Driving and wandering through sinuous, captivating Cape May made me marvel at the fierce concentration of Victorian Homes. These were homes like I had never seen (they were functional and aesthetic at the same time, and it wasn't hard to see the upkeep). During my brief brush with the Victorian homes, I drank in every style of architecture: houses with the standard green trim, Queen Anne Revival style homes, and also those that wanted that edgier, post modern touch with Italianate Gothic trim and colors from a pale banana to mandarin orange.

Architect lovers can walk easy here. Cape May has the highest concentration of seaside Victorian homes in the country, and it was the first developed seaside resort town. You'll get more than your fair share of Kodak moments. Don't be surprised to see the sprinkling of IFederal style and Mansard style homes too.

Here are some of the styles of homes you can expect to see if you do the audio walking tour (you can rent the audio devices from Emelen Physick Estate):

Italian Gothic Italian Trim

This house features Italianate Gothic Revival trim. Gothic architecture itself was developed in the 12th century, and in this example, while most of the house is formal, the gables are beautifully detailed and ornate. Italian Gothic architecture itself prided itself on clean gables that got progressively ornate as the centuries went by. Most of the Cape May homes were reminiscent of the early and late Victorian periods, so it's not surprising to find homes stylized by several architectural periods.

Queen Anne Revival

The Inn of Cape May (1894) has Queen Anne style towers and is a summer hotel. It was quite small when it started and added a wing later on. This was so sprawling and magnificient, sitting on a corner block barely yards away from the ocean that it reminded me partly of a Hitchcock setting.

Modified Queen Anne Style: The Merry Widow Guest House

The Merry Widow guest house started its life as a simple farm house and arguably one of Cape May's most colorful structures. I loved the Mansard style roof, the carefully painted shingles, and its impressive castle turrets. This is now a fully functioning guest house with four suites. It was formerly the J. Henry Edmonds House and built during 1875.

Pure Victorian Architecture (Stick Style): The Empress Inn

Beautifully restored by an architectural firm that took great pains to be as authentic as possible when it came to furnishings, paint and trim, The Empress Inn is an excellent example of classic Victorian architecture that stands true to its 1880 style with additions. It was meant to be open to the public as a bed and breakfast but apparently the owners are still up in the air about its plans.

And these are just a smattering of some of the impressive homes in the area. During our brief tour we were mesmerized by the beauty of several other homes that I just wished I had enough money to own:

If "Hansen & Gretel" took place in Cape May, this is probably where the kids would end up….

In the 1998 American fantasy comedy-drama Pleasantville, it takes a remote control and a setting that's so Back to the Future (aka 1950s) to help the plot thicken. Because of the novelty of the retro scenes (and because I didn't grow up in the U.S.), I found the entire concept of the idyllic family and scenes at the Soda Fountain really fascinating. I had never been in a Five and Dime store before, and had never tasted a proper root beer float.

Hence, I found the movie all the more appealing because I treated it as a period piece.

Over the course of the years, I found old fashioned soda shops, watched scenes from The Brady Bunch, and encountered countless TV shows and episodes where the phrase "Honey, I'm home" was widely used. So, I'm not now a stranger to the entire look and feel of the 1950s – 1970s anymore, especially since Mad Men is in full swing too.

During my recent trip to Cape May, New Jersey, I couldn't help but marvel how deeply set in time this area is. We had stayed at a Wildwoods, NJ Bed and Breakfast and I found Wildwood, NJ to be more of a "seaside" town than I had envisioned, and while it was punctuated by modern condos and development it still retained that 1950s flavor.

Cape May is almost all Victorian and Mansard style homes and I expected that, having read so much of the literature about the area before. But I wasn't really prepared for the beautiful street art that I saw there, completely unexpectedly, in a parking lot. Clear blue skies overhead made it a feast of blues.

Most of the streets were quite deserted, except for a few passersby (it was off-season, after all). As you can see, even the parking lot was a bit empty, but the mural filled with scenes from the Cape May skyline, and the stylized, oversized sea creatures filled my heart with joy. There was something totally random yet beautiful encountering this sliver of street art when I predominantly expected "stuffy" Victorian homes and tea shops.

