ENJOY CAPE MAY'S 'PAINTED LADIES'

Those who are looking for a sex travel destination are going to be very disappointed.


For the rest of you, a very pleasant day, week, month or even a lifelong trip to Cape May - NJ's first (& oldest) seaside resort - just may be your 'A' ticket.


There are a ton of things to do here:

Whale & dolphin watching. 


Even when I lived in NJ, I had no idea that you could do this in my home state. I foolishly traveled all the way up to Boston for my Moby Dick encounters. The fact is - that until the industry died around 1850 - this was a major whaling town.

Climbing to the top of a working lighthouse.

Seeing a shipwreck without getting your feet wet.

Walking to a beachside World War 2 era bunker.

Finding 'Cape May diamonds' at Sunset Beach. 


Ok, these 'diamonds' are really quartz crystals (and yes in the raw they do resemble a sort of frosted white pebble.  And, Ok again, they only look like 'diamonds' with a bit of imagination & after being intro-ed to a rock tumbler), but they do flow in continuously & are very easy to spot. 

Strolling down the multi-block Washington Street pedestrian walkway filled with unique shops & restaurants.

Taking a romantic horse & buggy ride.

And then there's the swimming, fishing (CM is the 5th largest commercial fishing port in the US), crabbing, clamming, boating, 3 local wineries, world class bird watching & the sometimes spectator sport of sunbathing. 


But what makes this Cape truly unique is that the town is a National Historic Landmark thanks to it's circa 19th century Victorian houses.

However, since Victorians usually liked their homes to be painted in subdued, somewhat 'muddied' colors, these multi-hued beauties became known as 'painted ladies'.

The best way to see the 'ladies' is on foot. But the $10, 45 minute narrated tram tour gives you so much history & fun facts that it's worth the cost.


For example:

The room sticking out of the 2nd floor (on posts) is the indoor WC. Victorians were so proud at not having an outhouse that they built their 'johns' this way so their neighbors would know that they were rich enough to afford an inside 'crapper'. This design is called 'trading a path for a bath'.


Let's face it. You'd never know THAT by just looking at the house.


And for an extra $8, they'll throw in a stop (& inside tour) at the home of the CM's richest man - Dr. Physick.

It's money well spent - even if they won't let you take any pictures inside (they want you to buy an overpriced book at their gift shop instead).


And the tour ends in that gift shop about 30 minutes before the tram comes back to pick you up. 

My suggestion is to not wait the 30 and stroll back to the town center (about a 10 minute walk) enjoying the painted ladies & their sisters along the way.


We didn't, wasted a 1/2 hour waiting, had to stand on the tram (more people got on than off) so we could see very little & there wasn't one word more of narration (the guide got off to give a tour of   Physicks to another group).


But I did have the time to pose with the Doc's 1915 Model 'T'.

So maybe it was a wash.