Happy Birthday America! There is nothing like being an expatriate to make you enjoy celebrating the 4th of July!

Is this my beach house? Well no, and if you read my last post you knew that already. But this extraordinary dwelling is across the street from my little cottage and I get to look at it everyday. One of the most amazing hotels from the hey day of Ocean Grove, it has been turned into a giant single family residence. With its bilateral gull-wing roof and carpenter gothic detailing, it is almost exactly as it appeared when it was built in 1884.

A view from a postcard sent in 1944.

Wanna see the details under the flag?

It really is the largest flag I have ever laid eyes on!

Image credits: 1 & 3. me, 2. Ocean Grove in Vintage Postcards