As we had taken the early ferry from Delaware, we arrived in Cape May mid morning.  We had hours before we could check into our historic Bed & Breakfast.

We thought we would begin with a trolley tour.  It departed from the historic square area an hour later so we walked around a bit first.

We came upon the bell from the SS Cape May.  The ship was built in 1943 and served in World War II. It later served in peacetime commerce and was retired in 1969.  The ship’s bell was presented to the city in 1974.

We boarded the trolley and began a tour of Cape May, our nation’s oldest seaside resort.  It was used as a summer escape as early as the 1700s.   Residents in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington were flocking there from the early 1800s. Back then the town was more accessible by water than by land

The number of pilgrim era descendants in Cape May is second only to Plymouth, Massachusetts.

In 1851 there were three casinos in Cape May.  When a woman from New Orleans won $1,000,000, they banned women. 

Our tour was an interesting description of the Victorian houses and residents. This house was built for $1800.

This is the Inn at Cape May. Both Wallis Simpson and Estée Lauder liked to give parties at the inn.

The use of shingles as siding was invented in Cape May.  We’ve seen that weathered gray shingle look on both coasts. 

This house was once owned by the Stetson family.  The new owners found lots of hats in boxes when they moved in.  They threw them out.

This yellow house was built by the brother of Norman Rockwell.

In 1878 a fire destroyed 40 acres on the west side of Cape May.   The fire started in a hotel.  The Pinkerton Agency investigated but could not determine who was at fault.  No one was ever charged.

After the fire, some smaller “summer homes” were built instead of rebuilding the large mansions and hotels. These eight cottages were built for a total of $50,000.  

We walked by them several times and liked to notice the subtle differences.

Cape May was named a National Historic City in 1976 based on the number of Victorian homes. Cape May buildings have the most original stained glass of any city in the US. 

At the end of our tour, it was time to find our lodgings.

We stayed at The Bedford Inn, one of the top five Bed and Breakfasts in Cape May.  Victorian Bed and Breakfasts and boutique hotels are far more common in Cape May than chain hotels.

Built in 1883, the Bedford Inn features 10 guest rooms with period antiques. 

It is described as a “mother-daughter” house, side-by-side front doors that open to parallel stair- cases and separate living quarters.  Once a family home, it was converted to apartments, then a bed-and-breakfast.  A passage- way was opened to join the two homes to become one.   The subtle exterior is more representative of the Victorian style than the bright colors often seen.

The interior has dark woods, ornately furnishings, gilded mirrors, floral carpets, and vintage lighting.

There was one bedroom on the ground floor and it was ours.  That was a nice thing when we didn’t have to carry our suitcases upstairs but not so great when people sat outside our window talking well into the evening.

One morning, we visited with sisters who meet at the Bedford Inn yearly. They have developed a delightful routine of breakfast at the inn, relaxing, ice cream for lunch, reading, wine at 3:00 and then dinner at one of Cape May’s many wonderful restaurants.   What is possibly better than that?

Overall, it was a delightful stay. 

We were in Cape May in May 2024

Next Up: More Cape May

PS  Blog Post #400

I interrupt our trip to the East Coast to make note of this, our 400th blog post.  Have you been with us since the beginning?  

Randy started, named, and wrote the first few posts himself as we were preparing to sell our home and possessions in Boise and launch our full time RV adventure.   

I wrote us through our RV life from the summer of 2014 to the summer of 2018 when our plans were derailed by health issues.  

I continued to write as we chose to leave the RV, and the road, and remain in the Phoenix area.  Since the summer of 2019, our posts have highlighted our adventures living in Arizona and our travels in the US and internationally.  At this point, I still enjoy writing so plan to keep on.  

I tried to determine a list of the most read posts over the years.  I sometimes look at the stats and reports and always see that there have been readings of What’s Under the Lake?.   I assume it must have been tagged by the town, state park or tourist site in Cascade, Idaho because that post has had over 1700 views.  The post was fine,  but it was not that much better than the rest!

Other posts that have been read repeatedly are No Body Contact With the Water and Our “Problems” With Antelope Canyon…

The post that we have read again and again is Elko’s Last Blog.  Randy read it everyday for a whole year after we lost our boy.  Many of you may remember it too.  His people loved him and he knew it every day.

Whenever you joined us, and whatever your favorite post might be, thanks for coming along!