This Five and Dime store/ Coffee House/ Soda Fountain (Margie D's) had me in splits because I had NO idea I would find such an outfit in Cape May, NJ. From the elegant red top bar stools to the yellow and red ketchup and mustard condiment dispensers sitting pretty on the counters, the explosion of colors screamed "retro." Even the workers, appropriately outfitted with bowties and caps, seemed something out of a movie set. Have you encountered any store workers wearing bowties these days? I'll be surprised if you have…

Margie D's is also a great place to get a latte, a cappucino and just unwind. It's located close to the Fudge Kitchen on Washington Street Mall. 

Another aspect of "other worldliness" is the Trolley. These are parked at the Emlen Physick Estate, which is the site for the Visitor's Center and general information about Cape May. Visitors can also hop on the trolley for a guided tour around the resort area. While I've seen trolleys in other cities (San Francisco notably comes to mind), I haven't encountered them in too many U.S. destinations. They add such a period piece element to the traffic (I didn't notice any horse and buggy…that would have been pretty Amish!).

When we finally arrived at Historic Cape May after an uncomplicated and clutterless drive through Wildwoods, NJ and the straw-colored salt marshes on a particularly windy day…

The salt marshes are giant nests; bird havens. On an ideal clear day, you can spot that elusive osprey, and see herons and several other species. Time permitting, visitors can take tours on boats to get really up close and personal.

Historic Cape May is an area with the largest number of coastal Victorian homes in any part of the country, and it was really hard not to ignore the beautiful architecture everywhere (more about the homes specifically in another post).

We parked our car in the center of town and decided to stroll down the famous Washington Street Mall, which is a traffic-less section of town flanked by numerous shops painted in every shade, cajoling visitors to step inside during off-season. 

Being the nation's oldest seashore resort, you'd expect to that hallmark of Americana: Salt Water Taffy stores. Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy, part of the James Candy company, is particularly well known in seaside towns and resorts because Joseph Fralinger did so much to promote the candy in the country.

You can also find some indulgent bath and body stores like Bath Time, which caught my attention because of the colorful entrance and rubber duckies studding the window display. Bath Time features a wall of essential oil blends and bath and body products, as well as hard to find brands like Tokyo Milk bath soaps.

The surprising thing about the stores in Historic Cape May were the vibrant, palpable, almost 3D colors. I felt as though I was in the Caribbean since the color palette was chock full of banana, emerald, jade and lobster shades.

I could have spent hours staring at the bright banana paint on the walls and the green trim on the windows (being a sucker for anything eye popping), but continued to snap pictures on my "gadget free" vacation. There were plenty of beautiful Antique stores.

The Magic Brain was a coffee shop we were recommended to visit because of its soy lattes and hot chocolate, but unfortunately it was closed (side note: who closes a cafe on a Saturday?).

Matt and I relaxed and enjoyed the strong breeze, salty air and the sensory overload of everything Victorian and edgy combined. It was hard not to stare and photograph everything.

Stay tuned for more in the Cape May, NJ series as well as posts on the eclectic, colorful and different styles of Victorian homes in the area.

Before a recent trip to Cape May, NJ, Matthew posed an interesting challenge: "stay an entire weekend gadget free."

I'm sure many bloggers have tried, but failed this experiment. The truth was that I was on the verge of a serious burnout and I needed some weekend time to cool down. A road trip to Cape May sounded like just the ticket.So, we packed our bags for just a night's stay in a bed and breakfast called Candlelight Inn in Wildwood, NJ. Little was I prepared for all the kind of 1950s scenery we would see on our journey.

Candlelight Inn is one of those places you just dream about, or have seen in the movies. A sprawling ten room Victorian home painted in a cheerful bright orange and green, this was a place we fell in love with just on looking at the website and reading the reviews. We had one butterfly in the stomach moment though, when I called the owners, Bill and Nancy, to ask them about a vegan breakfast.

We had one vegan, about twelve years ago, explained Bill. It wasn't a very good experience.

