July 2020
July Color Issue
July Color Issue
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EXIT ZERO<br />
JULY <strong>2020</strong> « $7.95
Specializing in Sales and Rentals<br />
Our team of 47 Agents is ready to<br />
assist with all of your real estate needs.<br />
609.884.1300<br />
Todd H. deSatnick / Broker of Record<br />
www.deSatnickRealEstate.com<br />
Located at 1001 Lafayette Street “The First Light in Town” Cape May
a cape may moment<br />
An aerial view showing landmarks such as the Marquis de Lafayette and the Inn of Cape May, shot by drone late June. Aleksey Moryakov<br />
BRAVE NEW WORLD<br />
TAKE-OUT | DELIVERY | OUTDOOR PICNIC SEATING<br />
BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS<br />
Kitchen Open<br />
Daily 4-9pm<br />
(Sat 3-9pm)<br />
LUCKY BONES<br />
Backwater Grille<br />
1200 Route 109 South<br />
609-884-TOGO luckybones.com
about us<br />
editor, publisher & designer<br />
Jack Wright<br />
jack@exitzero.us<br />
general manager<br />
Cathrine O’Brien<br />
cathrine@exitzero.us<br />
digital media manager<br />
Kayla Jordan<br />
kayla@exitzero.us<br />
content manager<br />
Nicole James<br />
nicole@exitzero.us<br />
contributing editor<br />
Diane Stopyra<br />
diane@exitzero.us<br />
Serving Lunch & Dinner Daily<br />
historical editor<br />
Ben Miller<br />
contributing photographers<br />
Suzanne Kulperger, Aleksey Moryakov,<br />
Jessica Orlowicz, Charles Riter<br />
contributing writers<br />
Bill Barlow, Catherine Dugan, David Gray,<br />
Terry O’Brien, Tom Sims, Susan Tischler<br />
exit zero color magazine is published four times a year.<br />
Annual subscription, mailed first class, is $45.<br />
To subscribe, call 609-770-8479 or visit ezstore.com.<br />
Published by Exit Zero, 110 Sunset Boulevard, Cape May, NJ 08204<br />
Telephone: 609-770-8479 E-mail: info@exitzero.com<br />
Website and online store: exitzero.com<br />
printed in the usa<br />
Enjoy Outdoor Dining<br />
(609) 884-9119<br />
322 Washington Street Mall, Cape May<br />
tishasfinedining.com<br />
exit zero 2 july
GOOD PUB FOOD IN COOL CAPE MAY!<br />
A classic since 1926<br />
Est. 2014<br />
A new Irish<br />
classic!<br />
ON THE MALL<br />
(609) 884-3459<br />
“Best clam chowder and<br />
lobster roll in New Jersey.”<br />
- TripAdvisor<br />
ON THE MALL<br />
(609) 770-8559<br />
“Everything we sampled was right on -<br />
from wings to onion rings.<br />
Exactly what we were<br />
looking for!”<br />
- TripAdvisor<br />
Check our Facebook pages<br />
for live entertainment!<br />
exit zero 3 july
inside this issue<br />
editor’s letter 8<br />
It’s all about the seasons.<br />
quick chat: lawrence green 10<br />
The man setting the table at Congress Hall’s Grand Lawn.<br />
the ultimate food & drink chart 16<br />
How to eat your way through Cape May!<br />
quick chat: aidan nadell 23<br />
Meet the kid who’ll really put a smile on your face.<br />
events around town 29<br />
All the happenings you need to know about, COVID notwithstanding.<br />
a founding mother 34<br />
How Emily Dempsey helped kickstart the Harriet Tubman Museum.<br />
the ultimate cape may bargain 42<br />
How to spend $20 and save $400 while having an absolute blast!<br />
boom town 48<br />
The 19th century hotel explosion that transformed Cape May.<br />
happy trails 54<br />
Taking a hike in Cool Cape May.<br />
give peace a chance 68<br />
Yoga and pilates teacher Judy Heany on conquering the demons.<br />
in the name of the flag 76<br />
The Hume family’s All-American tradition at Sunset Beach.<br />
murphy’s law 82<br />
A conversation with a beloved local musician.<br />
the definitive cape may trolley guide 97<br />
From ghosts to mansions... it’s all here!<br />
property of the month 102<br />
A charming new beauty in Cape May Point.<br />
picture of the month 104<br />
Waiting for takeout, by Aleksey Moryakov.<br />
COVER PHOTO SUZANNE KULPERGER<br />
Fabulous Food & Cool Cocktails in a Lovely Outdoor Setting!<br />
HAPPY HOUR<br />
Daily from 3-6pm<br />
& All Day Sunday!<br />
LUNCH & DINNER DAILY<br />
Kitchen Hours<br />
11:30am-10pm<br />
3729 BAYSHORE ROAD, NORTH CAPE MAY | (609) 889-7000 | 5WESTPUB.COM<br />
exit zero 4 july
Restaurant & Lounge<br />
Now Open Everyday For Takeout<br />
Prime Rib Night<br />
Wednesday Famous Prime Rib<br />
12 oz $22 ... 14 oz $24<br />
served with Chef's selection of Potato and Vegetable<br />
Please Visit Us On Facebook For The Most Up-To-Date News<br />
Call 609.884.5611 x:550 To Place An Order<br />
/HemingwaysCapeMay<br />
exit zero 5 july
Hitting the Trail<br />
The winding trails at Cape May Point State Park, in the shadow of the lighthouse, are among the hikes<br />
recommended in our feature story on pages 54-65.<br />
Photograph by Aleksey Moryakov
editor’s letter<br />
Did I ever consider, while working<br />
insane hours to climb the career<br />
ladder in the brutal daily newspaper<br />
world of London’s Fleet Street,<br />
that one day I would be running a<br />
restaurant in a little American town that actually<br />
served customers who were sat at tables wedged<br />
between gasoline pumps?<br />
Strangely enough, no, that wasn’t a thought<br />
that ever came into my head. The idea of eating<br />
dinner while sitting adjacent to gas pumps probably<br />
never entered YOUR head, either.<br />
But in a COVID world, I guess many things<br />
are possible. Which is why I came to be dressed<br />
in a Mexican thatch skirt, hastily assembled to<br />
surprise and delight photographer Suzanne Kulperger,<br />
who had asked to shoot me wearing my<br />
Scottish kilt. Nah, the thatch skirt was way more<br />
appropriate given we had turned our gas station<br />
into a tiki bar and restaurant.<br />
When I look around town, I’m surprised and<br />
delighted to see many other creative outdoor dining<br />
areas. As much as this pandemic has devastated<br />
businesses everywhere, I want to always try<br />
and see the positive, especially in our little oasis<br />
by the sea.<br />
Cape May has never offered so many cool<br />
and interesting dining options. Walk down Decatur<br />
Street and when you see those tents illuminated<br />
by amber bulbs and you could be strolling<br />
through the streets of a Spanish, Greek or Portuguese<br />
resort town.<br />
Of course, all of these attractive spots somewhat<br />
disguise the trauma happening indoors,<br />
where restaurant owners are desperately trying to<br />
staff with cooks and servers (thanks to the ridiculously<br />
elongated unemployment terms being<br />
offered by state and federal governments) and<br />
putting the costs of all these outdoor furniture<br />
arrangements on credit cards, hoping they will be<br />
able to make the payments come September.<br />
What can you do to help? Well, you can eat<br />
out. A LOT. And you can be the most patient<br />
restaurant customer the whole wide world has<br />
ever seen because, trust me, the restaurant businness,<br />
especially in a resort town, is chockfull of<br />
stress even on a good day. During these crazy<br />
times, it’s a rollercoaster that really does threaten<br />
to go off the rails.<br />
But that’s enough about restaurants. In these<br />
pages you will find stories about yoga teacher<br />
Judy Heany, historian Emily Dempsey, musician<br />
MQ Murphy, plus advice on where to find<br />
the most inspiring hiking trails and a fascinating<br />
insight into Cape May’s 19th-century hotel boom.<br />
Enjoy the issue, enjoy the summer, enjoy our<br />
wonderful restaurants... and wear a goddamn<br />
mask!<br />
JACK WRIGHT Editor/Publisher<br />
exit zero 8 july
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED FOR DINING<br />
LUNCH • DINNER • LATE NIGHT • KIDS MENU • BURGERS<br />
FLATBREADS • SEAFOOD • FRESH SALADS<br />
COCKTAILS • BEER • WINE<br />
20 BEERS ON TAP<br />
4 WINES ON TAP<br />
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT<br />
WE<br />
ARE<br />
OPEN!<br />
<br />
<br />
exit zero 9 july
A QUICK CHAT<br />
New York restaurant veteran<br />
Lawrence Green left the<br />
embattled city to run the new<br />
restaurant on the Grand Lawn<br />
at Congress Hall. He discusses<br />
lawnmowing, $33 burgers — and<br />
the key to the F&B kingdom.<br />
interview jack wright<br />
photography aleksey moryakov<br />
Lawrence, we’re standing here on a<br />
beautiful day on this big lawn overlooking<br />
the ocean at a hotel that’s been here for<br />
more than 200 years. Can you appreciate<br />
the vibe and the view right now, or are you<br />
too focused on work to smell the roses?<br />
A little bit of both. I can appreciate it, but<br />
there’s too much work to be done to linger too<br />
long.<br />
Tell us how you landed here from the<br />
hubbub of New York City.<br />
Before the pandemic hit, I was overseeing<br />
the hospitality at the McKittrick Hotel, home<br />
of Sleep No More, Gallow Green and the Club<br />
Car. In March we had to close down as the<br />
stay-at-home order went into effect.<br />
When and how did you first discover<br />
Cape May?<br />
My wife Patti is a Philly girl and has always<br />
loved the Shore, coming down here with her<br />
parents and grandparents. My first time down<br />
here was 19 years ago while she was pregnant<br />
with our daughter. We fell in love with the<br />
town and bought a home here about 15 years<br />
ago.<br />
What were your first impressions when<br />
you came here?<br />
An amazingly beautiful Victorian American<br />
town, like something from a movie set.<br />
You’re British and everyone talks about<br />
how Cape May is a Victorian town. Does it<br />
feel in any way British to you, or is it pure<br />
Americana?<br />
Not at all! This is place is 100% Americana.<br />
How did you come to arrive in New York<br />
from Britain?<br />
I felt there was something more out there<br />
and at the time I wanted to escape from small<br />
town England. Moving to a big English city felt<br />
too safe so I bought a one-way ticket to New<br />
York City and took my chances.<br />
In New York, you worked at some of the<br />
exit zero 10 july
exit zero 11 july
most acclaimed restaurants in the city. What<br />
does it take for a restaurant to achieve that<br />
kind of status, and is it even harder to maintain<br />
it?<br />
Everyone is looking for the next great<br />
shiny object, but to have staying power and<br />
receive the acclaim, you have to have a strong<br />
operational foundation with systems and a<br />
business culture that helps grow that success.<br />
It might seem easy to open a restaurant, but<br />
there is a lot of hard work and science to keep<br />
it open and make it successful.<br />
What are the most memorable points<br />
from your time in New York so far — the high<br />
points and some low ones?<br />
Meeting my wife 24 years ago — we were<br />
both bartenders then. The birth of our daughter<br />
Zoe, who’s 18. Opening a music venue with<br />
no experience or money in SoHo — LOTS of<br />
highs and lows from that time. And being able<br />
to revisit the amazing city through the teenage<br />
eyes of my daughter.<br />
When you were at Minetta Tavern in<br />
New York, they produced what was the most<br />
expensive burger in the city — it’s $33! Was<br />
it worth it?<br />
Of course it was!<br />
You worked under Keith McNally, a<br />
restaurant master who’s responsible for<br />
legendary venues like Balthazar and Pastis.<br />
What’s the biggest lesson you learned from<br />
him?<br />
Success is in the details — he would look<br />
at a restaurant the same way a director would<br />
look at a scene from a movie and make sure<br />
that the space looked amazing from every<br />
angle and every corner.<br />
And, in your opinion, what are the three<br />
keys to success for a restaurant starting up<br />
and being successful?<br />
You have to believe in the concept — do<br />
not compromise. You need great energy — this<br />
comes from your staff as well as your guests.<br />
If your staff are happy the energy will be right<br />
— hard to do but wonderful when it comes<br />
together. Then there’s consistency, proper<br />
training. And consistency again.<br />
Restaurant life can be chaotic. Is it a<br />
business in which you have made many<br />
friends or are there just too many people<br />
passing through?<br />
For sure you meet many people on the<br />
way, but there is a camaraderie in hospitality<br />
and the friendships you make will last even if<br />
you do not see each other for a long time. One<br />
of my best friends taught me how to bartend<br />
30-plus years ago, and we are still close to day.<br />
Tell us how you came to be working on<br />
7 DAYS A WEEK<br />
4-9pm<br />
Reservations<br />
609-884-0020<br />
Free Parking<br />
LITTLE ITALY II<br />
RISTORANTE<br />
Home-cooked food that will satisfy you,<br />
your family AND your wallet.<br />
Bringing you the fresh, unique flavors of<br />
Italy in a charming, welcoming atmosphere.<br />
Laugh • Dine • Enjoy<br />
311 Mansion Street, Cape May<br />
Iccaracapemay.com<br />
PIZZA • VONGOLE ALLA CASINO • PENNE ALLA GIOVANNI<br />
SHRIMP FRA DIAVOLO • FLOUNDER MEDITERRANEAN<br />
CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA ALLA ROMANA<br />
VEAL ALLA VINCENZO<br />
3704 BAYSHORE ROAD, NORTH CAPE MAY<br />
(Cape Plaza Shopping Center) • 889-6610<br />
exit zero 12 july
HARRY’S OCEAN<br />
BAR & GRILLE<br />
“Best Appetizers; Best Cocktails;<br />
Best Happy Hour” — Cape May Magazine<br />
“A Must-Visit Rooftop Bar This Summer”<br />
— NJ Monthly Magazine<br />
INDOOR/OUTDOOR<br />
LIVE<br />
NOW OPEN for outdoor dining!<br />
BREAKFAST · LUNCH · DINNER · COCKTAILS · TAKE OUT · TO-GO CRUSHES<br />
Visit our website for menu and hours<br />
CLASSIC<br />
CUISINESEASIDE<br />
AMERICAN<br />
INSPIRED<br />
COCKTAILS<br />
ROOFTOP<br />
BAR<br />
LOUNGE<br />
MUSIC HAPPY HOUR<br />
4 - 8pm4 - 6 pm<br />
Microbrew & Mussels Monday<br />
CRUSH WEDNESDAYS<br />
AMBIANCE<br />
basic tuesays<br />
Cape May’s Only Oceanfront Liquor Store<br />
BEACH AT MADISON AVENUE, CAPE MAY, NJ<br />
(609) 88-HARRY | HARRYSCAPEMAY.COM<br />
exit zero 13 july
the lawn at Congress Hall?<br />
I have had the good fortune to work with<br />
[Congress Hall ownwer] Curtis Bashaw on a<br />
couple of occasions, once when he opened<br />
the Chelsea Hotel in Atlantic City and again<br />
about 10 years ago when he asked me to assist<br />
with the cocktail program for his venues in<br />
Cape May. As frequent visitors to the town,<br />
my family has always loved the Cape Resorts<br />
brand — Congress Hall, the Rusty Nail and The<br />
Ebbitt Room.<br />
Apparently you brought down a whole<br />
team of people from New York to help out<br />
with the employment crisis. How has the culture<br />
shock been for them?<br />
Definitely different to the quarantined<br />
streets of Brooklyn! When we realized that the<br />
army of 220-plus J1 visas from Europe were<br />
