When to go?
by toonsarah
Although it is primarily a seaside resort I think you could visit Cape May at any time of year and find plenty to enjoy.
At the height of the season in the summer of course a trip here would be all about sun, sea and sand, and the focus is very much on family holidays. All the local attractions are fully open, as are the shops (seven days a week until 10.00 at night in the case of the Washington Street Mall ones). Outdoor dining is a great way to enjoy many of Cape May’s restaurants, and afterwards you can sit out on the porch of your B&B or condominium until late in the evening.
When we visited in late September the season was winding down. The weather was less reliable, a few restaurants had already closed for the winter (those on the sea-front) and some attractions were only open at weekends. Nevertheless this is a great time to come. The resort is quieter, the beach uncrowded (but more suited to walking than sunbathing) and you should be able to get into even the most popular restaurants without booking. Accommodation is a little cheaper and easier to find at short notice (although most places had no vacancies” signs out still over our first weekend). And if you’re a keen bird-watcher, or have just a general interest in wildlife as we do, this is the time to see the great hawk migrations passing through the area.
In the late autumn and winter a number of special events lure visitors to Cape May. In October there is a Victorian Week to celebrate the town’s special heritage, and in November a well-regarded film festival. But it seems that it is for Christmas that the town really pulls out all the stops! If I lived near enough I would love to go back at that time, to see the shops decorated for the season, the Candlelight House Tours and the Christmas Parade.
There are also festivals in the spring, including a jazz one, but of course this is also when the weather begins to improve and outdoor activities again become an attractive proposition. For bird-watchers, there are the hawks to spot on their way back north, and many sea-birds and waders arrive from their winter quarters.
By the way, if you’re interested in seeing whales and dolphins, these mammals can be spotted at any time of year but the boat trips mostly shut down for the winter due I imagine both to the limited numbers of visitors and the inclement weather. Check the websites of the various companies before planning your trip if this is important to you.
And whenever you chose to visit, enjoy Cape May!
Monarch butterflies
by toonsarah
As well as being on the migration route for many birds, twice each year Cape May plays host to thousands of migrating Monarch butterflies. When we were there in September some were already passing through on their long journey south to Mexico. Being at the tip of a peninsular, Cape May is a perfect spot for them to rest and eat before setting out across the sea, and many residents encourage this by planting exactly the sort of plants they love, especially milkweed. We saw loads of them in the State Park and I spent quite a while without much success trying to get a good photo, only to capture this one on a bush in front of the Shore S Cape back in town.
I found this interesting description of the Monarch migration on the website of the Cape May Times:
” The final fall generation of Monarch is programmed to migrate, and NOT to mate. Because of this they live longer, up to 8 or 9 months. Throughout the eastern U.S. the final fall generation of Monarch migrates to the mountains of central Mexico where they will winter.
They begin crossing into Mexico in mid-October and reach the winter roost areas by late October. Millions upon millions of Monarchs winter in Mexico at high altitude roosts where flowers are scarce, surviving on fat reserves they’ve build up during their fall migration. A pathway of wildlife gardens along the coast and at land’s end (Cape May and Cape May Point) certainly plays a key role in the survival of migrating Monarchs, as do natural areas and vacant lots full of healthy stands of blooming Seaside Goldenrod, one of their favourite nectar plants!”
You can read even more about the butterflies on that website if you’re interested.
Higbee Beach
by toonsarah
I confess that I hadn’t read about Higbee Beach in my pre-holiday research, but when the owner of the salt marsh boat, the Skimmer, told us about it, it sounded just the sort of place we would like, and it proved to be a great recommendation. If you love wilder beaches more suited to walking and exploring than to sunbathing and relaxing, this is a must-visit spot while in Cape May.
We arrived soon after lunch on a bright, windy day and parked in the small lot alongside just two other cars – it seems this isn’t a crowded beach, at least on a mid-week September afternoon. A soft sandy path leads between the trees and after a few hundred yards brings you out on to a long, but quite narrow, beach which stretches from the inlet that separates Cape May from the mainland at the north all the way to Sunset Beach in the south – we could make out the silhouette of the concrete ship in the distance though we didn’t make it quite that far on our walk.
We turned first to the north and headed for the inlet. Here there is a rough rocky (man-made) spit pushing out into the sea, which seems popular with local fishermen. We also had a good view of the Cape May to Lewes ferry leaving its dock and sailing out across Delaware Bay (photo 3). We then retraced our step and walked towards the south. On this stretch there are interesting driftwood shapes to see and photograph, and we also saw much more birdlife on this part of the beach. There were a lot of small crabs too, and quite a few horseshoe crabs which went a long way towards explaining the large numbers of gulls, since they are obviously a favourite treat. The birds were too intent on enjoying their feast to be bothered about us approaching them so we got some good photos.
Directions: The beach isn’t easy to find if it’s not marked on your map – we had to stop and ask for directions. The simplest route is to go west on Sunset Boulevard towards the State Park and turn right at the sign for Higbee (soon after the houses of West Cape May start to thin out). Follow this road for a couple of miles to a T-junction where you turn left (unsignposted). This road takes you through a new housing development and dead-ends at the parking lot.
What's Victoriana Without Tea?"
by starship about Twinings Tearoom at the Physick Estate
Located in the recently refurbished 1876 Carriage House on the Physick Estate, visitors can enjoy luncheon or tea as it might have been when Physick himself walked the grounds. At 11:30 am daily you can enjoy the full Victorian version including sandwiches, salads, breads, pastries, scones and other savory delights including tea for $16.50 pp. A little later at 2:00pm you enjoy the lighter version. "Elegant Afternoon Tea" at $13.50 pp is a lighter version of "tea" and comes with sandwiches, scones, pastries plus a beverage. Either version of tea is a treat, but I can get along on the lighter "Elegant Afternnon Tea" version myself. Traditional tea sandwiches and scones with clotted cream are my favorites. With the Physick estate as the perfect setting, what Victorian "wannabe" wouldn't enjoy this?
Disappointing
by toonsarah about The Mad Batter
I had read several good reviews of the Mad Batter so it was quite high on my list of restaurants to try while in Cape May, but I have to say that we were pretty disappointed. The location is good, in an old Victorian house (now the Carroll Villa Hotel on centrally located Jackson Street. There is space for outdoor dining on the front porch but the weather had turned chilly at night when we visited so we opted to go inside to the much-vaunted “skylit dining room” which turned out to be more of a passageway. To start with we ordered the “Babaghanoush” to share, which consisted of a rather small blob of eggplant salad, a more generous one of hummus which was a bit bland and under-flavoured, and some good olives, accompanied by pitta bread. My main of crab cakes with sweet potatoes was OK, though like the hummus a little bland, and with only two pieces of tomato as accompaniment rather stodgy as well. Chris meanwhile had chosen the tempting-sounding scallops with lobster ravioli and wild mushrooms. On his first tasting he liked the flavours but as he ate the dish seemed to get more and more oily until everything tasted more of that than of itself. The meal was partly redeemed by the good New York cheesecake we shared for dessert. The service was friendly but got a little brisk towards the end of the meal – it was only 8.30 PM but we felt that they were in a hurry for us to leave, though plenty of other tables were available and the customers on the only other occupied one hadn’t even started their meal. Our dinner cost us $92 with a couple of glasses of wine and tax – a lot for such a disappointing meal.
Having said all that, the restaurant has won several awards so it’s possible we just caught them on a bad day I guess. But we didn’t go back a second time to find out if we’d misjudged them!
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Osprey nest
House on Columbia Ave at night
Sign in Cabanas
Boardwalk sign, Atlantic City
