Heidi it was nothing like those "big ass waves" on the river! You can also tell her that nobody would let me drive the ferry, even though I told them I'm kind of a boat captain :-). The ferry terminal looks a bit like a lodge inside with comfortable chairs and tables. Every airport should be so cozy!
Anyway, about 90 minutes later the ferry arrived in Cape May, my first stop in NJ. I waited to get here to buy gas just get full service - NJ is the only state where every station is full service. Thus, the first local I spoke with was the station attendant/owner. He told me that 85% of his customers are tourists (most out of state). He also told me that at 6am one morning in another town I shall not name....a friend of his was shot 13 times upon opening the gas station. Kinda hard to NOT stereotype a place when murder is the first story you hear! On a related note, every hour or so the local radio stations run a public service announcement about how to quietly text terrorist concerns to the transit authorities! And, an officer and drug or bomb-sniffing dog ride the ferry too.
Anyway, Cape May is known for its Victorian homes. No pics since I already posted some Victorian homes, but there are many beautiful and colorful homes. Lots of stuff on the Jersey shore is closed right now... stores, restaurants, lighthouses. But I'd rather be here now...must be crazy in the summertime!
Cape May Point State Park is both a wildlife refuge and home to the Cape May Lighthouse (1859). The tip of Cape May is Sunset Beach. That's where one of the experimental concrete ships built during World War I ran aground during a storm. The amazing thing to me is that the concrete ships completed any Trans-Atlantic voyages at all!
I'm not proud, but no trip to NJ would be complete without a visit to see Lucy, the world's largest elephant! I did not pay ($7) to climb up the elephant's butt for a guided tour....but I was here...driving around all the Monopoly Game streets! And I will tell you that Margate has some beautiful homes....hard to believe it's SO close to Atlantic City, which has more poor roads than good ones and just wasn't attractive at all!
Wildwood's amusement park is basically closed...might be open weekends now, but I won't be here to find out. I tried to visit the Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City, but it's closed on Tuesdays, so we all get to see it from the street. It's the tallest one in NJ and one of the oldest (1857) in the country. I wandered west to Millville - more Victorian homes, although few as nice as those in Cape May. In 1941 Millville established America's First Defense Airport & trained fighter pilots. Millville is beginning to rebuild with an arts district - rooted in the town's previous history with glass-making.
Did you run into any members of the mob? Get your clock cleaned? See Donald Trump? (I played slots at his casino in Atlantic City once.) SL
ReplyDeleteBummer about driving the ferry. I'd let you drive the Nissan...
ReplyDeleteDO NOT take MB up on that offer!
ReplyDeleteHey MB!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the offer....one of you can tell me why I shouldn't when I get to MT. but, I gotta tell you that a Nissan just isn't quite the same....unless you let me drive it IN Lake Elmo?!