WELCOME FRIENDS OLD AND NEW – LINGER HERE A DAY OR TWO – An inviting sign board at the Perry Street in Cape May captures the essence of this seaside tourist paradise located at the tip of Southern New Jersey’s Cape May Peninsula.
Cape May has a rich history of more than 400 years – Henry Hudson, an English Sea Captain in 1609 came upon this small peninsula while sailing in his small yacht “Half Moon” between the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay. In 1620, a Dutch Captain MEY gave the place his name, later on changed to Cape May. This place continued to be a tourist destination, initially with the Native Americans and thereafter with the settlers over the years. Good roads and rail roads soon connected this peninsula with many New Jersey and New York localities and today it is one of the most sought after summer Sea Side Tourist spots with clean beaches, trolley rides, ghost tours, home tours covering a rich history, the Sunset beach with Victorian Style bungalows lining up on both sides of its approach, shopping and world class dining. A good number of hotels, home stays and condominiums cater for the visiting tourists. A population of merely 4000 caters for an average number of summer tourists numbering 40,000 plus every year.
We had a good look at Cape May on 13 Aug 2017 after a nice two hour drive from Montgomery through some of the scenic places en route. We began with an afternoon tea at the Carriage House Cafe and Tea Room located at the historic Emlen Physick Estate, followed by a two hour visit to the beach adjacent to the light house watching dolphins very near the coast. The bird sanctuary near the beach, a second world war look out bunker were the added attractions at the beach.
We continued after sunset with a walk through Washington Street near the President’s Summer Retreat [ I understand US Presidents right from Abraham Lincoln holidayed here during summer] and a quick visit to the vibrant Perry Street where we saw many of the city population out there along with visiting tourists enjoying the Sunday evening. We concluded our short visit with a great Mexican dinner at De Mayo enjoying some of the best food cooked by a Mexican lady all by herself [ the place is open from 12 noon to 9 PM every day !] and managed by her daughter and two or three staff members.