It's that time a year again, the time when barbeques are fired up, fireworks are shot off, and classic summertime anthems such as ‘Wildwood Days,” “Under the Boardwalk,” and “On the Way to Cape May,” blast from radios as people make the annual Memorial Day trek to their summer homes.
This weekend is the unofficial start of summer and that means it’s time to head down the shore. However, there are so many different shore towns along the Jersey coast, each special and unique, and at times it can be hard to choose which one to go to. My favorite beach in NJ is Cape May.
I fell in love with Cape May when I was a little girl with an over active imagination and discovered that the Columbia House, the bed and breakfast where family and I always stayed, was haunted. I further fell in love when I witnessed a bride in a white, fluffy dress and her tuxedo clad groom on the beach taking their wedding photos and decided that one day I would be the bride on the beach at sunset taking wedding photos with my groom. To this day I still love going down there and immersing myself in the history of one of the nation’s oldest resort towns and hearing about the various ghosts that roam around the drafty old houses and cobble stoned streets.
The ghost stories are only one reason I love Cape May. I love smelling the salty air as I walk through the Washington Street Mall. I love strolling down the uneven, grey slate sidewalks and seeing the ornate Victorian homes with their wrap around porches and wooden rocking chairs. I even love Maurice "Buddy" Nugen’s “On the Way to Cape May,” which is a classic song that tells of a love story that begins in Ocean City and continues through the various shore towns with the ultimate destination being Cape May.
I fell in love with Cape May when I was a little girl with an over active imagination and discovered that the Columbia House, the bed and breakfast where family and I always stayed, was haunted. I further fell in love when I witnessed a bride in a white, fluffy dress and her tuxedo clad groom on the beach taking their wedding photos and decided that one day I would be the bride on the beach at sunset taking wedding photos with my groom. To this day I still love going down there and immersing myself in the history of one of the nation’s oldest resort towns and hearing about the various ghosts that roam around the drafty old houses and cobble stoned streets.
The ghost stories are only one reason I love Cape May. I love smelling the salty air as I walk through the Washington Street Mall. I love strolling down the uneven, grey slate sidewalks and seeing the ornate Victorian homes with their wrap around porches and wooden rocking chairs. I even love Maurice "Buddy" Nugen’s “On the Way to Cape May,” which is a classic song that tells of a love story that begins in Ocean City and continues through the various shore towns with the ultimate destination being Cape May.
However, Cape May is one of many shore towns that line the Jersey coast. There are many unique towns, each with their own distinct atmosphere, on the way to Cape May. I am going to visit various beaches in Atlantic and Cape May counties and explore the seaside towns to see for myself what each one has to offer. A lot can happen on the way to Cape May…..
My heart was gone, when I reached Avaloooooooooooooooooooooooon...
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who LOVES to go to Cape May in the winter, which I always assumed was a little crazy. She'll spend a night or two at a B&B, check out the restaurants/shops, and even walk on the beach... probably for a fraction of the usual summer price.
ReplyDeleteWhere will you be this weekend, Tina? I too love the Jersey shore, so I can't wait to read more. I'll be at a friend's in OCNJ this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of things to do there in the winter. Around Christmas time the B&B's decorate their exteriors and it is nice to drive around and view the lights. Many of the stores are open and their are always themed weekends, especially in the fall. I have been there in the winter and I always have a great time, and yes everything is a little cheaper in the off season.
ReplyDeleteSadly I will not be anywhere near the beach this weekend. I wish I was going to be but I am not a fan of the crowds I prefer to go on a regular weekend but the weather is going to be great this weekend so I'm sure you will have an awesome time in OC :)
Cape May is amazing!! I've only been there twice, but I love eating at the C-View Inn and The Lobster House. It's such a cute & quaint place. My first time to Cape May actually was in the winter, but I still loved it!
ReplyDeleteNot on the Jersey Shore but still a nice place to go for Christmastime is Nantucket, MA. They have a shopping week called 'Christmas Stroll' where all of the stores are decked out in lights.