First of all, I had never heard of Cape May before we went there. My mom actually suggested it. At the time, I was really interested in going to Cape Cod but it was already summer and I knew that a) hotels/B&Bs would be booked up and b) it would be really expensive.
Now that I've been to Cape May, I'm not sure I'll ever get to Cape Cod. Cape May is about as low-key as a beach can get. I like that. I don't like feeling like one of the masses. And it's really family-oriented. There's just good old-fashioned fun - the beach, an old movie theater, a street mall, mini-golf, restaurants, etc. And of course, the main attractions are the beautiful and well-preserved Victorian houses.
Two out of the three times we've been to Cape May we've stayed at The Albert Stevens Inn. We've stayed in two different rooms and they were both immaculate. It's the only B&B we've stayed at more than once. The breakfasts were delicious and filling. It's about a ten-minute walk from the beach but that didn't bother us. Truthfully, we'd probably keep going back there except for the fact that the host is a TALKER. He's very nice, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you just want to get out the door and start your day.
We've also stayed at The Queen Victoria Bed and Breakfast, which is a much bigger establishment than The Albert Stevens Inn. I would argue that's a negative. There are three different buildings, I think, that they house their rooms in. You go to the main building for afternoon refreshments and snacks. We were in one of the off-shoot buildings and so we felt kind of isolated. The breakfasts were fresh but they were also buffet-style and nothing exceptional. I wouldn't dissuade others from staying there but I probably won't stay there again.
Unfortunately, we've had bad luck with getting good food. Neither of us are into eating at stuffy/formal restaurants when we're on vacation and that's kind of the norm in Cape May. A lot of places require reservations (lame).
Some places we've enjoyed are:
Hot Dog Tommy's - there will be a long line but service is quick and the food is casual and delicious
Dellas 5 & 10 - this is a throwback to the 1950s with egg creams and floats, just a really fun place
Lucky Bones Backwater Grille - this is a little outside the center of town, but they make really good and authentic thin crust pizza
I think pretty much every building in Cape May is "haunted". We've read some books about it and there's a local medium, Craig McManus, who will come back to town every few months and do readings or haunted tours. We attended a group channeling session with him in February 2011 at The Queen Victoria B&B. It was certainly interesting. Both Evan and I are skeptics but we tried to be open-minded. He said some things that resonated with us but he could also just be good at picking up cues. Either way, it's an experience!
Our first time in Cape May we took a night trolley tour that highlighted some ghoulish happenings at different structures in town. If you're into the paranormal, you might enjoy Cape May. I think the locals are pretty proud of their ghost residents.
Cape May's also really close to Atlantic City and Margate City, home of Lucy the Elephant. We made sure to make stops in both places on our way to Cape May. AC is a little seedy but it's fun. I'm not sure I'd choose to spend the night there but we enjoyed walking the boardwalk and grabbing a slice of pizza. We even gambled a little. We withdrew $20 (I know, we're big spenders) and split it between us. We went to town on the slot machines - Evan lost all of his $10, I left with $5. There's not much to Margate City except for Lucy the Elephant but we enjoyed the novelty of going inside a life-size (or larger) elephant-shaped building. We did feel silly being the only adults there without kids in tow but we're kids at heart!
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