Bill went on to say that the vegan in question was a bit of a snob, and didn't really feel comfortable when others were downing bacon and sausage at the breakfast table. No, we're not like that at all, I explained. All we want to make sure is that we eat something. Bill assured us that he would do his best; I hoped for the best.

After a long, peaceful and quite uneventful car ride down the Garden State Parkway (we had a flurry of traffic only by Atlantic City), we arrived at the Candlelight Inn around 9:00pm. Our "Brass and Porcelain" room was beautifully maintained, with ample refreshments (branded tea, coffee, even several bottles of water in the fridge –gratis–all these amenities add up).

Some elegantly crocheted pillows, a gas fireplace, a cozy cream colored chair and a supremely comfortable bed (an optional hot tub outside–but it was freezing), all added up to a great stay. And the breakfast next morning was beyond super–Bill and Nancy went out of their way to get everything for the vegans (yes, those strange creatures from Mars), including soy yoghurt, granola and berries.

But it was Wildwood, NJ that took me by surprise—it was as though we were steeped in Pleasantville, that movie set in the 1950s. It was quite other worldy to see how deserted the streets were; there was hardly anyone on the Boardwalk (surprise, surprise…this was February after all, and the temperatures really chilly). When I walked on the Boardwalk, I felt this boarded up area with deserted Ferris Wheels and abandoned mini gold lawns was one part Brady Bunch, one part State Fair. But truly–this was miles away from anything Snooki would experience on the set of The Jersey Shore.

(Oh, and about the gadget-free vacation, that didn't last too long but it wasn't a case of Monk, the Obsessive Compulsive Detective, either. We did use gadgets to shoot these pictures):

The Candlelight Inn is one of those truly romantic bed & breakfast establishments perfect for a weekend getaway. On this sunny morning, it was EXTREMELY windy but you can see how beautiful the surroundings are.

We had booked the "Porcelain and Brass" room and you would think that given it's February–the dead of winter–it would be easy to get a room, right? Totally not so! It was quite booked and we were lucky to get a room, and one with a complete parlor to ourselves no less. Everything was so tastefully and beautifully furnished, including branded teas and coffees.

Everything was laid out perfectly and in place, including the crotchet mats, iPod docking station, fresh flowers….

They even had fresh sherry in the decanter for their guests….

So much for a gadget-free weekend! This was our lame attempt to remain "off the grid" but in our defense, I think we took only around 20 pictures total! That's relatively gadget free in blogger terms.

We even had our own cozy fireplace, how privileged is that? In the extremely chilly weather it was wonderful to say the least. And because it's a gas fireplace, you don't have to worry about leaving it on all night long in case you like the toasties.

After a thoroughly restful night's sleep –I think we heard a couple of owls hooting, and the wind blowing nonstop, but that's about it –we woke to a delicious breakfast that Bill and Nancy had prepared for us.

Then, we wanted to drive around Wildwood, NJ itself for an hour or so before driving down to Cape May, and remember that Pleasantville vibe I was referring to earlier? How much more in the era can you get than this sign in front of a motel?

We visited the Boardwalk and found it to be quite deserted indeed, but strangely beautiful….

There's a reason the Candlelight Inn is one of the few Bed & Breakfast establishments listed in the Select Registry of Distinguished Inns in North America. The Registry inspects every one off these Inns and often does so completely undercover.

For reservations, call 800-992-2632 or visit their site.

This week’s Blogger Spotlight shines on Will Peach, who does a bit of everything. He represents the gap year travel blog of GapDaemon as assistant editor  and also has two blogs: one on Spain (My Spanish Adventure) and the other on the slightly saucier side of travel at TravelSexLife.

Q.Tell us a bit about your blog. Who is the target audience (if any) and what prompted you to start travel writing?

Will Peach: Hey Charu! First off let me say thanks very much for having me and interrogating me with all these wonderful travel questions. You do know how I love a good bit of torture!

I guess I’ve always been doing travel writing – ever since I finished University four years ago and found myself living in Vietnam. Back then I was a magazine writer, but that came more out of my lust to write as a career. The travel thing just kind of fell into place alongside that I guess!

Now I wouldn’t swap it even if you put a naked Scarlett Johansson in front of me. But that would make me seriously consider.

