Sunset
I don’t know what I was expecting from Cape May, so I can’t say if it lived up to my expectations, or not. I’m not even sure how I knew about this little place right at the very bottom of New Jersey but, as I came to the end of the GSP and hit the 35mph speed limits of this isolated enclave, I felt like I was travelling back in time. Never mind the 21st Century, the 20th Century hasn’t even arrived here yet. It reminded me of a 1950’s sci-fi ‘B’ movie; I half-expected tall plants with poisonous whipping attachments to come wobbling around the corner, from behind the lighthouse.
This place is very local. Looking towards the town, you half-expect to see a climbing frame in the yard of a one-room schoolhouse, crows coming to squat from miles around, waiting for their chance to peck out your eyes. Or, gazing down to the sea, I pictured slug-like seatanks slithering up the beach, flinging their deadly tentacles hither and yon.
This place is very local. Looking towards the town, you half-expect to see a climbing frame in the yard of a one-room schoolhouse, crows coming to squat from miles around, waiting for their chance to peck out your eyes. Or, gazing down to the sea, I pictured slug-like seatanks slithering up the beach, flinging their deadly tentacles hither and yon.
Lighthouse
Alternatively, you could see it as quaint. Me, I have read too much John Wyndham and seen too many Hitchcock movies; I expected disaster to rain down at any second.
The beach here is great though, and the view is not what I would call spectacular, but you can see all the way to the horizon. The Cape May lighthouse is, well, a lighthouse. I’m sure I should be impressed, but it’s a tall, thin white phallus with a big bulb up top, much like any other similar structure, as far as I can see. And, it’s a good bit in land, which, I would have thought is a bit of a drawback. I mean, you’re taking your date out on the company oil tanker for a moonlit trip around the horn, and a bit of hanky-panky on the bridge, when you see the flashing light. Oooh, I’d better steer clear of that by a couple of hundred yards, you think, when there’s this horrible metallic, grinding sound and you’re ankle deep in bilge. Next thing you know, you’re in the visitor’s car park at the lighthouse, half a mile in land and CNN is crawling up your ass cause the sea birds are covered in crude!
That’s if you’ve not parked the bloody thing on the old WWII gun emplacement, just a little further down the beach.
The beach here is great though, and the view is not what I would call spectacular, but you can see all the way to the horizon. The Cape May lighthouse is, well, a lighthouse. I’m sure I should be impressed, but it’s a tall, thin white phallus with a big bulb up top, much like any other similar structure, as far as I can see. And, it’s a good bit in land, which, I would have thought is a bit of a drawback. I mean, you’re taking your date out on the company oil tanker for a moonlit trip around the horn, and a bit of hanky-panky on the bridge, when you see the flashing light. Oooh, I’d better steer clear of that by a couple of hundred yards, you think, when there’s this horrible metallic, grinding sound and you’re ankle deep in bilge. Next thing you know, you’re in the visitor’s car park at the lighthouse, half a mile in land and CNN is crawling up your ass cause the sea birds are covered in crude!
That’s if you’ve not parked the bloody thing on the old WWII gun emplacement, just a little further down the beach.
A WWII Gun Emplacement in South Jersey
OK. It's a blokey thing!
Yes, that's what I said: a WWII gun emplacement. Think about that for a second…
Today, this concrete monster is on the beach. Not that long ago, it was well out at sea. When it was built it was a good bit inland. This part of the coast can’t seem to make up it’s mind whether it is reclaiming land from the sea, or the sea is puking up huge chunks of NJ.
Initially, you see this and think, bloody hell, that’s big and concretey. I’ll bet it was impressive with those huge guns poking out into the sky. The natives are impressed and very proud of this structure. Part of their war-time coastal defence system, and all.
Yes, that's what I said: a WWII gun emplacement. Think about that for a second…
Today, this concrete monster is on the beach. Not that long ago, it was well out at sea. When it was built it was a good bit inland. This part of the coast can’t seem to make up it’s mind whether it is reclaiming land from the sea, or the sea is puking up huge chunks of NJ.