not going to be coming this season, I reached<br />
out to some of the people I have worked with<br />
in the city to see if they would be interested.<br />
To date, we have probably 30 or so New Yorkers<br />
here. They have been amazing — we put<br />
them to work as soon as they got here. They<br />
never even had time to unpack. Hopefully, as<br />
the summer goes on, they will be able to enjoy<br />
Cape May the same way I have over the years.<br />
Your life in Brooklyn, traveling to the<br />
city every, it’s so different from here. What<br />
“When we realized that<br />
the army of 220-plus J1<br />
visas from Europe were<br />
not going to be coming<br />
this season, I reached out<br />
to some of the people I<br />
have worked with in the<br />
city to see if they would<br />
be interested. To date, we<br />
have probably 30 or so<br />
New Yorkers here.”<br />
do you miss most about your city life and<br />
what do you appreciate most about living<br />
and working in Cape May?<br />
Well, it’s great to have a deli on almost<br />
every corner! But I can’t think of too many<br />
backdrops that are more idyllic to work in<br />
than Cape May in the summer.<br />
Ever have any thoughts about opening<br />
up your own place in Cape May?<br />
Yeah, thinking about opening a funky<br />
Indian/British restaurant one day. Or has<br />
someone already done that?<br />
What are your favorite things for you<br />
and your family to do in Cape May? Your traditions.<br />
Mow the lawn — we don’t have one of<br />
those back in Brooklyn and I always loved that<br />
as a kid growing up in Britain. Personally, I love<br />
Kohr Bros frozen custard, though I can’t really<br />
explain why. We always like to flip the horseshoe<br />
crabs over on Higbee Beach so they can<br />
get back to the water.<br />
It’s going to be an intense summer for<br />
you. What are you most looking forward to<br />
doing this fall?<br />
Sleeping! Secure in t he knowledge that<br />
we were able to make our guests’ vacation<br />
experience a wonderful one and a safe respite<br />
from the craziness of the world right now.<br />
exit zero 14 july
Harbor View<br />
RESTAURANT, MARINA & BAR<br />
Our outside deck is now open daily<br />
starting at 11:30AM!<br />
Sushi daily<br />
on our<br />
outside deck<br />
Mon-Fri 3-6<br />
half-price apps<br />
Voted the best<br />
Happy Hour<br />
in NJ!<br />
954 OCEAN DRIVE, CAPE MAY ¯ 609-884-5444 ¯ HARBORVIEWCAPEMAY.COM<br />
exit zero 15 july
THE ULTIMATE CAPE MAY FOOD & DRINK CHART<br />
What you<br />
need to<br />
know about<br />
the food<br />
and vibe<br />
Meals<br />
served<br />
Bar or<br />
BYOB?<br />
Should I<br />
book?<br />
Food for<br />
kids?<br />
Other<br />
details<br />
ALEATHEA’S<br />
7 Ocean Street, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-5555, extension 226<br />
www.innofcapemay.com<br />
Excellent food at the glorious old Inn of Cape May.<br />
There’s a cozy-but-elegant bar (in normal times) with<br />
access to the oceanfront patio, which is pet-friendly.<br />
Check out the antique-filled lobby first.<br />
B, L, D<br />
FULL<br />
BAR<br />
NO YES<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
AVALON COFFEE<br />
7 Gurney, Cape May, 898-8088,<br />
3823 Bayshore, North Cape May<br />
(609) 846-0040<br />
BACKSTREET<br />
600 Park Blvd, West Cape May<br />
(609) 884-7660<br />
www.backstreetcapemaynj.com<br />
Superior coffee and healthy food that’s perfect for<br />
breakfast and lunch. First-class wraps, sandwiches and<br />
bagels, along with a good range of smoothies and cold<br />
drinks.<br />
Downhome cooking, a laidback vibe and superior<br />
desserts in this gem, a few minutes from Cape May.<br />
They have plenty of free parking and delicious nightly<br />
specials.<br />
B, L N/A NO YES<br />
b H<br />
U<br />
D BYOB NO NO<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
BAREFOOT BAR & RESTAURANT<br />
510 Beach Avenue, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-3500<br />
www.marquiscapemay.com<br />
Some of the best views in town. At the Marquis de<br />
Lafayette Hotel, overlooking the Atlantic. Fun drinks<br />
and treats such as watermelon salad, quesadillas,<br />
flatbread pizzas, nachos and more.<br />
N/A<br />
FULL<br />
BAR<br />
NO NO<br />
b<br />
U<br />
BEACH PLUM BAKERY & CAFÉ<br />
484 West Perry Street, Cape May<br />
(609) 770-8261<br />
www.thewestendgarage.com<br />
BEACH PLUM FARM KITCHEN<br />
140 Stevens, West Cape May<br />
(609) 602-0128<br />
www.beachplumfarmcapemay.com<br />
This cozy-industrial café features some of the<br />
most exciting doughnuts you’ve tasted, made with<br />
ingredients from Beach Plum Farm. Add La Colombe<br />
draft latte, and you’ve got a coffee lover’s dream.<br />
Enjoy the quiet beauty of this 62-acre farm in West<br />
Cape May and then indulge in the farm-to-table treats<br />
for breakfast or lunch. The soups, salads, sandwiches<br />
and juices are superb.<br />
B, L N/A NO YES<br />
b<br />
H<br />
B, L N/A NO YES<br />
u b<br />
H U<br />
BLUE PIG TAVERN<br />
251 Beach Avenue, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-8422<br />
www.caperesorts.com<br />
Many of its menu items are coming from the local<br />
Beach Plum Farm. The Pig serves classic tavern food<br />
with quite a a twist or two along the way. Enjoy your<br />
food on the Congress Hall patio or veranda.<br />
B, L, D<br />
FULL<br />
BAR<br />
YES YES<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
CRAB HOUSE<br />
Two Mile Landing, Ocean Drive<br />
(609) 522-1341<br />
www.twomilelanding.com<br />
Owned by a commercial fishing family, the Crab<br />
House serves the freshest of seafood. The<br />
waterfront views and live entertainment are great<br />
bonuses!<br />
L, D BAR NO YES<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
DELANEY’S IRISH BAR & GRILL<br />
400 Washington Mall, Cape May<br />
(609) 770-8559<br />
www.delaneyscapemay.com<br />
THE EBBITT ROOM<br />
25 Jackson Street,<br />
(609) 884-5700<br />
www. virginiahotel.com<br />
CAPE MAY FISH MARKET<br />
408 Washington Street, Cape May<br />
(609) 770-3790<br />
www.capemayfishmarket.com<br />
E. M. HEMINGWAY’S<br />
1045 Beach Avenue, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-5611<br />
www.hemingwayscapemay.com<br />
Irish comfort food is just a small part of the huge<br />
menu at this Irish-style bar and restaurant occupying<br />
a prime corner spot on the mall. Naturally, there’s<br />
Guinness on tap, too.<br />
Enjoy your meal on the Ebbitt Room porch,<br />
overlooking tree-lined Jackson Street, or enjoy the<br />
simple beauty of the garden patio. Wherever you<br />
eat, the food and drinks are excellent.<br />
Comfy joint in the middle of the mall, featuring a raw<br />
bar, surf-n-turf entrées, sandwiches and burgers, plus<br />
outside tables for some great people-watching!<br />
Casual and family-friendly, E. M. Hemingway’s offers<br />
great seafood, prime beef and nightly specials. Enjoy<br />
their happy hours daily from 4-7pm and weekend DJs.<br />
L, D BAR NO YES<br />
b H<br />
U<br />
D BAR YES NO<br />
u<br />
H<br />
L, D BYOB NO YES<br />
b H<br />
U<br />
B, L, D BAR NO YES b<br />
H<br />
SYMBOLS KEY u Onsite parking b Handicap accessible<br />
H Takeout available U Dog-friendly patio<br />
exit zero 16 july
exit zero 17 july
THE ULTIMATE CAPE MAY FOOD & DRINK CHART<br />
What you<br />
need to<br />
know about<br />
the food<br />
and vibe<br />
Meals<br />
served<br />
Bar or<br />
BYOB?<br />
Should I<br />
book?<br />
Food for<br />
kids?<br />
Other<br />
details<br />
EXIT ZERO FILLING STATION<br />
110 Sunset Boulevard, Cape May<br />
(609) 770-8479<br />
www.exitzero.us<br />
You won’t get many opportunities to eat outdoors<br />
at a gas station, especially one with a tiki bar design!<br />
There’s all that here, plus some juicy burgers and<br />
Indian/Thai curries, along with seriously good drinks.<br />
L, D BAR NO YES u b<br />
H U<br />
FINS BAR & GRILLE<br />
142 Decatur Street, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-3449<br />
www.finscapemay.com<br />
We don’t know when you will be able to enjoy the<br />
exciting maritime-themed decor inside. But at least<br />
you can enjoy eating out in the middle of Decatur<br />
Street, under the canopy.<br />
L, D BAR NO YES<br />
b H<br />
U<br />
5 WEST PUB<br />
3729 Bayshore, N. Cape May<br />
(609) 889-7000<br />
www.5westpub.com<br />
A gastropub from the owners of Tisha’s, a Cape May<br />
favorite. Expect exciting dishes, good drinks, and a<br />
scene that’s usually buzzing. A few minutes drive from<br />
town with pleasant outdoor dining out back.<br />
L, D BAR NO YES<br />
u b<br />
H U<br />
410 BANK STREET<br />
410 Bank Street, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-2127<br />
www.410bankstreet.com<br />
HARBOR VIEW<br />
954 Ocean Drive<br />
(609) 884-5444<br />
www.harborviewcapemay.com<br />
HARPOONS ON THE BAY<br />
Beach Drive and Browning<br />
(609) 886-5529<br />
www.harpoonhenrys.net<br />
After four decades, 410 still one of Cape May’s<br />
finest restaurants, serving food that’s as brilliant and<br />
inventive as ever. Always a lively atmosphere.<br />
A locals’ favorite for a reason. There’s a Key West<br />
vibe, good food, regular entertainment, and the<br />
views are spectacular. Spend the day — or night.<br />
Check out their Burger Mania on Sundays<br />
It’s become famous for its sunsets. Sip on a cold beer<br />
or a funky iced cocktail, listen to fun live music, and<br />
watch a beautiful day slip away. And note that the<br />
menu has a LOT of excellent new dishes.<br />
D BYOB YES NO<br />
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U<br />
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HARRY’S OCEAN BAR & GRILLE<br />
Madison & Beach Avenue<br />
(609) 884-2779<br />
www.harryscapemay.com<br />
The Montreal Inn’s restaurant successfully mixes a<br />
friendly, family feel with a stylish oceanfront vibe.<br />
You’ll appreciate the outdoor bar and restaurant on<br />
the top deck even more than ever. And those crushes!<br />
B, L, D BAR YES YES<br />
u b<br />
H U<br />
ICCARA<br />
311 Mansion Street, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-0200<br />
www.iccaracapemay.com<br />
Just steps from the Washington Street Mall, Iccara<br />
Italian Bistro & Seafood brings you the fresh flavors<br />
of Italy in a charming, welcoming atmosphere.<br />
D BYOB YES YES<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
THE LOBSTER HOUSE<br />
Fisherman’s Wharf, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-8296<br />
www.thelobsterhouse.com<br />
Take-out, fish market, restaurant, raw bar... the<br />
Lobster House has it all. Call the restaurant for the<br />
latest information on what will be opening. As we<br />
went to press, it was takeout only.<br />
B, L, D BAR NO YES<br />
u b<br />
H U<br />
LOUISA’S CAFÉ<br />
104 Jackson Street<br />
Cape May<br />
(609) 884-5882<br />
This tiny, loveable spot has been a favorite for four<br />
decades. Expect fresh, simple, delicious food, using<br />
produce from the local Beach Plum Farm. Note that<br />
Louisa’s is takeout only for now.<br />
D BYOB YES NO<br />
b H<br />
LUCKY BONES<br />
1200 Route 109, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-BONE<br />
www.luckybonesgrill.com<br />
A huge hit and locals’ favorite for a reason. Excellent<br />
food and drinks and friendly. Lucky Bones gets it right<br />
every single time. Plus you get to enjoy backwater<br />
sunsets from the outdoor dining area.<br />
L, D BAR<br />
NO<br />
YES<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
MAD BATTER<br />
19 Jackson Street<br />
(609) 884-5970<br />
www.madbatter.com<br />
It’s the original fine dining restaurant in Cape May.<br />
The food is always creative and the breakfasts and<br />
brunches, hard to beat — hence the lines.<br />
B, L, D BAR NO YES b<br />
H<br />
SYMBOLS KEY u Onsite parking b Handicap accessible<br />
H Takeout available U Dog-friendly patio<br />
exit zero 18 july
BEST AMERICAN &<br />
TOP 25 RESTAURANTS IN THE STATE<br />
- new jersey monthly<br />
Winner OpenTable Diners’ Choice<br />
3 course Prix-Fixe from 5pm-9:30pm<br />
$60 per person — $45 takeout<br />
First Course<br />
Beets<br />
Chevre, sunflower seed, herb<br />
vinaigrette<br />
Tuna Tartare<br />
Seaweed salad, pineapple relish,<br />
wasabi lime, wonton crisp<br />
Bay Scallops<br />
Ceviche, corn, potatoes, onions,<br />
peppers, citrus vinaigrette,<br />
chipotle aioli<br />
Crab Cake<br />
Charred corn relish, lemon crema,<br />
smoked pepper remoulade<br />
Burrata<br />
Heirloom tomato, prosciutto,<br />
balsamic crema<br />
Second Course<br />
Scallops<br />
Charred corn relish, mascarpone<br />
risotto, basil oil<br />
Tuna<br />
Green papaya slaw, avocado<br />
crema, fried onions, ginger sauce<br />
St. Laurent Salmon<br />
Tomato crab salad, goat cheese<br />
apple quinoa salad, sauce verte<br />
Short Rib<br />
Gremolata, bacon balsamic<br />
pearls, roasted garlic glace,<br />
carrots<br />
North American Lobster<br />
Twin 4 oz butter-poached lobster<br />
tails, lobster saffron risotto, lemon<br />
crème fraiche, pancetta<br />
(single tail: takeout option)<br />
Third Course<br />
Crème Brulee<br />
Rich velvety custard, burnt sugar crust<br />
Chocolate Brownie<br />
Vanilla ricotta, cookie garnish<br />
BEACH AVENUE & HOWARD STREET<br />
At the Hotel Macomber<br />
609-884-8811 unionparkdiningroom.com<br />
exit zero 19 july
THE ULTIMATE CAPE MAY FOOD & DRINK CHART<br />
What you<br />
need to<br />
know about<br />
the food<br />
and vibe<br />
Meals<br />
served<br />
Bar or<br />
BYOB?<br />
Should I<br />
book?<br />
Food for<br />
kids?<br />
Other<br />
details<br />
MARIO’S PIZZA<br />
Washington Commons<br />
(609) 884-0085<br />
www.mariosofcapemay.com<br />
Homemade specialties and secret sauces, from classic<br />
pizza (using homemade dough daily) to paninis, garlic<br />
knots and pasta dishes.<br />
L, D BYOB NO YES u b<br />
H U<br />
MAYER’S TAVERN<br />
894 3rd Avenue, Cape May<br />
(609) 435-5078<br />
www.mayerstavern.com<br />
The legendary (and infamous) harborfront dive bar<br />
reopened in 2018, with a smart renovation undertaken<br />
by the Laudeman family. But the character remains,<br />
along with those fried scallops.<br />
D<br />
FULL<br />
BAR NO YES<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
MERION INN<br />
106 Decatur Street, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-8363<br />
www.merioninn.com<br />
The dim, amber lighting, classic wooden bar, period<br />
fittings and classy staff deliver a special ambience.<br />
But for now, enjoy dinner in the nicely decorated<br />
outdoor patio.<br />
D<br />
FULL<br />
BAR<br />
YES<br />
YES<br />
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OCEAN VIEW<br />
Beach & Grant Avenues<br />
(609) 884-3772<br />
www.oceanviewrestaurant.com<br />
