Signs of Spring in Cape May, New Jersey

I remember working on an assignment in second or third grade where we had to go out into nature and find 'Signs of Spring.' We probably had to make some kind of visual presentation, but I don't remember that. I do remember finding buds on trees, tiny leaves, dandelions, and probably pansies. I think of that assignment every year when the trees start to bud, and today as I walked through Cape May on a fabulous five-house Private Home Tour, I identified some Cape May signs of spring.

I did notice more traffic on the southbound highways last night, and I noticed more cars competing with me for the best free parking. But I'm trying to keep this post focused on positive things, so I'll point out that there were many folks biking around the city today. These bikes were parked outside Congress Hall.
It was a warm spring day, so there were quite a few people catching some rays on the beach. You can tell it is not summer because those tents on Steger's...uh, I mean Jackson Street Beach aren't unfurled yet.Tulips, of course. It's actually a little late for tulip viewing, but these looked nice on Washington Street Mall. Cape May takes pride in its tulips because the earliest European residents were Dutch.

So back to that Private Home Tour: loved it. I felt like I was being nosy at first paying money to sniff around other people's homes, but each of the hosts seemed pleased to show off their beautiful homes. I'm going to blog at length about this for the NJ.com Jersey Shore blog, so I won't get into detail here, but I will say this tour was a special treat. Cape May's Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities, the tour organizers, asked that we respect the homeowners' privacy and not take photos inside. Here's a shot of one of my favorites, possibly because the lady of the house is a stitcher and a gardener and that was evident throughout.
Here's my favorite elementary school sign of spring, buds on trees:Each house had a docent stationed on the porch assigned to chat us up until the hosts were ready. One of these docents pointed out something I hadn't realized before. Cape May has trees. Lots of big, old, shade-giving, leaf-shedding trees. Other New Jersey shore towns, not so much. You learn something every tour.

Easter in Cape May

It was a fun Easter: we had brunch at Ballyhoo's in Cape May. Since they are renovating their regular location, brunch (and other meals, too) are being served in the Grand Hotel's Grand Ballroom. It's a pretty place, and the third event I've been to in there in 2009. Before 2009, I had never been inside the Grand Hotel, but had taken pictures of it because it is the hotel built around the World War II fire tower. Since the tower is historic, they couldn't tear it down, so they built the hotel around it and use it for a giant conduit for wiring and stuff. Anyhoo, the Ballyhoo Brunch was good. We ate too much and got our picture taken with the Easter Bunny. the star of the brunch was the delicious strawberry donut.

Afterwards, I took some photos of the tulips and daffodils around town. (Cape May is a little ahead of the Trenton area in bulb flower blooming.

I also took some pictures of Mom's flowers around the yard: daffodils, jonquils, hyacinths, and her favorite, gardenias.