A short walk around Cape May

On the beach. (Thursday, October 4)

Victorian rigidities were such that ladies were not even allowed to blow out candles in mixed company, as that required them to pucker their lips suggestively. They could not say that they were going “to bed”–that planted too stimulating an image–but merely that they were “retiring.” It became effectively impossible to discuss clothing in even a clinical sense without resort to euphemisms. Trousers became “nether integuments” or simply “inexpressibles” and underwear was “linen.” Women could refer among themselves to petticoats or, in hushed tones, stockings, but could mention almost nothing else that brushed bare flesh.

~ Bill Bryson, At Home: A Short History of Private Life

A sycamore tree in Cape May.

I’m settling back in after a small adventure in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where we visited with friends and family.  I took a bazillion photos, as usual, but haven’t even uploaded them yet so let’s walk around Cape May for a little while.

An evening stroll.

I enjoyed walking some of the streets of Cape May and admiring the houses.  There are over 600 buildings in the historic district of Cape May, many of them in the late Victorian style.  National Park Service historian, Carolyn Pitts, claims that “Cape May has one of the largest collections of late 19th century frame buildings left in the United States… that give it a homogeneous architectural character, a kind of textbook of vernacular American building.”

This looks like a lovely place to sit a spell.

There are some beautiful houses in Cape May, most of which appear to be well taken care of from the outside.  Our trip was short or I would have spent more time exploring the historic district and learning something about the houses and the history, and maybe taken a few more photographs of some of the structures.

Another nice porch.

Cape May has been a summer resort town for a while, booming after the War of 1812 when people would arrive from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., New York, Maryland, and points south by steamboat.

Washington Street Mall area.

M and I did a little exploration of the town on our way to dinner the first night.  The restaurant where we ate was in the Washington Street Mall area and that gave us a chance to walk through some of the nearby neighborhoods as well as the mall.

More of the Washington Street Mall area.

The Washington Street Mall area is described as “the heart of Cape May.”  I suppose it’s really the heart of Cape May business.  There are plenty of shops and restaurants.  One of the good things about traveling by bicycle and being able to carry so little is that I was unable to shop and bring home more than I arrived with.  Whenever I was tempted to buy something I had to ask myself, “Will I be able to carry this back on my bicycle or in my backpack?”  The answer was almost always no, even for small objects.  M bought two small Christmas gifts for our grandsons that he couldn’t resist.  He happened to have just a little extra room in his backpack which allowed him to carry them home.

Night in the mall area.

I reckon that’s enough for what I advertised (in my post title) as a short walk.  Thank you for stopping by.  I see a number of Walktober posts went up while I was away.  If I haven’t been by yet, I’ll get there soon.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Walking down a small alley or mews.

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy:  886)  Beautiful walks around the world with all of you Walktober participants.  887)  A meeting with the county roads department guys today about establishing and kicking off a local Adopt-A-Road program.  The guys were well organized and very helpful.  888)  Learning more about what our county roads department does.  It was very interesting.  889)  This beautiful day.  890)  The blue of the sky on this autumn day.

A giant hibiscus at night.

The Walktober reminders:  This year’s dates are October 14th through the 28th.  I hope you’ll find the time to walk and participate.  (If you need more time, all you have to do is let me know.  If you’re unfamiliar with Walktober, you’ll find a link to a post about it in the sidebar, over there to the right.  Or, if you’re using your phone, maybe it’s at the bottom somewhere.)  I will probably do the round-up of the posts/walks on November 1.  That date depends on whether or not anyone needs and asks for more time.

The Official Walktober Post, the one that you should link to for pingbacks (or you can leave a link in the comments), is this one:  A Monday meander: The Walktober Post.  No worries if you leave your link on one of my other posts.  I’ll be on the lookout for them.

A light in the dark.