Day 123 - Beautiful Beaches but only if you want to PAY!?

Cape May, NJ, is reputed to be the nation’s oldest seashore resort, established in 1812.  The entire town is a National Historic Landmark and it claims to have the largest collection of Victorian houses many of which are now B&B Inns.  The homes have interesting dormers and trim painted in multiple colors for accent.   The Captain and I rented bikes (no gears and no hand brakes like in Solomons Island) from the marine to provide transportation for the day.

We rode down to Beach Avenue which runs along the boardwalk, parked the bikes and started towards the beach.  The beach is fenced with access points every block or so and there is a booth at each one with a sign that tells you the FEES for accessing the beach.  That’s right, you have to pay $6 per person for a 1 day pass, $15 for 3 days and $28 for a season pass.  We had visited many ocean beaches in 7 states so far and this is the first time we were asked to pay.  We refused to do so and walked a little on the boardwalk instead.  It’s not that we can’t spare the $12, it’s just that we believe the beaches should be for everyone to enjoy.

 

 

 

The boardwalk shops were mostly “T-shirt” type but there was a very nice pedestrian mall a few blocks away on Washington Street that had more to offer.  We wandered the mall and had lunch (more yummy crab) at the Fish Market, sitting outside on the mall.  There was an old Colonial House Museum nearby, but it was closed.  We did stop in the small Firehouse Museum.

The Victorian homes/inns are beautiful and the town is very attractive and well-kept.  We could understand why it has been so popular for so long.

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the bikes, we rode 2-3 miles to the Cape May Lighthouse.  The area is also a state park and the NJ Audubon Society has a Bird Observatory here.  Over 360 species of migrating birds stop here in the fall, waiting for favorable winds before crossing the Delaware Bay on their way south.  We ducked in the small museum (thankfully air conditioned) and walked over to the beach.  Since it is a state park, the beach here is free – hooray!  Remember this if you come to Cape May and want free beach access.  We could see an old WW II Bunker on the beach.  Another section of town, South Cape May used to be located here but has disappeared due to erosion. 

 

We stopped into Acme Grocery on the way back for a few things that would fit in the one bike basket we had.  Hot and tired, we turned in the bikes and took much-needed showers.  We walked back to the Lobster House to get some smoked fish, then to another nearby restaurant, Lucky Bones.  The marina staff had recommended the clam-boat pizza – thin crust pizza with cheese and clams on top (no tomato sauce), so the Captain had that.  I opted for the steamed Cape May Little Neck clams and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Back at the boat, we saw on the Weather channel the news that a tropical depression was forming in the south Atlantic off the Florida Coast.  We will be keeping a close watch on that as we continue our journey along the east coast!