Q. Which are a few of the places you've visited in 2011 you've loved and would go back a second time?

 2011 was an interesting year for me as it kicked off in Iceland (an amazing place where I feel lucky to have so many friends) and ended up in Spain.

It was actually this year that I decided to leave my conventional life (and 9-5) and get back out on the road leading the life I do now. Since then I’ve been in Seville, Caceres, Madrid, Granada, Malaga and more in Spain and also Verona, Venice and Milan in Italy.

I’d love to go back to Italy in the summer and spent a few solid months learning Italian. I’ve been trying to do the same with Spanish and have found that I enjoy learning languages very much. Even though I always sound like a robot with my horrible pronunciation.

Q. What do you like most about the travel blogging community? The least?

Being part of the travel blogging community is a massive laugh. There are so many interesting and funny personalities out there that it’s always great to get in touch over social media and things like that – as well as reading everyone else’s blog stories from around the world too!

Perhaps the thing I like most is the fact that there is a massive group of young and laid-back bloggers that don’t take the whole thing too particularly seriously.

The thing I dislike the most is that unfortunately there are some bloggers out there who are a little too unwilling to help or offer support to others. My dealing with these people has been somewhat limited though I’m happy to report!

Q. If you had unlimited funds, where would you go to right now? What would you do?

I would probably do a peninsula tour of South America and spend weeks at a time in each place before moving on. It’s long been my dream to go there – it’s a region that’s fascinated me for some time.

What else? Perhaps I’d feel more free to go and do some volunteering around the world. I’d particularly like to get more involved with WWOOFING and development projects around the world. Having unlimited funds would mean I wouldn’t have to worry about running out of money and could give all my time (and money) to helping others.

There’s nothing particularly extravagant I would want to do!

(Oh dear I’ve just realized I come cross a bit of a hippie there).

Q. Name three items you can never travel without and why?

I’m certain I could never travel without my MacBook or Kindle – both things I use on a daily basis and I could never be untethered from both. They’re my world.

As for the third thing? I’m wracking my brain. I could survive without clothes, I could survive without most luxuries, hmm. Perhaps I’d say my framed picture of travel blogging sensation Matt Kepnes (aka Nomadic Matt)? That’s always a good object to travel with when one is feeling lonely and in need of a cuddle.

Q. Favorite travel book you've read recently? (can be an article too).

I’m currently making my way through Rolf Potts’ Vagabonding and wish it was rather a bit more, well, interesting. In terms of practicality it’s great – it’s just that not much of it is new to me and I was hoping for rather a few more stories.

A great travel series I think everyone would enjoy is Colin Wright’s never-ending travelogue series Exiles. Colin writes (or blogs rather) on a subscription-based model and delivers a few new chapters on his wanderings around the globe every two weeks. His book My Exile Lifestyle is a great read too – especially for young guys who find themselves in a similar position across the globe.

Thanks, Will! If you'd like to be profiled in the Blogger Spotlight Series in the future, drop me a line at charu AT Butterflydiary DOT com.

If you were to ask Mark Thompson about the grand opening of his store, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, he would have envisioned it completely different from what actually transpired.

He took a chance on where he opened the store, for starters. The former fireboat house building needed a fresh coat of paint, and complete renovations from tail to toe. "For years, this part of New York was considered the rock bottom," he told a group of bloggers who visited the store on a trip. "From Red Hook all the way to Greenpoint, this was not the place people wanted to visit."

The fact that Thompson took a chance on the old ferry terminal says a lot about his vision and chutzpah. As Brooklyn's DUMBO area transitioned over time, it became well known for its water purification system. In the 1960s, the Kennedy administration started the water purification laws in the country, and New York "was really the last port to develop its water," says Thompson.

But today, DUMBO is well known for the quality of its water. So well known, in fact, that it's what sets apart Thompson's ice cream from the pack (among technique, excellent freezers and impeccable maintenance). This space was landmarked in the late 1970s and when it became available they were starting to unite the waterfront property in New York City. It was originally a fireboat house station, and then a firehouse. Since the city was in dire financial straits in the 1970s, they chose to close the fire station and that particular building was scheduled to be knocked down. "It was the same people who sought to build in the middle of Brooklyn Heights that kept this open," says Townsend.

