Cape May is located on the southern tip of NJ in Cape May County,

on an island south of the Cape May Canal.

Cape May Lighthouse
215 Lighthouse Avenue, Cape May Point State Park, Cape May, NJ 08204

The Historic District encompasses Cape May City

where there are many preserved Victorian homes.

I definitely recommend a little extra time exploring

the streets of this city.

Cape May City (Historic District)

Our 13.9 mile ride started and ended along the beach at Sunset Pavilion.

Here are the details of our ride: https://goo.gl/maps/Wfs2JDykinFN8oMd8

and here is a screen shot of the map.

The ride is in the busier areas of the island

so off season in April was a perfect time.

I would not attempt this ride in peak season.

Oh, and Cape May has clean public restrooms along the beach!

A Beachfront Gal Gets a Lift

We've been to Cape May so many times,

but only to the Lighthouse, Sunset Beach and the Lobster House.

Riding the streets was new to us

and finding all these beautiful Victorian homes

was a delight.

Fishing Boats, Cape May, NJ

But what impressed me most was

the Fishermen's Memorial.

Fishermen's Memorial, Cape May, NJ

I had never given much thought to the hidden cost of seafood.

The fishermen who risk their lives to bring seafood to our tables.

The list of names lost at sea here gave me great pause -

And often many from the same family lost together.

The disabled Motivation returns by power of a tug.

When I came home I researched some of those wrecks,

but so far have only found details of a few.

Here are details of one from 1921

11 FISHERMEN LOST OFF JERSEY COAST.

Cape May, N.J., Nov. 1. -- Eleven fishermen were drowned last night off Anglesea, when they went out to take up their nets for the Winter. They were employed by the Hilton Fishing Company of Anglesea. Two boats, lashed together, went off shore to pull up the pound net poles, which are sixty-five feet long and weigh over one hundred pounds each.
It is supposed by Captain James A. Price of the Coast Guard Station of Anglesea, they pulled up the poles and started in shore when the heavy seas on the Anglesea bar caused their boat to fill and capsize. The seas were running high on the Anglesea bar at the time.
Augustus Hilton, former Mayor of Anglesea, President of the Hilton Fishing Company, notified
Captain Price that the men were missing at 8 o'clock last night. Despite the heavy sea running, Captain Price and his crew put to sea and searched the coast from Sea Isle City to Cape May for the boats. Not a light or a boat could be seen. At daylight the Coast Guard crew put back to the beach. Captain Jesse Hearon of the Coast Guard station at Stone Harbor on being notified put out to sea, but after an all-night search failed to find the boats.
Those in the boats were:

CHARLES STEVENSON of Dennisville.

RICHARD STEVENSON, a brother of Charles Stevenson.

JOHN LUNDY, Anglesea, whose body came ashore at Wildwood Crest, as did the bodies of the STEVENSON brothers.

Captain ANDREW HANSON, of Anglesea, commander of the two boats.

CHARLES JOHNSON, Anglesea.

Captain GUNNY JOHNSON, Anglesea.

JOHN JOHNSON, of Anglesea.

Captain GEORGE NICHOLSON, of Anglesea, who leaves a wife and two small children.

HARRY KEEN, of Brooklyn.

N. T. DALSTROM, of Brooklyn.

TONY DOMNICO, of Wildwood.

Crowds of anxious watchers lined the beach all day hoping that some one would survive the big seas and heavy tides that have prevailed on the New Jersey coast. Only the three bodies have washed ashore. It is thought that the southerly breeze now blowing will set the bodies on the Delaware shore.

New York Times New York 1921-11-02

And here is a link to another lost at sea story from 2009.

Vintage Bath House, maybe?
Sunset Beach, NJ

We lunched at the Lobster House Take Out, and at on their pier.

It was a little more somber experience having just visited the memorial.

Fishing Boats at the Lobster House, Cape May, NJ

Yes, I've watched Deadliest Catch,
but that is in the Bering Sea.
I had never thought of that with respect to Cape May, NJ!

WW II Lookout Tower, Cape May, NJ

There are more photos from this set here
which includes photos of the names lost at sea
and of course more photos of Victorian homes.

Cape May Harbor, Delaware Ave. Cape May, NJ

Mostly flat on road ride.
13.9 miles + exploration.

Allow 1/2 day to include exploration
or about an hour + for the ride
without stops.

“I GO DOWN TO THE SHORE

I go down to the shore in the morning

and depending on the hour the waves

are rolling in or moving out,

and I say, oh, I am miserable,

what shall—

what should I do? And the sea says

in its lovely voice:

Excuse me, I have work to do.

― Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings

''Going to the shore."
It's a Philly speak
for going to the Jersey beaches.

Down the Shore Everything's alright.

Once we are at the shore,
typically at a beach house,
now we say,
"Let's go to the beach."

The Pier at Embury Ave.

Each beach town along the Jersey shore
has its own personality.
But God has reserved
a square mile at the shore too.
Ocean Grove, God's Square Mile at the Jersey Shore.

Thornley Chapel (Photo from a summer visit)
Pilgrim Way, Ocean Grove, NJ

In 1869 a group of methodist ministers
wanted to find a place
where people could rest their nerves and minds
from the taxing rate of life-style changes
the Victorian era ushered in.
(If they only knew what the information age
was about to bring.)

The Great Auditorium
Pilgrim Way, Ocean Grove, NJ

They sought a place where
"religion and recreation could go hand in hand."
Rev, Ellwood H. Stokes, Founder

An entire Victorian community,
The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association
evolved on this premise
and was granted as a place set aside for
perpetual worship of Jesus Christ.
Imagine that?
Not quite The Jersey Shore
you see on reality TV, huh?

One Victorian, Two Victorian
Ocean Ave.

Better yet, Ocean Grove has not plowed under
it's Victorian architecture
and replaced it with plastic housing
like most shore towns.
Instead, they have embraced it.

Yester-year
Ocean and Main Aves.

When Philadelphians think Victorian + Beach =
they believe the answer is Cape May.
I think they think incorrectly.
Victorian + Beach = Ocean Grove.

Family Lunch
Nagle's on Main Street

Walking down the quiet tree-lined Main Street,
families stroll together and great you as you pass.
(That kinda catches random Philadelphians off guard!)
If we all had long dresses and parasols
it would be just like Victorian times.
Now, that's my kinda place.

I'll Have Another
Soda Fountain at the Apothecary

But since the in-laws
have vacationed further south in Stone Harbor, NJ
for some outrageous amount of generations,
Ocean Grove will remain a day trip for me
anytime I need to rest my nerves and mind
from the taxing life-style changes of the day.

It's Cold Outside
Nagle's on Main Street

.......
Which is pretty often, I think.
.......

Here's a summer post from Ocean Grove
including tent city photos.