OUT THERE COFFEE<br />
315 Ocean Street at<br />
Washington Commons, Cape May<br />
outtherecoffee@gmail.com<br />
OYSTER BAY<br />
615 Lafayette Street<br />
(609) 884-2111<br />
www.oysterbayrestaurantnj.com<br />
PETER SHIELDS INN<br />
1301 Beach Avenue, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-9090<br />
www.petershieldsinn.com<br />
At this oceanfront staple, expect a large menu, full<br />
of classic diner food that’s reasonably priced. Locals<br />
frequent it, and you know that is always a good sign.<br />
This brainchild of thirtysomething couple Nikki and<br />
Craig is a little slice of Colorado in Cape May. Expect<br />
gourmet, imaginative coffee AND teas, along with<br />
ridiculously tasty scratch-made treats.<br />
A lovely dining room, a buzzy separate bar, a new bar<br />
menu, great martinis and classic, generous dishes.<br />
Check out their happy hour from 4-6pm and enjoy a<br />
nifty outdoor dining setup.<br />
The Georgian Revival mansion on Cape May’s<br />
beachfront is magnificent, and the creative modern<br />
American menu matches it all the way. A classy<br />
eating experience.<br />
B, L, D BYOB NO YES<br />
u b<br />
H U<br />
B, L N/A NO YES u b<br />
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D BAR YES YES u b<br />
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D BYOB YES NO H<br />
QUINCY’S LOBSTER ROLLS<br />
709 Beach Avenue and 320<br />
Washington Street, Cape May<br />
Quincy’s serve great rolls, with generous servings of<br />
Maine lobster, plus there are loads of non-lobster<br />
choices for kids. Don’t miss their new location in the<br />
middle of the Washington Street Mall.<br />
L, D N/A NO YES<br />
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U H<br />
RIO STATION<br />
3505 Route 9 South<br />
Rio Grande<br />
(609) 889-2000<br />
RUSTY NAIL<br />
205 Beach Avenue, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-0017<br />
www.caperesorts.com/rusty-nail<br />
SALT WATER CAFE<br />
1231 Route 109, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-2403<br />
www.saltwatercafecapemay.com<br />
SAPORE ITALIANO<br />
416 South Broadway<br />
West Cape May<br />
(609) 600-1422<br />
With a new menu, Rio Station offers steaks, local<br />
seafood, creative salads, vegetarian options and<br />
an award-winning wine list. Plus 14 beers on tap,<br />
including local crafts.<br />
Coldest beer and coolest vibe in town. The iconic<br />
Rusty Nail is the place to be for a uniquely Cape May<br />
experience. And they even have non-alcoholic brew<br />
for dogs!<br />
A fairly new addition to the Cape May food scene.<br />
The harbor setting is mighty fine, and so is the food,<br />
which is freshly prepared. The soups are simply<br />
superb.<br />
Located in a magnificent Victorian mansion, with<br />
plenty of outdoor dining, and the food does it<br />
justice. Excellent Italian food and a lovely family-style<br />
ambience.<br />
B, L, D BAR NO YES<br />
ub<br />
H U<br />
B, L, D BAR YES YES<br />
u b<br />
H U<br />
B, L BYOB YES YES u b<br />
H U<br />
L, D BYOB YES YES u b<br />
H<br />
SYMBOLS KEY u Onsite parking b Handicap accessible<br />
H Takeout available U Dog-friendly patio<br />
exit zero 20 july
FINE DINING<br />
Rated #1<br />
Restaurant<br />
in West<br />
Cape May<br />
Open for dinner daily from 4pm<br />
416 S BROADWAY, WEST CAPE MAY<br />
609-600-1422 • @saporeitalianous<br />
exit zero 21 july
THE ULTIMATE CAPE MAY FOOD & DRINK CHART<br />
What you<br />
need to<br />
know about<br />
the food<br />
and vibe<br />
Meals<br />
served<br />
Bar or<br />
BYOB?<br />
Should I<br />
book?<br />
Food for<br />
kids?<br />
Other<br />
details<br />
SEASALT<br />
1035 Beach Avenue, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-7000<br />
www.seasaltcapemay.com<br />
SHAMONE<br />
421 Washington Street<br />
Cape May<br />
(609) 884-6088<br />
Black wood and granite tables, mother-of-pearl barfront,<br />
river rock decor... the vibe is as cool as the food<br />
is delicious. Another place where the outdoor dining<br />
has a wonderful ocean view.<br />
Looking for something different? The Karapanagiotis<br />
brothers offer one 15-course tasting menu nightly. For<br />
$35. It’s an adventure for your tastebuds.<br />
B, L, D BAR NO YES u b<br />
H<br />
D BYOB YES NO N/A<br />
TACO CABALLITO TEQUILERIA<br />
429 Beach Avenue, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-4800<br />
www.tacocaballito.com<br />
The newest addition to the Cape May beachfront. A<br />
new place to call home — serving up eclectic Mexican<br />
food, handcrafted cocktails (with mezcal the star) and<br />
a huge selection of artisan tequilas.<br />
L, D<br />
FULL<br />
BAR<br />
NO YES<br />
b H<br />
U<br />
TISHA’S<br />
322 Washington Street Mall<br />
Cape May<br />
(609) 884-9119<br />
UGLY MUG<br />
426 Washington Street Mall<br />
Cape May<br />
(609) 884-3459<br />
UNCLE BILL’S PANCAKE HOUSE<br />
Beach Avenue and Perry Street,<br />
Cape May<br />
(609) 884-7199<br />
A hot spot on the Washington Street Mall, where<br />
they serve up irresistible concoctions for lunch and<br />
dinner. A great people-watching spot, too.<br />
A Cape May legend, and a good place to stop while<br />
shopping on the mall. Such a treat. It has a classic pub<br />
vibe, and always a warm, friendly atmosphere.<br />
Reliably good food for breakfast and lunch — there<br />
is a reason why people wait in line here. You can sit<br />
outside with ocean and beach views and dine with<br />
your dog if the weather is nice.<br />
L, D BYOB YES YES<br />
b<br />
L, D BAR NO YES b H<br />
U<br />
B, L BYOB NO YES ub<br />
H U<br />
UNION PARK<br />
Beach Avenue & Howard<br />
(609) 884-8811<br />
www.unionparkdiningroom.com<br />
Exquisite dining in a classic old hotel, where both the<br />
decor and the food are inspired. Voted one of the<br />
best restaurants in the state by New Jersey Monthly<br />
magazine.<br />
D BYOB YES NO<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
VIGGIANO’S ON SUNSET<br />
109 Sunset Blvd, West Cape May<br />
(609) 435-5026<br />
www.viggianosbyob.com<br />
A new family-friendly Italian restaurant, from the<br />
same owners as the popular Conshocken restaurant.<br />
Expect classic Italian food done right and a welcome<br />
as hearty as the pasta dishes.<br />
D BYOB YES YES<br />
ub<br />
H U<br />
VINCENZO’S LITTLE ITALY II<br />
3704 Bayshore Road<br />
North Cape May<br />
(609) 889-6610<br />
VINTAGE<br />
1048 Washington Street<br />
609-224-6064<br />
www.capemaymac.org<br />
WASHINGTON INN<br />
801 Washington, Cape May<br />
(609) 884-5697<br />
www.washingtoninn.com<br />
THE YB<br />
314 Beach Avenue,<br />
Cape May<br />
(609) 898-2009<br />
If you want to bring the family for a fine and fun<br />
Italian meal, look no further. The kids will love<br />
it. Excellent pasta dishes, and they’ve recently<br />
expanded their pizzeria.<br />
The newest addition to the grounds of the Emlen<br />
Physick Estate. Cape May MAC partnered with the<br />
folks behind George’s Place to create a modern,<br />
eclectic and delicious dining experience.<br />
Superb gourmet food, and a cool but cozy bar. Check<br />
out an amazing wine list of over 10,000 bottles;<br />
they’ve got the largest wine cellar in South Jersey.<br />
The chef and manager recently took over this<br />
popular eatery. The food and service is as good as<br />
ever, and the renovation is beautiful! Enjoy both<br />
brunch and dinner time in this cozy beachfront<br />
L, D BYOB YES YES<br />
u b<br />
H<br />
L, D BYOB YES YES<br />
ub<br />
H U<br />
D BAR YES YES u b<br />
H<br />
L, D BYOB YES YES b H<br />
U<br />
SYMBOLS KEY u Onsite parking b Handicap accessible<br />
H Takeout available U Dog-friendly patio<br />
exit zero 22 july
Aidan, where are you from and how old<br />
are you?<br />
I’m 17 and I’m from a town called Dresher<br />
in Montgomery County, PA. I’m a rising senior<br />
at Upper Dublin High School.<br />
What is your relationship to Cape May?<br />
My family have had a house down here<br />
since 2006 — it’s been our happy place for<br />
about 30 years and will be mine for decades<br />
to come, especially after THIS summer. I can’t<br />
wait until one day when I have my own family<br />
and house down here.<br />
How long have you been visiting our little<br />
shore town?<br />
For as long as I can remember — we visit<br />
for a week in the beginning of summer and<br />
at the end. We’ll also do some weekends<br />
throughout the summer and the off-season.<br />
We have a house right in the center of Cape<br />
May’s historic district and we love it. I’m working<br />
at Cape May Peanut Butter Company<br />
and Congress Hall for the summer which I’m<br />
excited about.<br />
So tell us about the Spread Smiles Movement<br />
— how did it all start?<br />
As a part of graduating high school, they<br />
have everybody do a Senior Culminating Project.<br />
It stemmed from wanting to do something<br />
A QUICK CHAT<br />
Pennsylvania teenager (and<br />
regular Cape May visitor) Aidan<br />
Nadell is trying to bring joy into<br />
an uncertain world. His Spread<br />
Smiles movement aims to help<br />
nonprofits and inspire us all to<br />
do better things.<br />
interview nicole james<br />
photograph aleksey moryakov<br />
a little more than just mailing it in and I started<br />
developing ideas back in September. We’re<br />
supposed to do something that involves either<br />
research or fundraising — basically taking an<br />
interest you have and giving it a purpose to<br />
make a lasting difference. We are required to<br />
complete 25 service hours and, after the project,<br />
we then present it to a panel of judges.<br />
Why is this the direction you chose for<br />
your project?<br />
exit zero 23 july<br />
I went to Israel last summer for 10 days<br />
and it was an amazing experience. After that,<br />
I knew I wanted to work in a Jewish institution.<br />
I started working at Chabad Garden<br />
School — a Jewish preschool in Montgomery<br />
County — after school and I wanted to give<br />
back to them. I have a passion for working<br />
with kids and you don’t see a lot of males in<br />
childcare. I’m an assistant teacher and responsible<br />
for creating playground games, leading<br />
stories and reinforcing educational material.<br />
Their playground is a big part of my role at the<br />
school so I figured I can try to raise $5000 to<br />
put toward the remodel. They’re in the process<br />
of creating one of the nicest playgrounds<br />
I’ve ever seen and we’ve nearly reached our<br />
goal after just a month of fundraising.<br />
That’s amazing to see after just a month<br />
— how did you raise the money?<br />
Our social media presence has been key,<br />
and we are selling products with our message,<br />
Spread Smiles. We have T-shirts for<br />
men, women and kids, bracelets, stickers and<br />
accept any donations from the community. I<br />
have such a supportive community back home<br />
and it’s amazing the help we’ve received. My<br />
mom is a jewelry representative and helped<br />
me reach an artist to design my bracelet.
We’ve put some things into farmer’s markets<br />
and other retailers along with our online shop<br />
and I’d like to integrate this movement into<br />
Cape May. We’re also creating a couple corona-safe<br />
products that I want to release soon,<br />
including a touchless key and face masks.<br />
What is the meaning behind your message,<br />
Spread Smiles?<br />
It’s important to me to have purpose in<br />
my life in whatever I do — I want to leave people<br />
better than I found them and make them<br />
smile in an infectious way. With the Spread<br />
Smiles movement, what I want to resonate is<br />
positivity and perspective — especially during<br />
today’s uncertainty. There’s so much good<br />
that has come out of this time even though<br />
it’s unprecedented and I think the coronavirus<br />
helped weed out what’s important in life<br />
versus what’s not. Negativity through social<br />
media and the news spreads like a mental<br />
virus — spread doesn’t need to be a bad thing.<br />
I want to spread positivity like a virus, which is<br />
the whole idea.<br />
You’ve put a lot of time and work into<br />
this project — has anyone helped you?<br />
My parents have both been incredible. My<br />
dad is an accountant and helped me with the<br />
financial and business side of it to make sure I<br />
stay organized. As far as the social media and<br />
creating the products, that was all my mom.<br />
She showed me ways to post and take photos<br />
for Spread Smiles to gain more attention. Some<br />
time ago, they started a charity for low-income<br />
families and kids with special needs, which<br />
really inspired my philanthropic mindset. It’s<br />
probably the biggest thing they’ve imparted<br />
on me and as I look forward to becoming an<br />
adult, I want to make my parents proud.<br />
What does the future hold for the<br />
Spread Smiles movement?<br />
I’m willing to run with this movement as<br />
far as it will take me. I’m looking to see what<br />
other consumer bodies I can find at home and<br />
in Cape May — it’s such a giving community<br />
and everyone is so supportive of one another.<br />
I think it has some real potential and I want<br />
to spread my message as far as possible, taking<br />
chances where I can. I think that there is<br />
something to say about this entire movement.<br />
I feel it’s an obligation to show kids that you<br />
don’t have to wait to make a difference.<br />
Are you thinking about looking into any<br />
exit zero 24 july<br />
other charities to support?<br />
I belong to a different synagogue other<br />
than Chabad and I would love to be able to<br />
support them. I also volunteer at a Jewish<br />
organization for kids with special needs called<br />
Friendship Circle. I think it’s so impactful to<br />
help a more specific cause like a playground or<br />
school. Education is very important to me so<br />
helping teachers, revitalizing a library or something<br />
like that — school is a place that people<br />
should be proud to go to that enriches them.<br />
It would be humbling to help more schools like<br />
Chabad.<br />
It’s great to hear your enthusiasm for<br />
education — any college plans yet?<br />
I toured about 10 colleges and fell in love<br />
with Ursinus College — a small liberal arts<br />
school in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. I feel like<br />
I’m a different kind of kid and I want to be at a<br />
school where I’m surrounded by thousands of<br />
people who can lift me up. It’s a small school,<br />
close to home with an engaged student body<br />
so it stuck out to me. I want to study business<br />
administration and entrepreneurship — I’m<br />
looking to create my own entrepreneurial<br />
empire and just continue giving back.