So he purchased the building but did not open it to customers until 2001 since it took him four years to go through the permitting process to get a landmark for the business. "There were a lot of people who were upset that someone was going to open a business and make money on –God forbid –a city property," he says.

Thompson's grand opening was supposed to be on Sept. 12, 2001. "I gave away ice cream that Labor Day, we put a card outside, I said just give me two or three days to call it a grand opening on Sept. 12th."

After the September 11 tragedy, Thompson's dream seemed to fizzle into thin air. That particular area had so many Red Cross workers and the office of Emergency Management –which was in the Trade Center–set up in a building there (this has now been knocked down). "It's hard to explain…business wise, I was a nervous wreck," says Thompson. "But when such a tragedy happens it puts everything into perspective. Here I am selling ice cream."

So he did the right thing to do. He started giving away ice cream to those who wanted it. "I saw the strangest thing that happened to my business," he says. After 9/11, no media outlet was writing anything good about the area. It was- -understandably–such drastic news. Because of his sweet spot story, Thompson had a slew of media attention, from The New York Times to Food & Wine Magazine who all wanted news stories.

The fact that Thompson had a sweet spot and a sweet story in the middle of all this mess helped him rather than hindered him. While he couldn't "officially" open in September, he kept thinking that he should still go ahead with the store opening in October. "From October 15, 2011 till today, it's been on an uphill swing ever since." It was a nice little "engine that could" story in a bad time and I'm so thrilled it all worked out for him.

It ended up working out for Thompson and today the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is well known and well loved, serving eight varieties of Ice Cream that don't pretend to be anything fancy. So you won't see any Chunky Monkey or Rocky Road combinations but the friendly staff can create anything you want out of their staples of strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan and other flavors.

Thompson's goal was never to do anything too fancy. He wanted to make "Classic American-style flavor" ice cream, and he chose the eight flavors and has not had to change them once since the opening. 60 percent of his sales come from vanilla, chocolate and strawberry (70 percent of ice cream sales in the U.S. are vanilla ice cream—-if it ain't broke, don't fix it). "If you can't make vanilla right, don't try to make 50 or 60 other flavors," he says. He's got a point. If the foundation is solid, people will come.

His vision was of creating a place that was classic and tried and true, using the best ingredients and techniques. I tried the Chocolate Ice Cream on a Waffle Cone and I was taken by the real, genuine creaminess and the lack of any preservative or artificial sugar taste at all. This was genuinely good stuff.

A true "phoenix rising from the ashes" story.

The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory has two locations:

Brooklyn Heights    (718) 246-3963
Greenpoint   (718) 349-2506

The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory was a former firehouse

The group of bloggers who went to the Ice Cream Factory

The very hip, very retro entrance

Mark Thompson, owner of the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, originally scheduled the store to open on 9/12/2001

I so want this sign in my house!

"As Healthy as Chocolate Gets" sounds good to me

Who doesn't love hot chocolate and waffle cones?

Everything is better with chocolate ice cream!

Even Maria from The Culturist thinks so…

I felt a bit weird trekking to Brooklyn and staying there for two days to explore the neighborhood. Let me explain, the burrough and I don't really know each other. In fact, the only reason why  I haven't had much of a love affair with Brooklyn is because I had dismissed it as a residential landmass, even though I didn't know anything about it.

I have several friends who live in the area who had constantly voiced their love for their locale. Since there's a saying that goes, "the more you know, the more you want to know," I decided that this visit would be just what the travel doctor ordered for the skeptic residing in Weehawken, NJ.

Luckily for me, I had experts who really knew what they were talking about to ease me into Brooklyn-ese. We were in the expert hands of Dom Gervasi who started Made in Brooklyn Tours. Dom, a born and bred Brooklynite, knows the area like the back of his phone, and is a licensed NYC Sightseeing Guide.

Made in Brooklyn Tours leader Dom Gervasi (left)

Dom's love for Brooklyn is very obvious. A soft spoken leader with a true passion for showing others the gems of his stomping grounds, he tells us of the history of the popular area that you see in the pictures.

