My family is always late. I mean, always. It doesn’t help the fact that I hate being tardy and I suffer from living with younger brothers who don’t know what time is. Nonetheless, we sped away from home to Delaware. We wanted to park the car and take the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. Well, the ferry was leaving in just 10 minutes, so my mom made a quick decision: we are driving onto the ferry. This was an experience in itself! Ferries are more often in the summer and become less frequent as the high season tapers off. To take your car onto the ferry it during the summer months on the weekends it costs $47. Then, you add $5-10 for each additional passenger. Not the most budget-friendly option, but hey, we were gonna miss that boat ride. We ended up thoroughly enjoying the ferry ride. It was a perfect day to roam outside on the deck.
After about an hour and a half, we arrived to our destination: beautiful Cape May in New Jersey! Visiting Cape May is like stepping back in time as you experience what Americans and visitors alike enjoyed what they considered as the best seaside resort.
Cape May became a popular vacation destination in the 1700s and gained high profile status by the 1800s. Cape May, due to the time period of its peak, is filled with Victorian homes and so consequently has the second largest collection of such homes in the United States. Though not the same celebrity filled resort as it once was, Cape May still has a lot to offer.
The town certainly is beautiful with those old Victorian homes and a unique colour scheme. Bed and breakfasts dot the streets, and beach goers walk along the promenade all day long.
While the most popular attractions are the beaches themselves, there are other things to do in Cape May. A great place is to visit is the Cape May Point State Park, a beautiful marshy area of Cape May. It includes a Nature Reserve, beaches, hiking trails, and the Cape May Lighthouse. The park is considered to be one of the best places in North America to view the fall bird migration to the south. Consequently, birding is one of the most prominent activities conducted at the park. Definitely not something to miss!
The Park emerges after driving through some quaint residential areas. We did not enter the lighthouse, but the grounds around are pretty neat. There are a lot of hiking trails, as well as lots of wildlife. The area is a common bird watching spot because there are many ponds and marshes.
For lunch we decided to walk around and just pick a place. An Irish pub and restaurant called Delaney’s caught our eye because that’s our family name! Afterwards we spend quite a bit of time at the beach, and then made our way back onto the ferry and back home. Looking back it was actually great to have a car with us! Cape May isn’t the most accessible if you want to go look at other sites besides the beach.
All in all, a potential disaster turned into a lovely day trip!
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