Voted Top 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America for <strong>2020</strong> by Open Table<br />
Weddings | Rehearsal Dinners | Bridal Showers | Special Occasions<br />
PSI@HOME Takeout<br />
Available Ever Evening<br />
Open for outdoor dining<br />
Nightly beginning at 5pm<br />
Reserations Required<br />
1301 Beach Avenue ǀ Cape May<br />
609.884.9090<br />
www.petershieldsinn.com<br />
exit zero 25 july
Cape May has never seen anything like it!<br />
Amazing curries and burgers. Plus our famous<br />
Hot Chick, Thai soup and Cauli Bites. Served at<br />
our Gas Station Tiki Room. Come and say Aloha!<br />
609-770-8479 110 Sunset Boulevard exitzero.com
S<br />
a cape may moment<br />
Fun in the sun, with the Hoerdemann kids on the beautiful beaches of Cool Cape May. Aleksey Moryakov<br />
•WINGS•3 EGG OMELETTES•BURGERS•WORLD FAMOUS CRABCAKES•CLASSIC CAESAR•STEAKS•<br />
•MOTZY LOGS•MANDARIN SALMON•RIO CHIPPED BEEF<br />
“Hakuna Frittata”<br />
Join us for breakfast on the Patio<br />
• Mimosas in the Morning ~ Bloody Marys & Mimosas with your Breakfast<br />
• $2.22 Breakfast ~ 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 pancakes 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Everyday<br />
Food & Cocktails To Go! Check out the “Bring It Home” Menu on our web site.<br />
“Best Breakfast at the Shore” ~ SJ Magazine 2019<br />
Join us for dinner, too!<br />
• “World Famous Crab Cakes”<br />
• Award-Winning Wings & Chili<br />
• Serving Jersey-Fresh & Local Seafood<br />
• Brand New Outdoor Dining & partial indoor seating<br />
• Package Goods & Tons of Free Parking<br />
www.riostation.com<br />
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Year Round<br />
Grande Center Mall • Routes 9 & 47 • Rio Grande, NJ 08242 • 609.889.2000<br />
BLUEBERRY PANCAKES•AWARD WINNING WINGS•DRUNKEN NOODLES•SMOOTHIES PLUS<br />
S<br />
FRITTATAS•CHICKEN PARM•TURKEY CLUB•STEAK & CAKE•
events around the cape<br />
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, some<br />
events will have changed dates or been canceled<br />
completely. Please check in advance.<br />
August 1<br />
Jersey Cape Antique Auto Show<br />
Drool over approximately 50 antique cars on<br />
display in Rotary Park and Collier’s parking<br />
lot, in the cente of downtown Cape May from<br />
9:30am-2pm. Call 609-884-9565 or visit<br />
discovecapemaynj.com.<br />
August 1<br />
Ninth Annual Craft Beer & Crab Festival<br />
Come to the beautiful grounds of the Physick<br />
Estate, 1048 Washington Street, and experience<br />
what CBS NY named one of New Jersey’s<br />
Top Five Summer Festivals! This all-day fete<br />
features local craft beer and favorite summer<br />
picnic foods. Think: steamed crabs, crab<br />
cakes, steamed shrimp, pulled pork, corn on<br />
the cob, and potato salad. Enjoy live music on<br />
the outdoor stage, see jugglers and acrobats,<br />
and peruse a farmers’ market. Admission is<br />
free, from 10am-6pm. Call 609-884-5404.<br />
August 1-2<br />
Down On The Farm Weekend<br />
At Historic Cold Spring Village, visit with<br />
your favorite barnyard animals, make takehome<br />
crafts, enjoy a horse and carriage ride<br />
with Levi the Horse and celebrate all things<br />
on the American farm! Call 609-898-2300 or<br />
visit hcsv.org and remember that Cold Spring<br />
Brewery is right next door!<br />
August 3-4<br />
Classic Car Show<br />
Cars will be on display each day from 10am-<br />
3pm at Historic Cold Spring Village. See<br />
beautifully restored and preserved vehicles,<br />
from muscle cars to light trucks, from the<br />
1910s to the 1980s parked along the Village’s<br />
tree-lined, shell-paved lanes. Talk with the<br />
owners and learn about the process of restoring<br />
a classic automobile as well as the fascinating<br />
stories behind their development and<br />
use. Call 609-898-2300.<br />
August 4<br />
National Night Out<br />
The night will feature different organizations<br />
displaying their activities, such as the Nature<br />
Center of Cape May, US Coast Guard,<br />
Cape May County Sheriff’s Office and others.<br />
There will also be activities for children, food<br />
and giveaways. Cape May Convention Hall<br />
beach from 6-9pm. Call 609-884-9514 or<br />
visit discovercapemaynj.com.<br />
August 5, 12, 19<br />
Family Fun Days at Cape May Lighthouse<br />
The 1859 Cape May Lighthouse located in<br />
Cape May Point State Park, Lower Township,<br />
becomes a beacon of fun. Enjoy kid-friendly<br />
activities, performers, entertainment and<br />
unique crafts vendors at the base of the landmark,<br />
from 9am-2pm. Free admission. Call<br />
609-884-5404.<br />
August 5<br />
Cape May Summer Concert Series:<br />
Mary Wilson of The Supremes<br />
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The Motown legend is just as dynamic today,<br />
still belting out legendary hits such as “You<br />
Can’t Hurry Love,” “Baby Love,” “Stop! In the<br />
Name of Love,” and “Where Did Your Love<br />
Go.” See her at Cape May Convention Hall.<br />
Concert starts at 8pm, tickets $48. Call 609-<br />
884-9563 or visit discovercapemaynj.com.<br />
August 7<br />
Cape May Baby Parade<br />
If you’re a sucker for cute things — or if you<br />
still use a sucker — you should probably turn<br />
up for the baby parade, starting at 11am on<br />
Congress Street and Beach Avenue. There is<br />
live music! Call 609-884-9565.<br />
August 7<br />
National Lighthouse Day and<br />
Crafts & Collectibles Show<br />
Enjoy family activities at the base of the lighthouse<br />
including pirate-hat making, games,<br />
music and craft vendors from 9am-2pm. Free<br />
admission. Call 609-884-5404 or visit capemaymac.org.<br />
August 8-9<br />
16th Annual Celtic Weekend<br />
At Historic Cold Spring Village, celebrate<br />
traditions of the Celtic Highlands with<br />
live entertainment: music, dancing, crafts,<br />
beer pavilion and more. 10am-4:30pm. For<br />
performance lineup, call 609-898-2300 or<br />
visit hcsv.org.<br />
August 8-9<br />
Promenade Craft Show<br />
Because this is the perfect time to find that<br />
perfect souvenir. From 10am-5pm. For more<br />
information, call 609-884-9565 or visit<br />
discovercapemaynj.com.<br />
August 12<br />
Cape May Summer Concert Series:<br />
The Hit Men<br />
This supergroup consists of musicians who<br />
either played, sang (or both) on some of the<br />
most memorable hits of the era, including<br />
“Who Loves You”, “Oh What a Night”, “The<br />
Loco-motion” and “Joy to the World.” See<br />
them at Cape May Convention Hall. Concert<br />
at 8pm, tickets $48. Call 609-884-9563 or<br />
visit discovercapemaynj.com.<br />
August 15-16<br />
Midsummer Music Fest<br />
Kick back at Historic Cold Spring Village<br />
and celebrate the magic of music. For more<br />
details, call 609-898-2300 or visit hcsv.org<br />
and remember that Cold Spring Brewery is<br />
right next door!<br />
August 19<br />
Cape May Summer Concert Series:<br />
The Modern Gentlemen<br />
The Modern Gentlemen perform “the voices<br />
behind Frankie Valli over the past decade,<br />
blending classic hits of Motown, The Four<br />
Seasons, The Beach Boys, Beatles in their<br />
modern style. Concert starts at 8pm. Call<br />
609-884-9563 or visit capemaycity.com.<br />
August 21<br />
Linda Gentille & The Jersey Shore Pops<br />
A big night of theatrical classics — Music of<br />
the Night Tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber<br />
& Sarah Brightman. The show will be<br />
performed at Cape May Convention Hall,<br />
starting at 7pm. Call 609-884-9565 or visit<br />
discovercapemaynj.com.<br />
August 22-23<br />
Seafarers’ Weekend<br />
Pirates invade Historic Cold Spring Village!<br />
Catch the action with pirate fight shows<br />
PRAWN<br />
409 Elmira<br />
Cape May<br />
CHOWDER<br />
Soup of the Day — 5 C / 8 Pt / 16 Qt<br />
SALADS<br />
House — 11<br />
Chef’s Whim/Basil Vinaigrette<br />
Caesar — 12<br />
Romaine/Crouton/Parm/White<br />
Anchovies<br />
additions: grilled chicken 5<br />
seared shrimp 9 / crab cake 13<br />
APPETIZERS<br />
U-PEEL — 14<br />
House Spiced/ Poached<br />
Shrimp Cocktail —15<br />
6 U-12 Domestic Brown/Cocktail<br />
Octopus/Calamari — 14<br />
Charred/Caper/Onion/Olive Oil/Lemon<br />
Snow Crab Claws — 15<br />
(6) / Mustard Dipping<br />
Cauliflower Wings — 10<br />
House Buffalo/Mustard Dipping/Celery<br />
CAPE MAY'S PREMIERE TAKEOUT<br />
Scallop — 14<br />
(5) U-10 Bacon-Wrapped/Orange<br />
Rosemary<br />
Mussels — Sm 12 / Lg 25<br />
Red or White<br />
Clams — Sm 12 / Lg 25<br />
Red or White<br />
MAINS<br />
Includes Sm House Salad/Bread<br />
Lobster Newberg — 34<br />
Shrimp/Crab/Maine Lobster/Sherry<br />
Cream/Pasta<br />
Crab Cake — 32<br />
Colossal Meat/Seared/Mustard Caper<br />
Dipping/Starch/Veg<br />
Vegan Crab Cake — 24<br />
Heart of Palm/Garbanzo/Onion/Dijon/<br />
Veg/French Fry<br />
Cioppino — 34<br />
Mussels/Clams/Shrimp/Scallops/Crab/<br />
Red or White/Pasta<br />
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Twin Lobster Tails — 40<br />
South African/Starch/Veg<br />
Scallop — 29<br />
Pan Seared/Pesto/Starch/Veg<br />
CRABS<br />
Includes 2 Sides/Bread<br />
Whole Blue — 40<br />
(3) Colossal (6 3/4 +)<br />
Dungeness — 40<br />
1 1/2 LB Clusters<br />
Snow Crab — 31 / 38<br />
(12 and up) 2 Clusters / 3 Clusters<br />
Alaskan King (Legs) — 49<br />
1 1/2 LB (16/20)<br />
OLD SCHOOL FRIED<br />
Includes 2 Sides/Bread<br />
Flounder — 27<br />
Shrimp — 25<br />
Scallop — 26<br />
Combo Platter — 30<br />
609-408-6524 or 609-408-7070 Visit PrawnCapeMay.com<br />
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throughout the weekend. Take in exhibits (antique boats!) and activities<br />
(duck decoy carving!) and sing-alongs. Visit hcsv.org.<br />
August 23<br />
Cape to Cape Paddle Race<br />
This marathon begins at Lewes, Delaware and finishes at Queen<br />
Street Beach, Cape May. Call Chad deSatnick for more information<br />
on 609-780-1986.<br />
August 26<br />
The Angelus Chorus<br />
Sacred music. Secular music. Sixty brilliant voices. Boom. Cape May<br />
Convention Hall. Starts at 7pm and it’s a free concert! Call 609-884-<br />
9565 for more information.<br />
August 29-30<br />
Paranormal Weekend<br />
Fascinated by the supernatural? Not sure what the odd noise is at<br />
night? In addition to experiencing Historic Cold Spring Village’s 27<br />
restored, historic buildings dating from 1691-1912, guests can enjoy<br />
various workshops, demonstrations, and tours which highlight the<br />
study of spiritualism and the paranormal. In addition to Paranormal<br />
Weekend, Thursdays in August Ghost Walks are held at 8pm starting<br />
from the Cold Spring Brewery. Call 609-898-2300 or visit hcsv.org<br />
and remember that Cold Spring Brewery is right next door!<br />
September 4<br />
Rich Reinhart Junior Clamshell Pitching Tournament<br />
A rite of passage at the shore. Contect kicks off on Windsor Beach,<br />
across from Congress Hall. BYOC (Bring your own clamshell) if<br />
you have a lucky one. Otherwise, they’ll be provided for you. Free to<br />
participate! From 11am-3pm. Call 609-884-9565.<br />
September 4<br />
The Beach Bumz Band<br />
Free beach concert at Cape May Convention Hall, at 6pm. For more<br />
information, visit capemaycity.com.<br />
September 5<br />
West Cape May Tomato Festival<br />
Annual event, from 9am to 5pm at Wilbraham Park, features Jersey<br />
Fresh tomatoes, tomato jewelry, tomato soups, tomato tacos and all<br />
things tomato, as well as South Jersey artists, and handmade jewelry.<br />
September 5-6<br />
Summer Send-Off Craft Show<br />
This way, you can bring a little summer home with you. Be on the<br />
promenade, or be square. From 10am-5pm. Call 609-884-9565 or<br />
visit capemaycity.com.<br />
10am-10pm l Free Delivery<br />
Sunset & Broadway l 609-435-5052<br />
Uncle Bill’s<br />
& FAMILY RESTAURANT<br />
Pancakes, perfected!<br />
September 5-6<br />
Hands-on History<br />
At Historic Cold Spring Village, try your hand at crafts and trades<br />
from the 1800s: blacksmithing, basketweaving, woodworking and<br />
more. Step inside the Village’s historic buildings and interact with<br />
historical interpreters to learn and create... the way our ancestors<br />
did! Children can get their Past-port stamped for each activity they<br />
complete, and redeem it for a free treat in the Country Store!<br />
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BEACH AVENUE & PERRY STREET<br />
609-884-7199 « Pet-Friendly Outdoor Seating!
