Flag Day in Cape May

Monday 14.06.

A peaceful day. Nice. I get myself a bagel and coffee for breakfast and enjoy both in the sun outside my room. Then I take a little walk and grab my beach chair, $10, and go to the beach. You have to pay $10 for 3 days at the beach here. That's ok.

Besides lifeguards, there are also toilets every 150 meters and the beach is cleaned in the evening. I stay for about 3 hours and then retreat to the shade outside my room.

At 4:00 PM, I go back to the pool for another hour, but it's getting cloudy so I leave.

Another unexpected dose of history awaits me today. Because today is Flag Day! The day when the American flag is honored! I witness a ceremony at Sunset Beach as I drive by for the sunset. Martial announcements are made by veterans well into their 80s or 90s.

I also stand respectfully for the National Anthem, but I don't sing along. There are eight versions of the flag, each with the stars and the corresponding history of that time. Our friend Nancy Ross (we remember her from the city tour in Philadelphia) who sewed the first flag with the 13 stars is also mentioned here. A community orchestra plays marching music for each flag's story.

Even when it becomes too much for me, there is no escape. The parking lot is practically the end of the road that leads to this beach where this ceremony is taking place.

This area has been blocked off and cars are not allowed in or out. Well, I survived that too :-D