Lighthouseing in NJ on the way to Vermont
First part of trip http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=250465
Second day of trip to Vermont - in Cape May NJ
We didn't set the alarm, but Bob got up about 8 and wanted to know where we would have breakfast. I didn't think he'd want to eat in the hotel because breakfast was expensive, So I said we would find someplace else to eat.
I looked on the website and found that the Cape May lighthouse did not open until 10, so I figured there was no hurry. Landing on the hotel stairs
Bob took my suitcase down to the car and brought the car around and came up to get me - thinking of course that I would be dressed and ready to go.
NOT.
clock behind the checkout desk
But I did pack things up and went down to check out. They gave us a paper which we took with us. The GPS said there was a Dairy Queen near us, but we got confused and ended up driving in circles (I don't think there really was a Dairy Queen).
We ended up on the beach
and stopped behind the hotel at Uncle Bill's Pancake House. Sign for the hotel, clock for the restaurant
We had breakfast here. I had a cheese and bacon omelet and Bob had hot chocolate and oatmeal. That's what he has for breakfast at home along with bacon but he said he would refuse to pay $3.95 for bacon when he could get a whole package of it for half that. You pay in cash - they don't accept credit cards
Then we went to the Cape May Lighthouse.
The lighthouse is in a State Park, which is a key site on the NJ Coastal Heritage Trail, with an environmental center that houses a classroom for interpretive programs and a museum on the area's natural and historic features. Although we came to visit the lighthouse, we also went into the museum
Turtle in the museum
The lady in the Museum told us to ask for the video which showed climbing the lighthouse - it was free and was much easier than doing it ourselves, plus they took us past where visitors can go. Normally I would try to take photos of a movie, but I didn't with this one as we were sitting out in the shade of the lighthouse with a little computer laptop on our laps.
I took my scooter up the ramp to look at the beach. From there I saw people with binoculars observing birds in what I assume was a salt marsh pond.
From there I also saw the World War II Bunker which was built as part of the Harbor Defense Project of 1942. The park was once a Military base, of which the Bunker was a part. At low tide you can still see the gun turrets at the front of the bunker. The Bunker was once 900 feet inland,that is part of the state park, surrounded by earth and covered by sod, it once looked as if it were a hill from the sea or air.
After that we got on the road and went to see Hereford Inlet Lighthouse. Although this was not far, it meant getting on the Garden State Parkway, which is a toll road and you have to pay cash and sometimes you have to pay coin cash - sometimes even quarters. We are running out of quarters.
Garden State toll
This meant getting on the Garden State Parkway, which is a toll road and you have to pay cash and sometimes you have to pay coin cash - sometimes even quarters. We are running out of quarters. As we went through the town of Wildwood, we saw this building and I snapped a quick photo of it - from the car. It turned out to be a HS
We overshot the lighthouse - it looks like the State Police are quartered in a keepers house and we almost turned in there.We had to turn around and go back. Bob didn't get out the scooter. He thought it was so small a place that it wouldn't be worth it. But that was a mistake
Lighthouse against the sun
In order to get photos that weren't right into the sun, I had to go around to the other side of the lighthouse, and I just couldn't do it.
Bob's photo
I ended up giving my camera to Bob.
It's a very pretty Victorian cottage type lighthouse
Then we headed for Atlantic CIty
We stopped at a McDonalds to eat and parked in a handicapped place as there wasn't any other places available. I got water and partly filled one of the water bottles while Bob was drinking his milkshake. Approaching the lighthouse the GPS told us to turn down a street which was closed, but we got there eventually.
I was particularly interested in this lighthouse because my father took a photo of it in 1959, and at that time it looked like this. We parked and got out the scooter. The lighthouse had a very pretty garden
Lighthouse Garden with scarecrow
I was looking to see what the paint colors were in 1959. I talked to a Park Ranger, and he told me all the colors that the lighthouse had been. He said originally it was red brick but that it got lost in the setting sun so they painted it red and white but that had the same problem. I don't think that is a real story though because there are several red lighthouses.
Anyway, apparently when it was decommissioned and was standing vacant, the city painted it in the city colors (blue and yellow). It is now black and white.
I asked the ranger if he would like to have copies of the photo and he said yes. So I sent them to him, and he said he was going to show the photos to his manager, and also to the city planner to show what the city looked like in 1959
There was a time-line exhibit in the oil house
Bob reading a sign
and there were also informational signs on the grounds. I could get the scooter into the keeper's house
NJ flag
Left here about 2:15 to go to Barnegat Lighthouse
Barnegat Lighthouse
I put in the GPS location of Barnegat State Park but when we got there, we realized that the lighthouse in this case was NOT at the state park. Some back-tracking was required. Bob originally thought I couldn't use the scooter because the paths were sand, but it turned out to be paved.
I could actually go all the way out to the inlet.
We got to see some people coming in the inlet against the tide which was running pretty fast.
George Meade bust
I missed going to the old schoolhouse which had a museum about the lighthouse, and of course we did not climb the lighthouse, but we did see the bust of George Meade who built the lighthouse. I didn't realize that he built any lighthouses this far north.
I was unable to get the GPS to recognize and take us to Fair View Cemetery and I was
pretty tired by this time (and I think Bob was too) so we skipped Sea Girt lighthouse and decided just to go to the hotel.
One of the Garden State toll places where they took actual money (as opposed to coins and Bob gave her a five and asked for quarters as change. She gave us two $1.00 coins and the rest in quarters. The people behind us were impatient.
We got to the hotel and the GPS said it was on the left, and it was on the right. But we were three lanes of traffic away from getting to it. I think it took us half a hour to get back to the hotel. It's very confusing around here. Bob just walked across the parking lot to McDonalds and got us something to eat there.