Adored by Visitors<br />
Loved by Locals!<br />
September 12<br />
Sixth Annual Harvest Brew Fest and Crafts & Collectibles Show<br />
Purchase and enjoy craft beers at this annual Physick Estate festival<br />
that celebrates all things local and frothy, including local music,<br />
local food and local brews, with crafts and collectibles vendors at<br />
the Physick Estate, 1048 Washington Street. Families welcome! Free<br />
admission to the grounds, 10am-6pm. Visit capemaymac.org.<br />
September 12-13<br />
Revolutionary War Encampment<br />
At Historic Cold Spring Village, the American Revolution comes to<br />
life with reenactors and encampments from both Loyalist and Patriot<br />
militia. Call 609-898-2300 isit hcsv.org and remember there’s Cold<br />
Spring Brewery right next door!<br />
September 11<br />
9/11 Patriot Day Ceremony<br />
At the Cove Beach, starting at 6pm. Visit capemaykiwanis.com.<br />
Beach & Grant, Cape May<br />
609-884-3772<br />
September 11-20<br />
24th Annual Cape May Food & Wine Celebration<br />
Discover the variety of delicious flavors in Cape May, named one of<br />
America’s Best Food Cities during this festival of food, wine, beer and<br />
spirits. Call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278 or visit capemaymac.<br />
org.<br />
September 17-19<br />
New Jersey State Firemen’s Convention and Parade<br />
Fire trucks from around the state will be displayed in the Wildwoods<br />
Convention Center parking lots. Fireworks will happen Friday at<br />
9pm on the beach at Pine Avenue and a Firemen’s Parade will be held<br />
on Saturday at 2pm along New Jersey Avenue.<br />
American Cuisine<br />
Freshest Seafood<br />
Sizzling Steaks<br />
Great Bar Menu<br />
HAPPY HOUR 4-6 DAILY<br />
615 LAFAYETTE STREET, CAPE MAY<br />
609-884-2111 • oysterbayrestaurant.com<br />
September 19<br />
Cape May’s Fall Designer House Tour<br />
Step across the thresholds of several professionally designed, grand<br />
private homes that are open to the public for this occasion. Be<br />
inspired by a variety of beautiful décor ideas. Visitors receive a booklet<br />
with descriptions of the houses and a map. From 11am-3pm. Call<br />
609-884-5404 or visit capemaymac.org.<br />
September 21<br />
Chocolate Lovers Feast<br />
Savor a sumptuous chocolate buffet of chocolate desserts at The<br />
Washington Inn at 1pm. Admission is $40, with wine pairings for<br />
$15. Visit capemaymac.org.<br />
September 19-20<br />
Civil War Weekend<br />
At Historic Cold Spring Village visitors can tour Union and Confederate<br />
camps and meet military and civilian reenactors who will discuss<br />
the everyday lives of Civil War soldiers and the roles civilians<br />
played. Battle scheduled for 2pm. Call 609-898-2300 or visit hcsv.<br />
org and remember that Cold Spring Brewery is right next door!<br />
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OVER 50 STORES UNDER ONE ROOF<br />
OPEN DAILY<br />
antique furniture • accessories • estate jewelry • vintage memorabilia • framed artwork • home goods<br />
Beach Plum Bakery and Café<br />
609.770.8261 | 484 Perry Street, Cape May | thewestendgarage.com<br />
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A Founding<br />
Mother<br />
When plans for the Harriet Tubman Museum got underway,<br />
there was one person who unlocked the door to a treasure trove<br />
of artefacts from Cape May’s African American community. For<br />
Emily Dempsey, one of the founders of the Center for Community<br />
Arts, this a moment she’s been waiting for.<br />
interview bill barlow photography suzanne kulperger<br />
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Emily at her Sunset Boulevard antique shop and, opposite, at the HQ of the Center for Community Arts, of which she was a founder.<br />
For a town fascinated with its past,<br />
Cape May at one time seemed ready<br />
to forget a significant part of that history<br />
— the lives and contributions of its<br />
African American community. People<br />
like Emily Dempsey refused to let that happen.<br />
Dempsey has described herself as a founding<br />
mother of Center for Community Arts, created<br />
in the 1990s in part to preserve Cape Island’s<br />
black heritage, as well as to serve today’s youth.<br />
Dempsey’s family has deep roots in Cape<br />
May. She described herself as a rebel and a free<br />
spirit, climbing trees and going fishing at a time<br />
when few girls behaved that way. She loved the<br />
area, returning for summer jobs even after her<br />
family moved to West Chester, PA so that her<br />
mother could get a better job. Eventually, she<br />
returned to the Cape full time.<br />
“I just love Cape May. My husband came<br />
along with me,” she said.<br />
As volunteers began to work last year on a<br />
new museum of African American history, the<br />
Harriet Tubman Museum, in the former parsonage<br />
of the Macedonia Baptist Church on Lafayette<br />
Street, organizers turned to Emily for artifacts<br />
and for historical detail — this 83-year-old<br />
dynamo owns Attic Treasures in West Cape May<br />
and also has an extensive personal collection.<br />
Thousands gathered online for the opening<br />
of the museum on Juneteenth, a day celebrating<br />
the end of legal slavery in America, while locals<br />
gathered in person at Rotary Park to observe<br />
the occasion and to renew a commitment to the<br />
ideals of Tubman and other abolitionists. At the<br />
event, organizers cited a visit to Cape May by<br />
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr in 1958, where<br />
he addressed a Quaker conference. He was 29<br />
and already a Civil Rights leader.<br />
This summer, Cape May was again part of<br />
the national conversation, with both black and<br />
white community members joining in Black Lives<br />
Matter protests that swept the country in the<br />
largest mass civil rights action in more than a<br />
generation.<br />
Emily looked at the demonstrations with<br />
pride and was keen to speak with Exit Zero<br />
about this extraordinary moment in history and<br />
help put it into an historical context — she lived<br />
through segregation, attending the all-black<br />
Franklin Street School as a child, and watched<br />
the extraordinary changes that came after legal<br />
segregation came to an end.<br />
Tell us about your family history in Cape<br />
May. I’m the fifth generation born here. My<br />
mother was born in Cape May Point on Alexander<br />
Avenue. That entire street, just about, was all<br />
African American. My grandmother lived there,<br />
exit zero 36 july<br />
her mother and father too. My grandfather, in<br />
his early years, was head waiter at the Hotel<br />
Cape May. That became the Admiral Hotel. He<br />
later worked for the post office in Cape May. My<br />
grandmother mostly stayed home and took care<br />
of the family.<br />
It’s been said your grandmother had stories<br />
of Harriet Tubman, who worked in Cape<br />
May during the summer of 1852. You know, I<br />
didn’t even know about Harriet Tubman when<br />
I was young, and older people were kind of<br />
closed mouth about those kind of things. Somebody<br />
was talking and the wrong person was in<br />
the house, they were like, “Shh, Shh. Don’t say<br />
anything else.” I wish I had stories about Harriet<br />
Tubman.<br />
In later years, as we’re looking through history,<br />
I’m finding out Harriet Tubman’s maiden<br />
name was Green. The 800 block of Corgie<br />
Street [in Cape May] is the only block that had<br />
African Americans. Two thirds or more of the<br />
family names were Green. So we’re working on<br />
that.<br />
You attended Cape May’s segregated<br />
Franklin Street School as a child. What was that<br />
like? I mean, it was great. I was happy to be able<br />
to go to school. I shouldn’t say this, but I wasn’t<br />
the sharpest knife in the drawer. There were too<br />
many interesting things going on, like the robins
exit zero 37 july<br />
building their nest in that tree out front. So many<br />
things drew my attention. I couldn’t stop looking<br />
at the nest. I guess you’d call me a dreamer.<br />
As a child, were you aware of this discrimination<br />
as wrong? I didn’t usually feel segregation,<br />
and when I felt it, I didn’t like it. I became<br />
like a rebel, but not a fighter. When I was still<br />
in elementary school, we boycotted a home<br />
economics class. Four girls and myself, because<br />
the teacher said she wanted the girls to cook<br />
for the boys. It wasn’t me that stirred up the<br />
pot, because I was scared through the whole<br />
thing. My cousin from Trenton, we were talking<br />
recently about things that happened to us. But<br />
I never felt inferior because of those things. We<br />
had the Grant Street beach, we had a concession,<br />
we had a pavilion with the sliding glass windows<br />
and the rocking chair. We loved that beach.<br />
It was later in life that there was this outcry<br />
from me, when I got some weird feeling about<br />
all this mess.<br />
Younger generations think of this history<br />
as a million years ago, and yet, our society is<br />
still struggling with racism. Recently, Cape May<br />
joined cities around the nation in protesting<br />
discrimination and police brutality. Does it feel<br />
like we’re stuck on a hamster wheel? Or does<br />
this moment feel different? This movement<br />
feels so different. I talked to a friend of mine. I<br />
said, “Judy, I feel like getting out there, protesting.<br />
There’s so much unfinished business.” She<br />
said, “Em, let the young people do it. You’ve done<br />
your job.” I said, “I guess you’re right.” Well, the<br />
next thing I know, I’m standing out there in the<br />
Rotary Pavilion. It was like a breath of fresh air.<br />
Because there were so many unresolved issues.<br />
You were a founder of the Center for<br />
Community Arts, which launched in 1995 partly<br />
to “address racially charged discussions in the<br />
community.” What were those discussions,<br />
and do you think CCA has been successful?<br />
Absolutely. We didn’t have things in this Victorian<br />
town for our kids. Everybody thought all<br />
they needed was a basketball court and a dance<br />
floor. Then a group of artists wanted the Franklin<br />
Street school. We got a group of people together<br />
and this organization grew out of that. A history<br />
club, youth activity programs, all kinds of great<br />
stuff came out of that.<br />
Your husband Eugene is an Air Force veteran.<br />
How did you meet? He came to Cape May<br />
for a summer job. I met him on Jackson Street. I<br />
think that night I treated him to dinner. I bought<br />
him a hamburger down on Washington Street.<br />
He was brokity-broke. That was 1954. I just graduated.<br />
I was going with him for the summer, but he<br />
was getting serious. I sort of backed off. But then<br />
I found out that he was going in the service, and<br />
the boys I had to pick from weren’t the best. I<br />
wrote him a letter and told him what a great time
we had. He sent me a box with a ring from Louisiana.<br />
He came home on leave, we got married and<br />
I went to Louisiana. We shared a house with a<br />
sergeant and his wife. I taught swimming and was<br />
a lifeguard. He asked me if I wanted to have our<br />
baby in Germany. I said, ‘That sounds exciting.’<br />
He’s been a wonderful husband and father.<br />
Tell us about your children. Eugene Jr<br />
served a stint in the US Navy. He’s an engineer<br />
with Boeing in Chester, PA. Mary Katherine<br />
Dempsey is in Alexandria, VA. She works with<br />
the Department of Forestry. Pamela Dempsey<br />
Jones passed in the first week of April. A couple<br />
of years previous she had a partial lung transplant.<br />
It is still so surreal. It just happened so fast.<br />
What do you love about living on this<br />
island? What do you wish were different? I love<br />
that so much of my family is here, and the family<br />
that wasn’t here loved coming here. I love fishing.<br />
I love sketching. I love just being out there.<br />
This is my home. I could explore this area forever.<br />
Great, great history. I’m just finding out now<br />
about a lot of the history. I love Cape May. Any<br />
place we go, I mention Cape May and it starts a<br />
real conversation.<br />
How about what you’d like to see change?<br />
If you’d have asked me that 20 years ago, I’d<br />
have filled your whole magazine. [Laughs.] I’m<br />
just hoping for more of people working together,<br />
getting things done. There are some great things,<br />
like the museum. It took a visionary, Bob Mullock.<br />
When he came up with the idea, I said. ‘Really?’<br />
I’m associated with good people and that gives<br />
you some kind of ballast.<br />
Why did you get into the antiques business?<br />
How did you get started? I was always<br />
attracted to old houses and old things. I remember<br />
I was going to have a yard sale. A girl that<br />
I worked with lent me a Kovel guide, a pricing<br />
guide with pictures. She said, ‘I need to have<br />
it back tomorrow.’ I stayed up all night going<br />
through that book. It was like I was hooked. We<br />
had had a restaurant for four years, the Family<br />
Tree Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. All of a<br />
sudden, we decided to do this. It’s exciting. It will<br />
get you up in the morning.<br />
What has been your role with the Harriet<br />
Tubman Museum? I keep everything, sometimes<br />
to a fault. Our history committee files everything.<br />
We started pulling from our collection, and at<br />
home I had such a collection. They’ll tell me what<br />
they’re looking for and nine times out of 10, I’ll<br />
have it. It’s a miracle. One of the things that was<br />
the most meaningful was the journal from William<br />
Still, who had a house in Cape May.<br />
have boxes and boxes of photographs and<br />
important papers. They included the death<br />
certificate of my great, great grandfather. His<br />
recruitment papers to go into the Civil War.<br />
His name was Charles Bose. I also had a program<br />
from the opening of the USO on Jackson<br />
Street. Paul Robeson was the guest speaker. He<br />
autographed the program. There were also photos.<br />
One of the greatest pictures is the overall<br />
shot from the stage showing all the people at<br />
the opening. That, I’m sure, is going to be in the<br />
exhibit.<br />
Have you been surprised by the response<br />
of the town to this project? No. It’s a long time<br />
coming, even though I didn’t know it was coming.<br />
Everybody that hears about it says, ‘Tell me<br />
when the museum is going to open.’ I think there<br />
will be buses coming into Cape May. There’s<br />
information there you couldn’t get anywhere<br />
else around here. Then when the Franklin Street<br />
School opens with the library, hopefully we’ll<br />
have a bit of a museum there.<br />
At a fundraiser for the museum last year,<br />
you said, ‘It’s like a light has been switched on<br />
in Cape May.’ What did you mean by that? As<br />
far as history’s concerned, you’re in the dark. We<br />
didn’t know. We didn’t know that all you needed<br />
was the right name. You need a starting point,<br />
some path to follow. At one time, I didn’t know<br />
my great grandmother’s maiden name. Once you<br />
know that, it opens things up. With the name,<br />
you can find out where someone’s buried or find<br />
Welcome home!<br />
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exit zero 38 july
CRAFT TACOS + ARTISANAL TEQUILA<br />
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Emily at the Harriet Tubman address in Cape May’s Rotary Park on<br />
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exit zero 39 july
deeds or birth certificates.<br />
Some adults who lived here all their life still<br />
don’t know their grandparents. I knew my grandparents,<br />
I knew where my grandparents families<br />
lived. I needed their names. Once you have that,<br />
you can find their graves, their birth certificates,<br />
death certificates, records from the military.<br />
They become real, you know?<br />
Part of the mission of the museum is to<br />
raise awareness for the contributions of Cape<br />
May’s African American community, which<br />
in the 1920s represented 30 percent of the<br />
island’s population. This demographic ran a<br />
number of thriving stores, restaurants, a pool<br />
hall, and one opera house that served as the<br />
black USO during WWII. But much of this area<br />
was razed with Urban Renewal funds during the<br />
1960s. You lived through this — what haven’t<br />
we read about it in the few historical texts that<br />
have covered it? We’ve documented it quite a<br />
bit. We had the names of the businesses and the<br />
kids made up a map of where these businesses<br />
were. I was sort of surprised myself. I know they<br />
were there, but once you put them all together,<br />
you can see what a contribution it was.<br />
At one time, there were 60-some black businesses.<br />
There were haberdasheries, restaurants,<br />
hotels. We had people that could do almost<br />
everything. And of course most of the hotels had<br />
waiters and waitresses that were African American.<br />
Very rarely would you see a white waiter or<br />
waitress.<br />
Unlike Cape May’s Victorian past, much<br />
of Cape May’s Black history has been buried<br />
until recently. What do you think the impact<br />
of that has been on this island? I think we were<br />
just excluded. Some people were just so used to<br />
being excluded that it just flew over their heads.<br />
I was talking about the segregated beach with<br />
two older people, one of them is like 93 now,<br />
the other one was 100 when he died. They told<br />
me the beach was in front of the Windsor Hotel.<br />
Years ago, the woman that owned the Windsor<br />
didn’t want all these black people in front of<br />
her hotel. I don’t know who she talked to, but<br />
they moved the concession, the whole building,<br />
south toward Broadway. It apparently wasn’t far<br />
enough because they moved it again.<br />
That’s why when that rally happened<br />
recently, I thought maybe something will happen.’<br />
Instead of just talking a lot and things just<br />
fizzle out. Maybe something will happen.<br />
Tell us about the book you discovered in<br />
the eaves of a house during an estate sale in<br />
West Cape May. Why was it important to you<br />
to donate it to the museum? It wasn’t an estate<br />
sale. My sister and I were cleaning out the house.<br />
And the young lady who owned the house just<br />
wanted it cleaned out. So I’m on my knees in<br />
one of the front bedrooms, handing things up<br />
to my sister because I didn’t have a flashlight,<br />
hoping that nothing bit me. I found a beautiful<br />
clock under there. And after a while, all these<br />