Initially, you see this and think, bloody hell, that’s big and concretey. I’ll bet it was impressive with those huge guns poking out into the sky. The natives are impressed and very proud of this structure. Part of their war-time coastal defence system, and all.
Then, the cogs start moving and things start to click into place. WWII? Wait a cotton-picking minute, Rudoplh! When was Southern New Jersey last attacked by anyone, let alone during WWII? I figured out that this must have been built out of paranoia, over the perceived threat of Hitler’s propaganda of bombing East Coast USA by Zeppelin, long-range V-bombers, atomic midgets, or whatever other bullshit Joe Goebells spouted. Of course, it did seem a little churlish to mention this to the couple from Kansas, who had made this trip especially to see this, because when they came here six years ago it had been underwater!
Having had my fill of WWII gun emplacements for one day, I decided to head to the place I'd driven all this way for: Sunset Beach. It sounds like a really bad soap, and in some ways it looks like it. You expect such a grand name to be an equally grand place, but this isn't The OC. This is The NJ. As such, it all looks so much crappier than if it were anywhere else.
Having had my fill of WWII gun emplacements for one day, I decided to head to the place I'd driven all this way for: Sunset Beach. It sounds like a really bad soap, and in some ways it looks like it. You expect such a grand name to be an equally grand place, but this isn't The OC. This is The NJ. As such, it all looks so much crappier than if it were anywhere else.
Sunset Beach
Like at Asbury Park, Sunset Beach has that post-nuclear look and feel and, whilst the view and the sunset is truly stunning and one of the best I've ever seen, it is all so run down and shabby. If I was being generous, I would say it was untouched and unspoiled by the corporate whores that run our lives; but it isn't. It's unloved, neglected and rather sad.
In dog terms, Newport Beach CA would be a pampered, pedigree pooch with a string of names longer than your arm. Sunset Beach, on the other paw, is a mangy, yellow dog, called Geddoutofit!, rifling through your garbage.
That said, there is a surprising amount of interesting stuff to see here. The lighthouse, the gun emplacement, the sunset, and the wreck of a concrete ship. Yep, that’s what I said: concrete. The scarcity of steel during World War I forced America to build ships out of, well, other stuff. Staggeringly, they came up with concrete. I know, exactly what you’re thinking: the very same stuff that Mob victims find their feet encased in, believe it or not, actually floats when it's shaped like a boat.
That said, there is a surprising amount of interesting stuff to see here. The lighthouse, the gun emplacement, the sunset, and the wreck of a concrete ship. Yep, that’s what I said: concrete. The scarcity of steel during World War I forced America to build ships out of, well, other stuff. Staggeringly, they came up with concrete. I know, exactly what you’re thinking: the very same stuff that Mob victims find their feet encased in, believe it or not, actually floats when it's shaped like a boat.
SS Atlantus
The S.S. Atlantus was one of a dozen concrete ships that were built, and it criss-crossed the Atlantic several times, hauling cargo and troops. But when steel again became available, the S.S. Atlantus was mothballed.
In 1926 she was docked in Cape May when a storm broke her loose and ran her aground, just off of Sunset Beach. She couldn't be pried off of the bottom because she was made of, well, concrete. For the last 80+ years her slowly crumbling hulk has been a tourist attraction, although not much of her is left to see.
In 1926 she was docked in Cape May when a storm broke her loose and ran her aground, just off of Sunset Beach. She couldn't be pried off of the bottom because she was made of, well, concrete. For the last 80+ years her slowly crumbling hulk has been a tourist attraction, although not much of her is left to see.
An unobstructed view to the horizon
I was determined to stay here and watch the much-lauded sunset. The thing is, at Sunset Beach, you have an uninterrupted view to the horizon, give or take the odd concrete-hulled shipwreck.
And, it is one of the most spectacularly beautiful sunsets you will ever see… and all the pictures were taken without the aid of a tripod!
And, it is one of the most spectacularly beautiful sunsets you will ever see… and all the pictures were taken without the aid of a tripod!
