The third “new” state on our recent DelMarVa excursion was New Jersey. We debated how to do New Jersey, realizing that the state is very diverse in terms of urban vs. rural, city vs. shore, crowded vs. not so crowded. At first we were thinking in terms of Atlantic City or Wildwood, but then we discovered (or remembered) Cape May.
While just barely in New Jersey, and the very southern tip of the peninsula, Cape May represented “enough” of New Jersey for us to say that we had visited. Nothing wrong with visiting the rest of the state, but we like to do things our way, and finding a town where we could park the car and leave it for a few days suits us. And Cape May fit that bill just fine.
Cape May is recognized as the country’s oldest seaside resort, and the beach has been recognized by many “Top 10” lists, including the Travel Channel. Beach Avenue is lined with amazing homes – hilariously called “cottages” although they are often huge! – and hotels. Very little to no chain restaurants or hotels. They don’t even have a McDonald’s, a Starbucks or a Walmart! Our kind of place.
Other than the fact that our hotel was full of families enjoying one last hurrah before school started, complete with loud, misbehaving children, we enjoyed our visit very much. The great part is that we spent most of our day walking around town while they were at the beach or the pool, and by the time we got back and showered for cocktails and dinner, all of the noisy families were headed off to dinner. Ahhhh!
Three days in New Jersey were plenty, we’re glad we went and glad to say we were there. And here are a few photos to prove it!
Yep, that would be my kind of town, especially without the Starbucks. Very much impressed with those cottages although they are not something I would want to own.
To my way of thinking, the term “cottage” reflects something a bit more modest! And I agree with the lack of chains like Starbucks!