books. Here was this book. I said, ‘Oh, my gosh.’<br />
A friend of mine married a man named William<br />
Still. His great uncle wrote the book. His name<br />
was the same as his uncle. The family was in<br />
court fighting to be able to reprint that book. I<br />
set it aside because I knew it was going to be a<br />
special something. I was happy that instead of<br />
just having it here in my house I could loan it to<br />
the museum. It’s not a storybook. It’s a journal,<br />
talking about movement of the slaves.<br />
Editor’s Note: The Underground Railroad<br />
Records, written by the abolitionist William<br />
Still, has now been reprinted. The 2019 edition<br />
includes an introduction by Ta-Nehisi Coates.<br />
Written in 1872, the book records the stories and<br />
efforts of 649 slaves who escaped to freedom<br />
before the Civil War.<br />
America is in the midst of a cultural reckoning.<br />
What will it take for Cape May to come out<br />
of this reckoning better or more enlightened<br />
than we were before? It will just take people<br />
opening their minds. If people could just open<br />
their minds and try to work together... will it ever<br />
happen?<br />
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exit zero 40 july
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exit zero 41 july
exit zero 42 july
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THE EXIT ZERO DISCOUNT DECK <strong>2020</strong><br />
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exit zero 44 july
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exit zero 45 july
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red oak trading<br />
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accent on Beauty<br />
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Cape May Stage<br />
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East Coast parasail, Jet ski & jet Boat<br />
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East Lynne Theater company<br />
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historic cold spring village<br />
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exit zero 46 july
“The Nail,” as it’s known by the locals, is the famed iconic surfer bar<br />
and restaurant that made a name for itself in the ‘70s. It’s right here in<br />
Cape May, just steps away from the beach. Back in the day lifeguards,<br />
surfers and beautiful beach bunnies gathered around the wood<br />
bar that was rumored to be the longest in all of Cape May.<br />
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exit zero 47 july
Boom Town<br />
How Cape May’s 19th century hotel explosion<br />
turned it into America’s toniest seaside resort<br />
excerpt from the first resort by ben miller
The Centre House was a local hotspot for live entertainment in the late 1800s. Like many other great Cape May hotels, it was destroyed in<br />
the inferno of 1878. Don Pocher<br />
By the year 1832 Cape<br />
Island had grown into<br />
a fully-fledged resort<br />
town. The island’s population<br />
had risen to nearly<br />
5,000 people, with a<br />
number of small guest<br />
houses and three hotels. Visitors had their<br />
choice of Atlantic Hall, Congress Hall or the<br />
new Mansion House.<br />
The Mansion House was constructed<br />
in 1832, between Jackson and Perry streets,<br />
along the north side of Washington Street.<br />
It was the talk of the town due to its large<br />
stature and the modern accoutrements<br />
it offered, mainly separate rooms for all<br />
guests, along with plastered and lathed<br />
walls. Like its predecessors the Mansion<br />
House did not include exterior paint,<br />
though it did offer finished interior walls.<br />
The hotel was built by Richard Smith<br />
Ludlam, who also had the distinction of<br />
establishing Washington Street. When<br />
Ludlam constructed the hotel he planned<br />
the street to create a new commercial district<br />
and connect his hotel with what was<br />
the commercial town center of Jackson<br />
Street. The first Washington Street ran<br />
approximately six blocks, at a width of 50<br />
feet.<br />
Cape Island continued to garner attention<br />
through Thomas Hughes, a United<br />
States Assemblyman and the owner of<br />
Congress Hall. Hughes took office in 1829<br />
and served until 1833. While in office, he<br />
was present when the notion of a state<br />
seceding from the union was first brought<br />
forth by Robert Y. Hayne, a senator from<br />
South Carolina.<br />
The debate between Hayne and Senator<br />
Daniel Webster from Massachusetts caught<br />
the attention of the country. The two senators<br />
argued over the merits of protectionist<br />
tariffs that were enacted after the war of<br />
1812, during the presidency of John Quincy<br />
Adams. The tariffs were designed to promote<br />
American products over those made<br />
by the British.<br />
The arguments were of particular interest<br />
to Hughes because Cape Island sailors<br />
were being accused of circumventing<br />
the tariffs by smuggling in foreign goods.<br />
In addition, Hughes had become friends<br />
with President Adams, who was elected to<br />
exit zero 50 july<br />
congress following his presidential term.<br />
Hughes and Adams listened intently as<br />
Hayne and Webster argued over the tariffs<br />
and the right of a state to leave the union.<br />
It was only after the situation took a turn<br />
for the worse, when South Carolina passed<br />
a law to ignore the federal tariff law, that<br />
Hughes was forced to publicly take a side.<br />
South Carolina not only defied the federal<br />
rule, they authorized a state militia to stop<br />
federal troops from enforcing the tariffs.<br />
Their actions created a constitutional<br />
crisis that required the immediate response<br />
of the federal government. Hughes voted to<br />
side with the American Union, a position<br />
that was widely supported in Cape May.<br />
Congress then passed a bill that authorized<br />
the president to use the US military as a<br />
means of enforcing the tariffs in South Carolina.<br />
Luckily, the South Carolina legislature<br />
repealed its rebellious law against the tariff<br />
in 1833 and a crisis was averted. Congressman<br />
Hughes was able to return to Cape<br />
Island at the end of his term and spread the<br />
news that a civil war had been averted and<br />
that the American Union remained strong.
Meanwhile, on Cape Island, summer<br />
tourism continued to grow and the official<br />
season for vacationers began on <strong>July</strong> 1 and<br />
ran through September 1. An increase in<br />
visitors called for the construction of new<br />
hotels and, in 1832, the Ocean House was<br />
built.<br />
Situated along the eastern side of Perry<br />
Street, the Ocean House was conceived by<br />
Israel Leaming. Some history books have<br />
mistakenly claimed that the Ocean House<br />
was built in 1856, but period accounts of the<br />
hotel and vintage news articles have proven<br />
that to be incorrect. The confusion most<br />
likely stems from a substantial renovation<br />
and enlargement of the Ocean House that<br />
was completed in the mid-1850s.<br />
The Ocean House was three-and-ahalf<br />
stories tall, with a wraparound balcony<br />
on the third floor, a handful of attic rooms<br />
and another balcony on the roof. Its location<br />
across from Congress Hall’s expansive<br />
front lawn meant that visitors to the Ocean<br />
House would be treated to panoramic views<br />
of the Atlantic Ocean.<br />
In 1837 the death of England’s King William<br />
IV paved the way for a new era in Great<br />
Britain and a change in the empire’s stature<br />
around the globe. Since King William<br />
had no surviving children, his 18-year-old<br />
niece, Princess Victoria, was chosen to succeed<br />
him.<br />
Princess Victoria became Queen Victoria<br />
and her ascension to the throne marked<br />
the beginning of the Victorian Era in Cape<br />
May and all around the world. Much has<br />
been said about Queen Victoria’s rule, but<br />
history records that for the first half of her<br />
64-year reign she lived a life of seclusion<br />
and relative unpopularity.<br />
On Cape Island, residents welcomed<br />
the construction of another large hotel in<br />
1840. The Centre House was built on Washington<br />
Street, opposite the popular Mansion<br />
House, and next to the Ocean House.<br />
By that time, Washington Street had blossomed<br />
as the city’s commercial district and<br />
other small businesses had been established<br />
near the hotels.<br />
The Centre House was designed to<br />
merge the early-American style of architecture<br />
with the Second Empire look of<br />
Congress Hall. It was also the first boarding<br />
house on Cape Island to be painted – the<br />
owner chose an earth tone shade of brownish-yellow.<br />
The Centre House was the largest of<br />
Cape Island’s hotels, with the ability to<br />
accommodate 400 guests. The building<br />
spanned the whole block from Perry to<br />
Jackson streets with immense three-story<br />
columns adorning the hotel along Washington<br />
Street.<br />
The next boarding house to be constructed<br />
in the budding seaside resort was<br />
the New Atlantic. The original Atlantic<br />
Hall had been purchased in March of 1839<br />
by two brothers from Philadelphia. When<br />
Captain Benjamin McMakin and Captain<br />
Joseph McMakin bought it, they also purchased<br />
land across Jackson Street with the<br />
intention of expanding their business.<br />
In 1842 the McMakin brothers had the<br />
New Atlantic built on that parcel of land<br />
and increased their lodging capacity by<br />
300 beds. Their new hotel spanned 100 feet<br />
along what would later become Beach Drive<br />
and rose four stories tall. It featured large<br />
porches in front and a third floor balcony<br />
that wrapped around the building.<br />
One of the most prominent features of<br />
the New Atlantic was its dining chamber.<br />
Patrons were welcomed into a gigantic<br />
hall that encompassed the full first floor<br />
The New Atlantic Hotel sits across the street from Cape May’s first hostelry, the original Atlantic Hotel.<br />
exit zero 51 july
of the hotel. Rather than occupying separate<br />
tables, as today’s diners would expect,<br />
guests of the New Atlantic were seated at<br />
one of four long tables that ran the length<br />
of the hall.<br />
The Cape Island hotel surge continued<br />
with the construction of the Columbia<br />
House in 1846. The Columbia House was<br />
built by a Delaware River captain named<br />
George Hildreth on a large plot of land<br />
between Decatur and Ocean streets. The<br />
parcel was nothing more than swampland<br />
when Hildreth bought it, so he hired laborers<br />
to fill in the bog with dirt and sand from<br />
the northern section of the island.<br />
Hildreth’s Columbia House was four<br />
stories tall and was considered the most<br />
elegant of the Cape Island hotels. Both<br />
interior and exterior walls were plastered<br />
and painted, with elaborate piazzas that followed<br />
the 180-foot length of the hotel. The<br />
Columbia House was later expanded into<br />
an L-shape, similar to Congress Hall, which<br />
doubled the number of rooms and made it<br />
the largest boarding house on the island.<br />
The year 1851 brought the construction<br />
of yet another boarding house, the United<br />
States Hotel. Built by A. W. Tompkins the<br />
hotel was a huge four-story structure that<br />
sat on 10 acres spanning from Decatur to<br />
Ocean streets, along Washington Street.<br />
The United States quickly became one of<br />
the most popular hostelries in town, with<br />
its wide, sweeping verandas, panoramic<br />
ocean views and evening entertainment<br />
that amused guests and locals.<br />
Cape Island was presented with the<br />
grandest spectacle of all in 1852 when construction<br />
began on the Mount Vernon Hotel,<br />
designed to be the largest in the world and<br />
including features that no Cape Island hotel<br />
had ever offered before or, for that matter,<br />
ANY hotel. The Mount Vernon, according to<br />
the London Illustrated News, was the first<br />
in the world to offer en suite bathrooms.<br />
The building was purported to accommodate<br />
up to 3,500 people, a number that<br />
was unheard of in the early Victorian<br />
period. Plans for the hotel were elaborate<br />
and called for running hot and cold water,<br />
a pistol-firing range, bowling alleys and gas<br />
lighting in every room.<br />
The hotel was funded by a number of<br />
investors in Philadelphia and New Jersey<br />
exit zero 52 july<br />
who teamed with a gentleman named John<br />
West and founded the Mount Vernon Hotel<br />
Company. The amount of work required to<br />
build their fantastic hotel was so great that<br />
it had to be undertaken in phases. This was<br />
done to allow the completed portions of the<br />
hotel to accommodate guests while the rest<br />
was still under construction.<br />
Four years after building started, the<br />
Mount Vernon was able to accommodate<br />
a little more than 2,000 people. But, as the<br />
craftsmen were finishing up work on the<br />
last section of the hotel in September of<br />
1856, tragedy struck. The hotel was empty,<br />
with the exception of the innkeeper, Phillip<br />
Cain, his four children, Anderson (20),<br />
Phillip Jr (18), Martha (16) and Sarah (13),<br />
along with a housekeeper, Anna Albertson.<br />
All were asleep on the second floor, when<br />
an unknown person broke in to the building<br />
and set it the fire.<br />
Only Phillip Jr escaped, though he suffered<br />
severe burns and died the following<br />
afternoon in the United States Hotel. Before<br />
he passed, he was able to describe the scene<br />
in his family’s apartment, as they realized<br />
they were trapped by the flames and tried to
escape by jumping off the balcony or running<br />
through the flames.<br />
Phillip’s story was confirmed the following<br />
day, with the discovery of his older<br />
brother Anderson’s charred body, curled on<br />
the ground in front of where the hotel once<br />
stood. Authorities suspected the fire to be<br />
arson almost immediately and one of the<br />
family’s former housekeepers was arrested<br />
for the murders. It was surmised that her<br />
reason for setting the fire was a money dispute<br />
with Phillip Cain. The housekeeper<br />
was also accused of stealing money from<br />
the hotel before she ignited the deadly fire.<br />
The early Victorian period was especially<br />
important for the infrastructure of<br />
Cape Island, with the first local government<br />
being established in 1848. On March 8 of<br />
that year, the New Jersey General Assembly<br />
passed an act that officially incorporated<br />
Cape Island.<br />
A temporary leadership chain was created<br />
with James Mecray named Chief Burgess<br />
and a small staff selected to help him<br />
run the new borough. Two years later, the<br />
General Assembly amended their previous<br />
designation and incorporated The City of<br />
Left: A rarely seen picture of the original<br />
Named by The Philadelphia Inquirer as<br />
Congress ONE OF THE Hall BEST dining COFFEE room TABLE BOOKS and OF ballroom<br />
THE YEAR<br />
“As complete a look at the ups and downs of the Jersey Shore’s proto-resort as you are likely to see.”<br />
shows the magnificent frank wilson the philadelphia space inquirer decorated<br />
to the nines for a Fourth of <strong>July</strong> ball.<br />
Above: Mansion House helped establish<br />
Cape May’s primary commercial district on<br />
Washington An Exit Zero Street. IT BEGAN with an advertisement Don in a Philadelphia Pocher<br />
newspaper in 1801. Soon, city dwellers were descending<br />
Production<br />
exitzero.com<br />
Cover design by Jack Wright<br />
Cover photos courtesy of<br />
Cape May County Museum,<br />
Don Pocher, Ben Miller<br />
USA $35.00<br />
«<br />
on Cape May, at the tip of the Jersey Shore, to be cooled by the breezes of the Atlantic Ocean and the<br />
Delaware Bay. Rudimentary hotels were hastily erected... and the American seaside vacation was born.<br />
PRESIDENTS stayed in Cape May, famous industrialists from the north mixed with renowned plantation<br />
« owners from the south, and the world’s biggest hotel was built on the little island. But the Civil War and<br />
an inferno that destroyed 40 acres of majestic beachfront hotels sent Cape May, America’s most famous resort<br />
town, lurching towards oblivion.<br />
A GRAND plan in the early 1900s to build an upscale new resort stirred a frenzy of national excitement...<br />
« but personal tragedies and a string of misfortunes left the dream in tatters. During two world wars, the<br />
town hosted a huge garrison of soldiers and sailors, and the city was front-page news when a German U-boat<br />
surrendered off its coast in 1945. But other visitors were few and far between and it took a bitter battle in the<br />
1970s between the city and preservationists for Cape May to be reborn.<br />
Cape Island.<br />
TODAY, the city boasts one of the finest collection of Victorian architecture in the country and some of<br />
« the best beaches on the east coast. Ben Miller tells the compelling story of how Cape May went from<br />
boom to bust and back again in this lavishly illustrated, meticulously researched book.<br />
A new government structure was established<br />
with a mayor and six councilmen,<br />
along with an alderman and recorder. Isaac<br />
M. Church was the City of Cape Island’s<br />
first mayor and the council comprised<br />
James Mecray, John G. W. Ware, Joseph<br />
Ware, Aaron Garretson, James S. Kennedy<br />
and David Pierson.<br />
The city’s alderman was Walter B. Miller,<br />
and Joseph S. Leach was the recorder. Cape<br />
Island’s new leadership team met for the<br />
first time on March 15, 1851 in the Cape<br />
Island schoolhouse on the corner of Lafayette<br />
and Franklin Streets. Relatively little<br />
was done that evening in the way of legislation,<br />
but the foundation was laid for a<br />
strong city government.<br />
exit zero 53 july<br />
The First Resort<br />
Fun, Sun, Fire<br />
& War in<br />
Cape May,<br />
America’s<br />
Original<br />
Seaside Town<br />
BEN MILLER<br />
«<br />
FIRST RESORT<br />
Fun, Sun, Fire & War in Cape May, America’s Original Seaside Town<br />
BEN MILLER<br />
The third edition of The First Resort<br />
has been updated with wonderful<br />
historical photographs of Cape May,<br />
along with new stories. This beautiful,<br />
304-page, full-color coffee table<br />
book is available for $35 from Exit<br />
Zero Filling Station, from ezstore.us<br />
and from Whale’s Tale, Cape Atlantic<br />
Book Company, Tommy’s Folly, West<br />
End Garage and Sunset Beach.