Tomorrow we go to Keyport and Sandy Hook
Second day of trip to Vermont - in Cape May NJ
We didn't set the alarm, but Bob got up about 8 and wanted to know where we would have breakfast. I didn't think he'd want to eat in the hotel because breakfast was expensive, So I said we would find someplace else to eat.
I looked on the website and found that the Cape May lighthouse did not open until 10, so I figured there was no hurry. Landing on the hotel stairs
Bob took my suitcase down to the car and brought the car around and came up to get me - thinking of course that I would be dressed and ready to go.
NOT.
clock behind the checkout desk
But I did pack things up and went down to check out. They gave us a paper which we took with us. The GPS said there was a Dairy Queen near us, but we got confused and ended up driving in circles (I don't think there really was a Dairy Queen).
We ended up on the beach
and stopped behind the hotel at Uncle Bill's Pancake House. Sign for the hotel, clock for the restaurant
We had breakfast here. I had a cheese and bacon omelet and Bob had hot chocolate and oatmeal. That's what he has for breakfast at home along with bacon but he said he would refuse to pay $3.95 for bacon when he could get a whole package of it for half that. You pay in cash - they don't accept credit cards
Then we went to the Cape May Lighthouse.
The lighthouse is in a State Park, which is a key site on the NJ Coastal Heritage Trail, with an environmental center that houses a classroom for interpretive programs and a museum on the area's natural and historic features. Although we came to visit the lighthouse, we also went into the museum
Turtle in the museum
The lady in the Museum told us to ask for the video which showed climbing the lighthouse - it was free and was much easier than doing it ourselves, plus they took us past where visitors can go. Normally I would try to take photos of a movie, but I didn't with this one as we were sitting out in the shade of the lighthouse with a little computer laptop on our laps.
I took my scooter up the ramp to look at the beach. From there I saw people with binoculars observing birds in what I assume was a salt marsh pond.
From there I also saw the World War II Bunker which was built as part of the Harbor Defense Project of 1942. The park was once a Military base, of which the Bunker was a part. At low tide you can still see the gun turrets at the front of the bunker. The Bunker was once 900 feet inland,that is part of the state park, surrounded by earth and covered by sod, it once looked as if it were a hill from the sea or air.
After that we got on the road and went to see Hereford Inlet Lighthouse. Although this was not far, it meant getting on the Garden State Parkway, which is a toll road and you have to pay cash and sometimes you have to pay coin cash - sometimes even quarters. We are running out of quarters.
Garden State tollThis meant getting on the Garden State Parkway, which is a toll road and you have to pay cash and sometimes you have to pay coin cash - sometimes even quarters. We are running out of quarters. As we went through the town of Wildwood, we saw this building and I snapped a quick photo of it - from the car. It turned out to be a HS
We overshot the lighthouse - it looks like the State Police are quartered in a keepers house and we almost turned in there.We had to turn around and go back. Bob didn't get out the scooter. He thought it was so small a place that it wouldn't be worth it. But that was a mistake
Lighthouse against the sunIn order to get photos that weren't right into the sun, I had to go around to the other side of the lighthouse, and I just couldn't do it.
Bob's photo
I ended up giving my camera to Bob.
It's a very pretty Victorian cottage type lighthouse
Then we headed for Atlantic CIty
We stopped at a McDonalds to eat and parked in a handicapped place as there wasn't any other places available. I got water and partly filled one of the water bottles while Bob was drinking his milkshake. Approaching the lighthouse the GPS told us to turn down a street which was closed, but we got there eventually.
I was particularly interested in this lighthouse because my father took a photo of it in 1959, and at that time it looked like this. We parked and got out the scooter. The lighthouse had a very pretty garden
Lighthouse Garden with scarecrow
I was looking to see what the paint colors were in 1959. I talked to a Park Ranger, and he told me all the colors that the lighthouse had been. He said originally it was red brick but that it got lost in the setting sun so they painted it red and white but that had the same problem. I don't think that is a real story though because there are several red lighthouses.
Anyway, apparently when it was decommissioned and was standing vacant, the city painted it in the city colors (blue and yellow). It is now black and white.
I asked the ranger if he would like to have copies of the photo and he said yes. So I sent them to him, and he said he was going to show the photos to his manager, and also to the city planner to show what the city looked like in 1959
There was a time-line exhibit in the oil house
Bob reading a signand there were also informational signs on the grounds. I could get the scooter into the keeper's house
NJ flagLeft here about 2:15 to go to Barnegat Lighthouse
Barnegat LighthouseI put in the GPS location of Barnegat State Park but when we got there, we realized that the lighthouse in this case was NOT at the state park. Some back-tracking was required. Bob originally thought I couldn't use the scooter because the paths were sand, but it turned out to be paved.
I could actually go all the way out to the inlet.
We got to see some people coming in the inlet against the tide which was running pretty fast.
George Meade bustI missed going to the old schoolhouse which had a museum about the lighthouse, and of course we did not climb the lighthouse, but we did see the bust of George Meade who built the lighthouse. I didn't realize that he built any lighthouses this far north.
I was unable to get the GPS to recognize and take us to Fair View Cemetery and I was
pretty tired by this time (and I think Bob was too) so we skipped Sea Girt lighthouse and decided just to go to the hotel.
One of the Garden State toll places where they took actual money (as opposed to coins and Bob gave her a five and asked for quarters as change. She gave us two $1.00 coins and the rest in quarters. The people behind us were impatient.
We got to the hotel and the GPS said it was on the left, and it was on the right. But we were three lanes of traffic away from getting to it. I think it took us half a hour to get back to the hotel. It's very confusing around here. Bob just walked across the parking lot to McDonalds and got us something to eat there.
Tomorrow we go to Keyport and Sandy Hook
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