This used to be a former Navy Yard, he explains. "It was historically called Fulton Ferry Landing." The name DUMBO emerged in 1978, at the time when there was a surge of artists in Manhattan. During the late 1970s, manufacturers were leaving the New York City area (in places like SoHo and Tribeca) and moving elsewhere to find less expensive rentals. But since the buildings they left were empty spaces–voids with little use –the building landlords decided to be smart about putting it to good use. So they started renting out the buildings to the burgeoning artists.

This made sense to me since the SoHo, Tribeca and DUMBO areas were typically associated with artists and artist lofts.

A view of the popular The River Cafe, and Brooklyn Bridge

The landlords started making the artist residences pretty hip, and went into a lot of empty buildings to tinker with them and do renovations. But as human nature would inevitably have it, the landlords started getting greedy and raised the prices on these manufacturing residences. Well, the artists living in the DUMBO area at the time (it wasn't called DUMBO then) were a  bit concerned that the spike in rent in New York would affect them as well, so they banded together and decided to have an unpalatable name so no one would want to move here. Their first idea was to call the area DUMB (Down Under Manhattan Bridge) to detract others from paying a visit to the area and living there. But they (thankfully) added an O (for Overpass) at the end.  An alternatively name was Down Around the Navy Yard Annex–but DUMBO works much better.

Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Somehow, it sounds just right.

The artists' efforts worked only for a little while, and it would be only a few years later when smart and savvy investors started to recognized the potential of the area. One of the biggest purveyors of the land were the Valentis family –both David and Jane Valentis (we'll talk more about them in a future post).  

A view of Manhattan & Brooklyn Bridge from the ferry landing

My weekend journey to DUMBO started off with brisk walk to the former Fulton Ferry Landing, an area where you can get a spectacular view of downtown Manhattan, including the One World Trade Center, the Frank Gehry building and of course, the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges.

I inhaled the fresh air and walked briskly, hearing the pleasant sea-side sounds of seagulls and activity. The blogger group I went with were a lively bunch, and chirped in their love for Brooklyn. What is really interesting to note is how far along DUMBO has come in terms of its expansion. "This area was really declining in terms of industry," explains Gervasi "and fortunately some people were coming here and looking at the area and saying there's so much promise here." Now, you'd be lucky to get a piece of the real estate action, especially if you wanted to live in a building with such impressive views as what you see above. And this area is a haven for artists, featuring movies and music. Barge Music, a popular floating music series, is held right there on the pier, off the former Fulton Ferry Landing.

It is hard not to be completely in awe of the expansive view, cafe-lined streets and what I would describe as a truly bohemian artist vibe. DUMBO is a region that every visitor –or New Yorker– should visit.

To reach Made in Brooklyn Tours, contact:

Dom Gervasi

Made in Brooklyn Tours

Phone: 718 355 9263

This is the first post in a series of posts about DUMBO and Brooklyn. A big thank you to the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott for sponsoring the tour.

Today's photo of the day is once again of—you guessed, it –Wisconsin! After my recent trip, I could not help marvel at the pristine quality of snow-covered terrain, especially the sweeping spruce trees. One such giant (almost Gulliver-like) spruce tree stood in our way as the group hiked on Rib Mountain State Park.

Several branches stood, imperturbable and laced with snow. But the spruce trees seemed to make fun of the bare trees because of their generous evergreen leaves. This is a slightly overexposed photo (the glare of the sun plus the snow makes for some truly white on white) but the essence of that moment is still very much alive.

Spruce trees at Rib Mountain State Park, January 2011

Today's photo of the day is of Wausau, Wisconsin, a place I never thought I would visit during the winter because I'm typically shy of the cold and snow. A hike through Rib Mountain State Park completely changed my mind however. Birch and oak trees gently swayed with snow and ice; the landscape –white on white–was more brilliant than I anticipated.

As I hiked through one of the oldest geological formations on Earth, I could hear the silence. Simon and Garfunkle's song, "The Sound of Silence" echoed in my mind. The tints of aqua and white formed an Ansel Adam-esque backdrop and it was hard not to feel close to Nature.