Happy Trails<br />
You can’t lie back and bake on the beach EVERY day. Here are five hikes that will show you<br />
the natural beauty of this island — and rev up your appetite for a fine dinner later!<br />
STORY BILL BARLOW<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY ALEKSEY MORYAKOV
The trails at Cape May Point State Park<br />
offer a cooling break from a hot beach day<br />
and an inspiring, nature-packed walk. Early<br />
mornings might bring deer sightings.<br />
Given that Cape Island covers<br />
less than four square miles,<br />
you’d think it would be difficult<br />
to get lost around here.<br />
You’d be surprised. Deep forests,<br />
rolling dunes and expansive wetlands<br />
are easily within reach and can add a whole<br />
new dimension to your vacation in America’s<br />
Original Seaside Resort.<br />
Miles of hiking trails await in Cape May<br />
Point State Park, in the adjoining South<br />
Cape May Meadows nature area and in the<br />
wild expanse of Higbee Beach Wildlife Management<br />
Area, covering close to 1,000 acres<br />
between the farms of West Cape May and<br />
the beaches of Delaware Bay.<br />
“Higbee’s is a gem. It really is,” said Matt<br />
Pelligrine, a naturalist with Cape May Point<br />
State Park, home of the famous lighthouse.<br />
The area offers an extraordinary variety<br />
of habitats — and a chance to glimpse an<br />
equally extraordinary variety of wildlife.<br />
Pelligrine suggests setting aside at least<br />
three hours to explore the paths of Higbee<br />
Beach on foot and added a note of caution<br />
— it’s easier to get lost in the tangled briars<br />
and shifting dune paths than many expect.<br />
There are multiple options throughout<br />
Cape Island for any level of stamina or<br />
enthusiasm, from the short walks in the state<br />
park and the quarter-mile stroll near Cape<br />
May Bird Observatory’s Northwood Center<br />
in Cape May Point to day-long adventures.<br />
Leading nature walks is part of Pelligrine’s<br />
job, but he’s also out there on his days<br />
off. One of his favorite summer routes starts<br />
at the Cove in Cape May at the western end<br />
of Beach Avenue. He walks the beach past<br />
the meadows and the World War II bunker,<br />
enjoys a cooling dip in the lifeguard-protected<br />
waters off Cape May Point then exits<br />
the beach and winds his way back toward<br />
Cape May through the shaded paths of the<br />
state park and meadows.<br />
The paths won’t take you all the way<br />
back to the Cove, so at some point, the walk<br />
must either return to the beach or move<br />
over to Sunset Boulevard.<br />
Some sections of the beach are closed<br />
in summer for the protection of endangered<br />
species, but you can always walk along the<br />
water line. Here are the island hikes you<br />
shouldn’t miss. And remember, steer clear of<br />
ticks by wearing long pants and good walking<br />
shoes — flip-flops won’t cut it.<br />
CAPE MAY POINT STATE PARK<br />
Entrance at Lighthouse Avenue<br />
Trails range from a half-mile to 1.5 miles,<br />
each in a loop<br />
hiking level: easy to moderate<br />
exit zero 56 july<br />
Beyond the historic white lighthouse, which<br />
greets you at the park’s entrance, there is a<br />
parking lot. On one side, next to the lighthouse,<br />
is a visitor’s center and museum.<br />
Ahead is a short path crossing the dunes to<br />
the beach, while at the far side of the parking<br />
lot stands a trailhead.<br />
This is the starting point for three loop<br />
trails in the park. The most accessible option<br />
is the well-marked half-mile Duck Pond Trail.<br />
Follow the red arrows to make the first<br />
left for a trail that remains on a boardwalk<br />
through woods and marsh. The trail leads<br />
to two waterside platforms. Almost any<br />
time of year, an investment of some time in<br />
these ponds will be rewarded with a wildlife<br />
encounter. These could range from a mute<br />
swan’s graceful glide across the water or a<br />
glimpse of a muskrat among the reeds to the<br />
drama of a bald eagle snatching up a duck.
The trail connects to the longer Monarch<br />
Trail, looping through dense woods and<br />
more marsh, leading to a distant overlook<br />
before cutting back toward the beach and<br />
dunes. That trail is marked in yellow and<br />
measures 1.2 miles. The blue-marked Plover<br />
Trail is the longest option, at 1.5 miles, reaching<br />
close to the border. Both of the longer<br />
trails lead to a wide, straight path between<br />
the dunes and a series of ponds. A right turn<br />
will lead back to the parking lot, or a left will<br />
connect to the paths of South Cape May<br />
Meadows for an even longer walk.<br />
“It takes you back through a mix of habitat,”<br />
Ewald said, with a great chance to see<br />
wildlife.<br />
In the wooded area, watch for owls, turkeys<br />
and deer, with a chance for a glimpse of<br />
the more elusive fox or coyotes. In the summer,<br />
oystercatchers, terns and the endangered<br />
piping plover may be spotted on the<br />
beach side, while history buffs shouldn’t<br />
miss the World War II gun battery overlooking<br />
the water.<br />
Be wary of ticks. Through the summer,<br />
check for the tiny bloodsuckers after every<br />
walk, especially after brushing against plants<br />
or grasses, and ditch the shorts and flip-flops<br />
In late summer, the park typically attracts<br />
an extraordinary influx of migrating monarch<br />
butterflies, and in the fall, it’s one of the best<br />
places in the country to see migrating hawks,<br />
with tens of thousands of birds of prey passexit<br />
zero 57 july<br />
for long pants and walking shoes.<br />
The red trail is accessible by wheelchair,<br />
although Pelligrine advises caution when<br />
the boardwalk may be icy. At an easy pace,<br />
including some breaks on the benches along<br />
the well-marked trails and some time to look<br />
out at the ponds and ocean, Pelligrine said<br />
walkers can cover most of the park — all<br />
three paths — in two hours.
ing overhead on their way south.<br />
Dogs are not permitted on the trails and<br />
are banned from the park beach from April 1<br />
to September 15 to protect nesting birds. In<br />
the summer, leashed dogs are allowed in the<br />
grassy areas of the park.<br />
HIGBEE BEACH<br />
More than 1,000 acres<br />
Accessible from the end of New England<br />
Road and Sunset Beach<br />
hiking level: moderate difficulty,<br />
with soft sand and winding paths<br />
Beach access<br />
Dogs must be leashed<br />
In the northwest corner of Cape Island, at<br />
the end of New England Road, sits the rutted<br />
parking lot of Higbee Beach Wildlife<br />
Management Area. A path leads through<br />
wooded dunes to a Delaware Bay beach, an<br />
option popular enough that the parking area<br />
is usually packed in the summer. A long dirt<br />
road to the right leads to more parking overlooking<br />
the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal.<br />
But there’s another, less well-known,<br />
option, too. Take a walk along the meadows<br />
(to the left of the lot) that are mowed and<br />
maintained. In early spring and continuing<br />
into summer, wildflowers in multiple shades<br />
draw dragonflies, butterflies and songbirds.<br />
The trails are not well marked but are easy<br />
to follow -- towering oaks and pine trees line<br />
the way.<br />
“It’s a great place to see songbirds and<br />
get away from the crowds,” Ewald said.<br />
Continuing past the meadows for about<br />
a quarter of a mile, you’ll eventually reach<br />
a small freshwater pond, a favorite haunt of<br />
herons and egrets, following an overgrown<br />
and meandering trail for close to 1,000 feet.<br />
On hot summer days, look for jewel-like<br />
dragonflies hovering over the water and the<br />
scurry of tiny fence lizards.<br />
Another option from the New England<br />
parking lot is a blue-marked trail leading<br />
through the dunes to Davey’s Lake, a rare<br />
freshwater lake set close to the bay. From<br />
the meadows, pick up a red-marked trail by<br />
turning to the right into the woods at the<br />
end of the third meadow, through a dense<br />
section of ivy to a high sand dune. Head<br />
down the dune, bearing to the right, to reach<br />
a train which is marked in blue. Turn left,<br />
which means keeping the bay on your right<br />
side, to head toward the lake. Be warned —<br />
reaching Davey’s Lake requires some Boy<br />
Scout-like skills.<br />
The lake can also be reached in a<br />
shorter, easier walk from the Sunset Beach<br />
parking area. The trail is marked by blue<br />
blazes mounted on wooden posts. From the<br />
parking area behind the Sunset Beach gift<br />
shop, you’ll find two trail heads, one leading<br />
a short way to the beach, another on the far<br />
side of the parking lot, marked with a white<br />
sign that says NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife.<br />
Head away from the bay along a sandy<br />
path to reach an old road. Turn left, crossing
Views of Cape May’s famous sentinel from the<br />
delightful trails at Cape May Point State Park.
The path from Higbee Beach to Davey’s Lake<br />
isn’t straightforward, but it does reward<br />
the hiker with a magical, meandering tour<br />
through secluded twisting trails.
Above: The charming Lake Lily is a short, easy walk from Cape May Bird Observatory in Cape May Point. Right: Nearby Cape May Meadows.<br />
under the shadow of an old water tower to<br />
reach a rusty chain link fence, where you’ll<br />
find a blue trail marker. The fence marks the<br />
border of the old magnesite plant. Don’t<br />
worry — this is the least pretty part of the<br />
hike.<br />
From here, you’re on a wide, green walkway<br />
that leads over Pond Creek and down<br />
to the edge of the lake, after a walk of less<br />
than a half mile. This section is well marked<br />
and easy to follow.<br />
The blue trail skirts the edge of the lake,<br />
entering the dunes and eventually leading<br />
all the way back to New England Road on<br />
the other side of the refuge. It’s about a mileand-a-half<br />
between the parking lots.<br />
But the sandy paths shift and change,<br />
with new paths are formed by hunters or<br />
wildlife. Some areas are made impassable<br />
by thick growth or the deep, sucking mud.<br />
“You have to keep your wits about you<br />
if you go to Higbee’s,” Pelligrine said. Making<br />
matters worse, some people remove trail<br />
marks, presumably as souvenirs, and hunters<br />
and wildlife create new paths in the soft<br />
sand, which can sometimes seem clearer<br />
than the main path.<br />
Worse, on a recent visit it looked like<br />
someone was busy with a hatchet. Where<br />
you can’t find a blue trail mark on a wooden<br />
post, look for the splinters of one.<br />
Keep an eye out for the trail marks,<br />
remember your route, and you’ll be<br />
rewarded with one of the most exceptional<br />
examples of a forested dune in the tri-state<br />
area.<br />
If you find yourself at a dead end, backtrack<br />
to the last trail marker you saw.<br />
Dogs are allowed on the trails if leashed.<br />
Hunting is also allowed in the wildlife management<br />
area, in season with the proper<br />
permits.<br />
Today, much of the area is owned and<br />
protected by the Nature Conservancy,<br />
which has worked with the Army Corps of<br />
Engineers to restore the site to the freshwater<br />
wetlands. The Meadows includes<br />
more than 200 acres plus a mile of proexit<br />
zero 62 july<br />
CAPE MAY MEADOWS<br />
692 Sunset Boulevard<br />
hiking level: easy<br />
One-mile loop trail, with connections to<br />
other trails and to the state park<br />
No dogs allowed<br />
It was once a cattle pasture, an incongruous<br />
sight so close to a New Jersey beach. Before<br />
that, the stretch along the ocean between<br />
Cape May and Cape May Point was the tiny<br />
Victorian resort of South Cape May, built in<br />
the 1840s and badly damaged by a series of<br />
powerful storms, culminating in the Great<br />
Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, which wiped out<br />
the remnants of the settlement.
