I spent a long weekend in Cape May, N.J., with my girlfriend, my old roommate and her husband. I’d never been that far south in New Jersey: Exit 0 on the Garden State Parkway, to be exact. It was a hike, but it was well worth it, and I’d definitely go back.
Carroll Villa
We stayed at a bed-and-breakfast called the Carroll Villa. It was a little larger than the traditional B&B, and had a full restaurant and a really fun bar with great martinis tucked away in the back and almost hidden. The food at the restaurant, The Mad Batter, was good, especially the breakfasts, which were outstanding. The location couldn’t have been better: One block from the beach and less than two blocks from the main shopping area.
Since all we did besides lay on the beach was eat, why not write about it? Our first meal was at The Lobster House. If we had any doubts as to how popular the place was, the huge line out the door to be seated for dinner at 4:30 melted those. Great, fresh seafood dinners for all, and very generous portions, made for a great dinner.
We also had dinner at 410 Bank Street, which was fantastic. I took a break from seafood and had the blackened prime rib. It was one of the best pieces of red meat I’ve had in quite some time, and I’ve had many. The restaurant is BYOB, but they sell wines from the local Cape May Winery, and the Cabernet Franc was a perfect fit with the steak.
Cape May Lighthouse
And when we weren’t eating or sunning, we were looking for dolphins. We took a 6:30 p.m. dolphin cruise and, even though my photography skills and camera sucked way too much to present any tangible evidence, we saw many and several groups of dolphins. They are truly fascinating creatures.
I also found out that human beings are as dumb as dolphins are fascinating. One of the sights you pass while on the dolphin cruise is a sunken concrete battleship. That’s not a typo: CONCRETE. What genius thought it would be a good idea to build a ship out of concrete?
One thing I did notice about Cape May that I found a little odd: There were tons of families with kids, but there didn’t seem to be a lot for the kids to do. There were a couple of arcades and a couple of miniature golf courses, but that was pretty much it. I personally loved Cape May, but if I were a child (SHUT IT!), I fear that I’d be bored out of my skull.
Anyway, all in all, it was a fantastic weekend, albeit too short. I could easily see spending a week in Cape May, and I’m already looking forward to heading back down to South South South South Jersey.
The Beach at Cape May
9nine9's Weblog 
Very nice! It’s hard to capture animals in action, especially those of the sea and sky variety. But your photos are great.
“…human beings are as dumb as dolphins are fascinating.”
So true.
I don’t know. I don’t think there were really as many kid-specific activities when we were young as there are today. I had to make do with playing in the sand until Shelly got bored and verbally mocked me, at which point I would hit Lori, who would go screaming to Mom, prompting Dad to go “that’s it!” and put us in the car to go home. I’m sure there was food in that mix somewhere too.
Perhaps just unplugging the kids and going to the beach, hunting for shells, playing in the waves, grilling a summer meal you share with family and TALKING is what children need. Transition time yeah, but then its simple pleasures not do do do.
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As a family who has spent the last 4 summer vacations in Cape May (including the one right at this very moment), I can definitely advise you not to underestimate the drawing power of the beach, the arcade, mini-golf, Kohr’s ice cream and Hot Dog Tommy’s. There is SO much for the family to do (as long as it doesn’t rain, of course), that we haven’t even gotten to doing the grown-up things like eating at the Mad Batter, yet. Hope you guys visit again…if you do, plan for early next August when we’re here!
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