With chilly weather coming, I look at the carriage rides in town with new eyes, mostly with visions of Currier & Ives running through my head. Like everyone else, I love seeing the horses clip, clopping through the streets of Cape May. The sounds of their hooves on the streets, the occasional neighing which floats through the wind, the slow pace as they parade into town in the morning and return to Cape May Carriage Company’s Sunset Blvd. stables for their afternoon nap – all remind us of the way things used to be.

 Tours of Cape May abound and I’ve taken most of them but as gale force winds kicked up one Sunday afternoon, I looked at the brave souls who climbed into the carriages and settled in with checkered blankets about them and I thought – I don’t want to be there. I want to be up there. In the rider’s seat. What’s the view like up there, I wondered. So, I set about to find out and walked over to the carriage stand in front of Washington Commons on Ocean Street.

 With the kind permission of Beverly Carr-Morgan, owner of Cape May Carriage Company, I strolled on over and asked when I could climb aboard. Terry was in charge of tickets and he hooked me up with Jan Clark and Baron. Baron is a handsome Black Percheron who was purchased from a Chicago carriage company. He is 12 years old and has been pulling carriages and wagonettes in Cape May for four years. Because of his distinguished looks, he is a favorite for weddings. Jan Clark has been driving the carriages for well, as Beverly says, “forever.” She’s a Cape May County girl with a slight southern accent and an easy disposition.

 My first problem? How in the Sam Hill am I going to get up there? Terry and Jan are very helpful.

 “Now put your left foot on this little round stepping spot, but don’t put your foot into the spoke of the wheel because the horse might move and your foot will get caught.”

 Hmmm. All right.

 “Grab onto the handles and put you right foot on the foot rest. Then swing into the seat.”

 I do all this maneuvering while somehow managing to retain my dignity and plop down next to Jan. And here I am – on top the world – staring at Baron’s, well, shall we say, his hind quarters, which, though very flattering I’m sure, make me very much aware of  a certain vulnerability. I’m reminded of a Seinfeld episode in which Kramer gets the brilliant idea to feed the horse a large can of beans. The repercussions are ghastly for George Costanza’s future in-laws. I’m sure hoping I don’t suffer the same fate.

 I consider myself to be a very lucky person and the fact that the gale force winds died down just as I was stepping up into the driver’s seat to be just one more example of my good luck. Giddy-up and off we go. Millie and Mike (M&M) are our tourists for this carriage ride. M&M sit back and enjoy the ride with the relish of folks who have visited Cape May many times.

 Jan’s first question to them is where are they staying? Angel of the Sea B&B, their favorite place to stay. They are celebrating their 32^nd wedding anniversary. They are from New York, Brooklyn to be exact, they love Cape May and are familiar with many of the sights we see along the way.

 The first thing I observe is that Jan is very calm and handily handles Baron, who has a slight tendency to meander to the left. She gently guides Baron and simultaneously calls our attention to the sights, always with one eye on the patrons and the other on Baron. Woe to Millie, Mike and Baron if it were I who was driving. Any hesitations on the part of Baron to not turn left at the light at the corner of Ocean and Washington streets, and I would be in a state of panic. I would be constantly fearful of his wandering to the left especially when I noticed the tendency of over-anxious drivers to pass without hesitation on the left. Baron would most certainly feel my angst, would rebel at my lack of control and off we’d go galloping along Washington Street. The carriage would go bump up in the air. M&M would be clinging onto the sides of the carriage for dear life and someone else would have to gallop along and rescue us. I would be fired, disgraced, or relegated to perpetual barn duty. Baron would never speak to me again and snort in disgust at the very sight of me.

 Fortunately, no one, especially Baron, need worry. I sat atop the carriage and listened just as intently to Jan’s sight-seeing observations as Millie and Mike. We quietly ambled along past the Southern Mansion. Did you know that the current owner found plans for the new wing among the papers left by the previous owners? And did you also know that those plans had already received approval from the city officials? I didn’t. As we turned down Jefferson Street, Jan informed us that development in this low-lying area was made possible by dirt fill brought in from construction of the canal and the area where the U.S. Coast Guard Training Base and that’s why most of the homes in this part of town are more modern structures. All the historic buildings have been constructed on higher ground like those found on Columbia Avenue. Baron easily made this right-hand turn as though he knew the way. Jan was particularly taken with a house near the corner of Jefferson and Columbia which has Dutch construction, one of the few reminders of the island’s founder a Dutch captain by the name of Cornelius Mey in 1621. Jan said we didn’t become Cape May as in May, until the Brits took us over in 1660.

 Baron turned down Franklin Street and we passed the Dormer House which Jan informed us was built in 1899 by is a center hall for a rich marble dealer John Jacoby of Philadelphia. Mr. Jacoby, founder and first Commodore of the Cape May Yacht Club, built the “colonial revival” cottage in 1899 for his family as a summer house. I note that she is particularly taken with the pre-Victorian architecture and I think that is quite nice, especially since M&M are fairly familiar with the usual haunts.

 Speaking of architecture, we turned up Sewell Avenue and lo and behold found ourselves at the Chalfonte Hotel, an excellent example if Italianate architecture. Built in 1876, I looked up as Jan brought Baron to a stop (there was no traffic on Howard Street so we had the luxury of lingering longer), and explained the benefits of a cupola (air conditioning, 19^th century style) and from atop my perch, the Chalfonte Hotel stood against a crisp blue sky like a queen reigning over her fiefdom. Jan explained that most of the 19^th century houses and hotels were built on angles so as to get the maximum benefit from the sea breezes. I took note that Baron was bored and unimpressed and took this time to, well, never mind. Let’s just say, when he was ready, we proceeded back onto Columbia. The rest of our journey took us passed the Abbey, the Mainstay and all the bright, colorful Victorian homes and B&Bs which distinguish this lovely avenue.

 We traveled along Gurney Street, where the eight Stockton Cottages are located. Baron and Jan found their way onto Hughes Street, one of the oldest streets in Cape May and Jan’s favorite. We drove along Beach Avenue for a short way and then turned up Ocean Street passed Captain Mey’s B&B and headed home – back to the carriage stand. Along the way, Jan spoke about porches and how their size reflected the owner’s wealth (more was definitely better). She talked about lace curtains and how great they were as fly catchers and she talked about bump-outs, which in Victorian parlance meant: “Yo, Look at us. We can afford indoor plumbing.”

 Baron spied his home turf as we waited at the light at Ocean and Washington streets. He knew exactly where he was headed – no doubt looking forward to a treat. Millie and Mike seemed to greatly enjoy their ride and Jan was very helpful in trying to guide me down from the carriage – much trickier than climbing up ‘cause you’re doing it backwards. Again, she warned, be mindful of the spokes but Baron was a perfect gentleman and stood absolutely still while I clumsily climbed down.

 Now I know that I received a special dispensation for riding alongside the driver. And, it was amazingly cool to sit up there and get a bird’s eye view of the city, but I’d strongly recommend you take a carriage ride yourself when you come into town. And, unlike me, you can sit back, Currier & Ives-style, and just enjoy the ride. Don’t be put off by cold weather. Those blankets are amazingly warm and a nighttime carriage ride when all the Christmas lights are on and the carriages and horses are decked with sleigh bells is truly a scene right of a Currier & Ives print.