Cape May Walkabout. What the traveler saw; it's all in the details.

Long term readers may recall my previous posts about Cape May.  If not you can see them here and here.  Diaristfamily is monotonously repetitive.  If we liked something last year, chances are good that we'll like it this year as well.  And so, dear reader, we once again embark on the hour long drive down the Garden State Parkway to Exit 0.  The main draw for the diaristwomen along for the ride is shoe shopping at Casale's on Washington Street and the Shoe Rack, just across.  Sadly, neither Casale's or the Shoe Rack ever seem to have my size in stock; this leaves your diarist unencumbered for an hour or so.  Did I remember the camera?  Well, yes, as a matter of fact I did.

A proper "Fred" bike very much like my old blue female Phillips 3-speed.  My bike doesn't have the front wire basket but does have collapsible wire rear baskets similar to the ones above.  A most suitable conveyance to/from the island liquor store.  

As you might have guessed from the title above I'm going to zero in on small differences and details during this stroll.  The row of cottages above is a good as any starting point.

How many differences can you see in this photograph?  (sort of like those picture puzzle photos in the Sunday newspaper)  The three houses, white, grey and yellow all have porches but all have acquired differences over the years.  The grey house has a second story porch while the white house does not.  The main porch of the white house has arched trim unlike its neighbors.  Two of the houses have retained the decorative piece at the roof peak.  One could spend hours picking the picture apart.

I liked the various shades of green on this house:  the main sea foam green is contrasted against the darker shades of the shutters, awnings, and foliage.  All those greens are set against the verticality of the porch columns, railings and awning stripes.

When walking around Cape May one needs to look down as well as up.  I like this solution of mixing "hardscape" with "softscape".  The grass growing in a symmetrical pattern provides visual interest as well as more practical percolation for this driveway.

A vision through the equisetum.

OK, a less arty view.  I like the mahogany doors and cedar shakes on this little garage--or is it more noble-- a boat house perhaps?

Here I liked the interplay between the hanging basket and the tapered columns.

The swirling snickarglädje (carpenter's joy is a close translation) above the second story porch roof of this house evokes creamy breaking waves on a blue sea.

If this house had twin chimneys it would look like a steam boat plowing through the foliage!

"For ladies & gentlemen on seaside holiday".  A tad pretentious or merely an innocent attempt to capture the phraseology of a supposedly more genteel era?  You decide.

Another "grand" bit of signage.

I find this little sign a bit more welcoming.

This porch interested me because it was built on a diagonal.  Kinda reminds me of a "cow-catcher" on a steam locomotive.

Zooming in on the porch details.

The greens played against the cream are very soothing.

I could see myself sitting on that porch, with an appropriate beverage of course--more the life of a dilettante than a proper gentleman.

This little roof adds interest and practically to the adjoining doorway.  House painters in this town will NEVER go hungry.

One of the best signs in town.  The lunch menu is limited but well done.

After a successful hunt at Casale's the diaristwomen were kind enough to save me seat.

The sky that day looked more like fall than early summer.

The crisscrossed mono-filament above the lighting is a sea gull deterrent.

This pair of laughing gulls were desperate to figure it out.  We finished before they could.

Back at diarist HQ after a good day out.  Daylilies in our garden.