So not Snooky's kind of place!

The whole house selling thing is wearing us down so the Professor and I escaped to Cape May for the Memorial Day Weekend. Yet another spot on our list to visit a few more times before we move.

Cape May is the southern most point in New Jersey and is part of the Jersey Shore but it is sooo not like the television show (nor are the rest of the Jersey beach towns for that matter) The town of Cape May is located on an island connected by a bridge (actually a pretty small bridge at that) and I'm definitely sure I'm not the first one to say that once you cross that bridge you take a step back in time.

The homes of Cape May are a mix of architecture but is most well know for 
the most charming examples of Victorian-style houses and mansions that I have ever encountered.

Many of these old Victorian Ladies have been
restored and converted to B&B Inns including the Bacchus Inn where we've stayed during our prior visits to this charming town.

The weather was absolutely perfect - low 80's with a lovely breeze off the ocean. We
arrived in time for afternoon refreshments on the porch (great Sangria) and had the chance to chat with fellow guests, several of whom had arrived to attend the opening of the new Convention Center located on Ocean Avenue right on the beach. We took a stroll in the early evening and had a chance to slip in and take a look around the new building and decided it was stunning venue for the many cultural events already on the calendar. John, our inn's owner said the only thing the locals didn't like was that there was no
underground parking available. Hmm. Yes, that might be a bit of a problem during the high season when the streets are filled with people cruising Ocean Avenue lined with bars and restaurants catering to the tourists and locals so I guess time will tell.

Saturday morning started out with meeting more of our fellow guests as we gathered around the large dining room table(tables for two were available on the sunporch) beautifully set for a gourmet breakfast of poached pears followed by fruit pancakes and country sausage. I thought we'd be stuffed but the portions were just right. We spent the rest of the morning walking the neighborhoods taking pics - lots of flags and bunting all in vivid red/white/blue were in abundance in
honor of Memorial day and every house seemed to have a front porch where people were chatting or people-watching. Walking and bicycling are the primary modes of transportation which I think has a lot to do with the slower pace that makes our visits so relaxing.

 

Saturday afternoon, we attended a play at the Shackelford Playhouse in Cape May
(beautiful, air conditioned facility) It was a one-man show, 'Uncle Jacques Symphony' written and directed by Dominic Hoffman and all I can say is WOW!
I wasn't sure what to expect and since the day was so beautiful I was kind of regretting having purchased the tickets to beginwith (done in anticipation of iffy weather), but all that went out the window once the play started. It was 90 minutes of a 'laughs and tears' performance by a truly gifted playwright/actor. If you ever get a chance to see it, by all means do.

Evening ended with tapas at Martini Beach on Ocean Avenue. A little lobster mac&cheese and skewered pieces of moroccan chicken hit the spot. What a perfect day!

Sunday breakfast was baked eggs with ham - another home run in the food department.
After a stroll along the beach, we wandered over to the Washington St. Mall - an outdoor pedestrian only street with lots of cute shops
and where many of the locals' favorite restaurants can
be found. We discovered a Swedish shop where I purchased a beautiful lace mantle runner that will look stunning in the living room at Christmas
time. I also picked up some beach stones to go with my summer tablescape (pictures of that in a future blog). We did some more exploring of neighborhoods and continued with the photos. Snap, snap, snap. Everywhere we looked there was something else that absolutely needed to be photographed. We loved it!

Many of the gardens were lush with shrubs and flowers all in bloom.  The iron fences around several of the properties was actually quite intricate and blended beautifully with the architecture and the gardens. Lots of red,white and blue in flags and bunting and flowers were seen everywhere.

 

  

 

  

 Loved this porch. It wrapped around the whole house and I'm sure it could handle fifty people easily. Can you imagine sitting in a comfy rocking chair, your favorite afternoon refereshment in hand chatting and sharing stories with friends or simply absorbing the charm of the neighborhood. Absolutely the most lovely thing I can think of doing on a warm, lazy afternoon.  

 

 

 After all the photos, we bought some frozen custard from the Kohr Bros. in the mall. My favorite place to go for a sweet almost healthy indulgence. Unfortunately, there are no other Kohr Brothers near where we live so we savor it all the more while we're in town. 

After spending some quality time in the rockers on the inn's porch, we dined on steak and scallops at E.M Hemingways's at the Grand Hotel  The food was good, the service
attentive and the prices reasonable - so we've added it to our list of restaraunts
to try on our next visit -unfortunately, the next day (after another wonderful breakfast of stuffed frenchtoast and sausage) we did one more stroll along Ocean Boulevard and headed home wondering have we ever had such a relaxing weekend?

Til Later,

 "Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."  Anonymous

    

 

 

Comments

[Charlotte]

Hi Gloria, thanks for the nice comments. I also checked out your blog and loved the pictures from your Martha's Vineyard trip. We were there last summer and the pictures brought back some great memories. Oh, and now you have me hooked on checking out Revenge...never got a chance to see it during the season but maybe I'll pick up the set when its available. Thanks!

[Gloria]

Greetings! I stumbled upon your blog and your post reminded me of a old friend I worked with... she loved Cape May! I enjoyed your post, and enjoyed hearing of all the delicious food you ate. LOL! You took great photos too. :)
Nice meeting you!
Best,
Gloria