The Jersey Cape acts as a huge funnel, concentrating migrating birds and making the area<br />
one of the best in the world to spot the local species and those passing through. The<br />
conservancy land is right in the middle of that funnel.<br />
tected beach.<br />
When you enter, you’ll see a little hut<br />
manned by staff members from April through<br />
October. The main trail, to the right of this<br />
hut, offers an excellent chance to see wading<br />
birds, ducks, geese, hawks and eagles. It<br />
runs less than half a mile from the parking lot<br />
along a straight, flat dirt road to the rise of<br />
the dunes. You can head across to the beach,<br />
although access is restricted from March<br />
15 until September 1 for the protection of<br />
beach-nesting birds.<br />
Make a left before the dunes to reach the<br />
East Trail, which can form a nice loop back to<br />
the parking lot. Pass an observation platform<br />
overlooking one of the ponds to your left for<br />
an elevated view of the site and the lighthouse<br />
in the distance.<br />
To the right off the East Trail, a recent<br />
addition of a bird blind draped in camouflage<br />
offers a chance to eye ducks, geese and possibly<br />
an osprey hunting. This will be the first<br />
summer for the 80-foot floating blind. There<br />
are plans to add laminated bird identification<br />
cards to help visitors know what they’re seeing.<br />
A connecting trail leading back to the<br />
parking lot cuts through meadow choked<br />
with wildflowers in the spring and summer.<br />
The whole loop is almost a mile, according<br />
to Damon Noe, the critical lands manager for<br />
The Nature Conservancy. Most people can<br />
complete the walk in about 20 minutes, but<br />
Noe questions why you would want to.<br />
“You could take much longer if you have<br />
a pair of binoculars and want a close look at<br />
everything around you,” he said. The Jersey<br />
Cape acts as a huge funnel, concentrating<br />
migrating birds and making the area one of<br />
the best in the world to spot the local species<br />
and those passing through. The conservancy<br />
land is right in the middle of that funnel.<br />
“Particularly in the spring and the fall, you<br />
can be astonished with what comes through<br />
there,” said Noe.<br />
While the largest and best-marked loop<br />
may be plenty for many visitors, there is<br />
also access over the dunes to the protected<br />
beach and a trail inside the dunes connecting<br />
to the state park and the East Trail Spur.<br />
To reach the spur, continue past the turn for<br />
the East Trail. You’ll see a white marker for<br />
the East Trail Spur marking the way. It’s a mile<br />
round trip to the dead end of the East Spur<br />
Trail, which brings you within sight of Cape<br />
May to overlook another pond. There is no<br />
way to connect this trail into a loop, although<br />
Noe said there is consideration to eventually<br />
connect to the boardwalk off Mount Vernon<br />
Avenue, leading to Cape May.<br />
A right turn at the end of the Main Trail<br />
leads along a sandy pathway past Plover<br />
Pond, eventually connecting to the trails
of Cape May Point State Park. The beach<br />
remains walkable throughout the year, but<br />
swimming and sunbathing are not allowed<br />
in order to keep the beach quiet for the<br />
beach-nesting birds. Dogs and other pets<br />
are not allowed on the trails in South Cape<br />
Meadows. There is no admission fee, but<br />
there is a donation box near the entrance to<br />
the preserve.<br />
NORTHWOOD CENTER<br />
701 E. Lake Drive<br />
Cape May Point<br />
hiking level: easy<br />
Quarter mile<br />
For those just starting out, or those who<br />
don’t want to commit to a long walk, Brett<br />
Ewald recommends the short trail at Cape<br />
May Bird Observatory’s Northwood Center<br />
in Cape May Point, across from Lake Lily.<br />
“It’s quite short. You’re only talking about<br />
a quarter mile,” said Ewald, the observatory<br />
director. But most days it proves a rewarding<br />
stroll, with bird feeders and plants that draw<br />
a variety of wildlife and a bird blind offering<br />
a good chance of duck sightings in the winter<br />
and wading birds in summer.<br />
GARRETT FAMILY PRESERVE<br />
801 Wilson Street<br />
hiking level: easy<br />
Nature walks on a former family farm<br />
The Nature Conservancy acquired this 180-<br />
acre site in 2000, preserving it from development.<br />
Tree-lined meadows provide habitat<br />
for migrating birds, bees and butterflies, but<br />
some of the beauty is man-made. The trails<br />
here are lined with nature-inspired poems<br />
written by a local, and easels stand ready for<br />
artists to use, should inspiration strike.<br />
Most of the six trails — about 1,000 feet<br />
each — are geared more for meandering<br />
through what was once a family farm, while<br />
the perimeter trail, marked in orange, runs<br />
two miles along the outside of the preserve.<br />
The addition of a picnic pavilion and a<br />
view of Cape Island Creek make the preserve<br />
a great option for families with young<br />
kids. Find it at the end of Wilson Street off<br />
Broadway in West Cape May, with a parking<br />
area just past the old railroad track.<br />
Dogs on leash are allowed on site from<br />
November 1 until March 31.
a cape may moment<br />
A perfect Friday afternoon on the Congress Hall beach at the end of June. Aleksey Moryakov<br />
TO BEER OR NOT TO BEER, THAT IS THE QUESTION.<br />
Free Entry<br />
Please check<br />
Facebook for<br />
Brewery Hours<br />
and Information<br />
Gift Cards &<br />
Growlers<br />
Available!<br />
ALL PROFITS SUPPORT HCSV FOUNDATION - A NON-PROFIT LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM<br />
exit zero 66 july
Boutique & KIDS<br />
Perfect summer accessories and so much more<br />
available now in Tommy’s Folly Boutique<br />
Visit us on the Washington Sreet Mall<br />
at the corner of Carpenters Lane & Perry Street<br />
tommysfollycapemay.com | 609.554.3957<br />
exit zero 67 july
Giving Peace A Chance<br />
Judy Heany has endured more than her fair share of challenges in the<br />
past few years. Being a yoga and pilates teacher has helped her find<br />
balance and peace. Something she’s very passionate about sharing.<br />
INTERVIEW NICOLE JAMES<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY SUZANNE KULPERGER<br />
exit zero 68 july
exit zero 69 july
Judy, where are you from and what<br />
brought you to Cape May?<br />
I was born and raised in Philadelphia<br />
and growing up I always came to the<br />
shore with my family on vacation. Then<br />
after college, I lived here for a summer.<br />
I’ve moved around a lot — I lived in<br />
California and moved seven times in<br />
two years. I moved back to Philadelphia<br />
and stayed there for three years before<br />
living in the Caribbean for four. In 2006,<br />
I moved back to Cape May and have been<br />
here ever since.<br />
Have you always been interested in<br />
yoga and pilates?<br />
When I was younger, I danced a lot<br />
— I took classes and I taught. I got into<br />
fitness early and started teaching aerobics<br />
when I was a teenager. I’ve always been<br />
into fitness and dance so yoga kind of felt<br />
like that with the stretches and balance<br />
work it requires. It started as a hobby, but<br />
I really liked it and continued to work at<br />
it for years.<br />
What inspired you to open a yoga<br />
studio in Cape May?<br />
The main reason I opened this place<br />
was because I didn’t want to work for anyone<br />
else anymore. But, I didn’t realize how<br />
hard and expensive it is to run a business.<br />
Since I opened, I realized I created a space<br />
for people who are not gym goers or who<br />
are intimidated by the gym. They have<br />
stuff going on in their bodies that people<br />
at the gym don’t necessarily know how to<br />
address. They want to feel better in their<br />
mind, body and soul — and I can relate to<br />
that on those levels.<br />
What experiences have helped you<br />
relate to the people coming to you?<br />
I’ve always had spine problems —<br />
scoliosis and multiple herniated discs. I<br />
know what back pain feels like and it’s<br />
not fun. In 2015, I got divorced and last<br />
year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer,<br />
so I spent most of 2019 in treatment.<br />
With that, there’s the physical aspect of<br />
having surgery and recovering but there’s<br />
also the mental aspect of going through<br />
chemotherapy. It’s not easy — you’re tired<br />
and your spirit wants to do things, but<br />
your body just says go to bed. So, when<br />
I say I know pain, there’s the physical<br />
level and then there’s the emotional stuff<br />
that comes along with change, too. Like<br />
right now, we’re all going through major<br />
changes in our lives, but there’s also these<br />
big things that can happen like disease,<br />
divorce and death that I’m familiar with.<br />
I don’t think I’m unique in this but when<br />
people talk to me it seems like I can hear<br />
what they’re saying. I think they appreciate<br />
that and once they get to know me,<br />
they come to trust me and want to come<br />
back.<br />
How long has your place been open?<br />
It will be my 15th season but my<br />
13th in my current location. When I first<br />
moved down here, I saw a space on the<br />
Washington Street Mall that I thought<br />
would make a nice yoga studio. The rent<br />
wasn’t super-crazy, so I went ahead with<br />
it. After the first year, there was an influx<br />
of rent and in 2007 when they tore up the<br />
mall to re-do the pipes, there was at least<br />
two weeks that people couldn’t get to my<br />
place. I needed to move and get more<br />
bang for my buck. In 2008 I moved to<br />
Park Boulevard in West Cape May.<br />
Did you find it difficult to maintain a<br />
business in our seasonal town?<br />
The statistic is four out of 100 businesses<br />
last more than 10 years — yoga<br />
studios are even worse than that — so this<br />
is a unique situation that we have been<br />
able to survive this long. It is more of a<br />
challenge because it’s seasonal and I think<br />
people also have this misconception that<br />
Cape May is a year-round town. Most<br />
businesses here make their money in <strong>July</strong><br />
and August to get them through the entire<br />
year. I’ve lived through someone opening<br />
a yoga studio six blocks away, but I think<br />
“Everyone offers<br />
a special kind of flavor<br />
in the world<br />
of fitness or yoga —<br />
you attract what you<br />
are. We should all<br />
support each other<br />
and be happy.”<br />
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that you find the people you resonate<br />
with. Everyone offers a special kind of flavor<br />
in the world of fitness or yoga — you<br />
attract what you are. We should all support<br />
each other and be happy that there’s a<br />
similar type of healing being offered. Not<br />
everyone is going to like me, but if you’re<br />
not sitting on the couch eating potato<br />
chips or binging Netflix, but moving and<br />
trying to get healthy, that’s great. I’m<br />
happy that there are other opportunities<br />
in town — if you market to everyone, you<br />
market to no one. I think over the years<br />
I’ve done a good job finding my people.<br />
What is most special to you about<br />
your practice?<br />
Out of all the fitness training you<br />
could do, I think this is one of the more<br />
healing practices. You can get a flat stomach<br />
and a strong back from doing this, or<br />
you just come to get out of pain and more<br />
connected to your body. It’s a spectrum<br />
and I don’t think there’s anything else<br />
like it. You can unplug from the chatter<br />
in your head and leave feeling refreshed<br />
and ready to plug back in. I feel like this<br />
space has become more of a safe haven for<br />
people. I created a place where people can<br />
come and feel seen and work on themselves<br />
without feeling intimidated.<br />
Did yoga help you maintain peace<br />
within yourself during the more challenging<br />
moments?<br />
Absolutely — I don’t think I could’ve<br />
been in the same headspace going through<br />
everything without my practice. I took<br />
two weeks off last year for my first round<br />
of chemo because I wasn’t sure how I<br />
would react to it. I felt fine for the most<br />
part, so it became depressing just staying<br />
home by myself. I didn’t want to feel<br />
sorry for myself, so I just kept teaching.<br />
Teaching here and being around people<br />
at my practice really kept me physically<br />
strong and helped me to not fall into a<br />
serious depression. In life, you may realize<br />
that you started at one place but end up<br />
in another. You can feel like a failure and<br />
start to judge yourself and my practice<br />
really helped get through last year and<br />
this year. You have to step back and think<br />
— okay, well this happened, but what can<br />
I do to keep going?<br />
Yoga and pilates are at the forefront<br />
of course, but are there any other classes
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you offer?<br />
We offer different types of yoga that are<br />
gentle and restorative. There are classes<br />
where you flow, and it almost feels like<br />
a dance — there’s a lot of movement and<br />
it’s called vinyasa. Then we have classes<br />
where you warm up a little and relax on<br />
the props in a pose for about two to five<br />
minutes and that’s more restorative yoga.<br />
There’s a balance to both of them. We’re<br />
also one of the only places in the area that<br />
offer barre classes. We use chairs but it’s<br />
the same workout. Massage is another<br />
part of it, and I’m licensed for both Thai<br />
and integrative massage — not my main<br />
gig but it’s available. We’ve also been<br />
doing classes on the beach since 2007 at<br />
the Cove, where it’s nice and peaceful that<br />
people really enjoy the classes.<br />
All your certifications must have<br />
required a lot of training — what was<br />
that process like?<br />
Over the years, I continue to get an<br />
education in fitness and try to be certified<br />
at the highest level. The highest certification<br />
in pilates is the Pilates Method<br />
Alliance Certification. It requires teaching<br />
for at least five to seven years, a<br />
multiple-choice test and you need 500<br />
hours certification. I’m also certified to<br />
teach for Balance Body — the largest<br />
pilates equipment manufacturer in the<br />
world. I think there is only about 400 of<br />
us in the world. Then, in yoga, there is a<br />
200-hour certification for the basic level,<br />
and I’ve been teaching people there for a<br />
long time. I was also classically trained in<br />
the late Joseph Pilates’ style and it’s been<br />
morphed into contemporary pilates. I did<br />
more training and teaching while living in<br />
the Caribbean as well. It’s expensive and a<br />
lot of work so you need to love it.<br />
Living in the Caribbean for four<br />
years sounds incredible, what was that<br />
experience like?<br />
It was great — I lived on St. John for<br />
a year and then I was on St. Thomas and<br />
mainly worked at the Ritz Carlton teaching<br />
and I also crewed on a catamaran. I<br />
met someone named Jan Kinder and she<br />
was a Deepak Chopra practitioner, so<br />
she knew a lot about meditation, transcendental<br />
meditation and partner yoga.<br />
She also introduced me to something<br />
called breath walk, which is a walking<br />
“I was lucky — I was<br />
diagnosed with<br />
stage one and had a<br />
lumpectomy. I finished<br />
treatment about a<br />
year ago and have<br />
felt healthy, but not<br />
everyone is as lucky.”<br />
meditation. She took me under her wing<br />
and dedicated a lot of time training me to<br />
teach those things for her.<br />
That’s a lot of experience — do you<br />
train your other teachers at the studio?<br />
I can certify people to teach both<br />
pilates and yoga. I offer certifications and<br />
often lead retreats — we were in Aruba<br />
back in February. I can teach people how<br />
to teach Pilates through Balance Body and<br />
teach at the more advanced level of yoga.<br />
A friend of mine from Sweden is flying<br />
here in November to help me teach a 300-<br />
level teacher training for yoga. She and I<br />
are master teachers for our teacher, Sadie<br />
Nardini, who is pretty famous in the world<br />
of yoga. She used to be a headliner for the<br />
Yoga Journal Conference, has a huge following<br />
on Facebook and Instagram. She<br />
started a type of style called Core Strength<br />
Vinyasa — a more circular and flowy<br />
form of yoga. It’s not one size fits all here.<br />
We have a lot of variation on training, so<br />
we can adapt things to the person in front<br />
of us, or at this point through Zoom.<br />
How has COVID affected your operations<br />
at the studio?<br />
It’s not easy because I’ve been in this<br />
business for over 20 years, doing it a certain<br />
way and now I can’t. The way I teach<br />
is very hands-on and I use my eyes to look<br />
at the body in front of me so Zoom classes<br />
have been a challenge. I can only see the<br />
people and I can’t make corrections as<br />
easily. It kicked our on-demand studio<br />
into gear and that’s just going to get better<br />
and better. I think the whole COVID<br />
thing forced everyone to use different<br />
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technologies in ways that we might have<br />
thought about but now we’re connecting<br />
with people all over the place. It doesn’t<br />
have to be in Cape May, Philadelphia,<br />
Baltimore or New York — it can go way<br />
beyond that so I try and stay in touch with<br />
everyone as best I can.<br />
Any big plans for the future of<br />
Balance Yoga and Pilates Studio?<br />
I’m planning to do more retreats and<br />
travel once we are free to move about<br />
the world — possibly Italy or Mexico. I<br />
also got involved with Karina Thek, who<br />
started a program called Scolio-Pilates.<br />
We met in 2013 and I went through her<br />
program and became one of her practitioners<br />
in 2018. I did a case study on<br />
how to use these exercises to help people<br />
with scoliosis and I’m one of the<br />
only South Jersey practitioners doing it.<br />
There’s also something called the Pink<br />
Ribbon Program in Pilates and that helps<br />
people with breast cancer to adapt the<br />
pilates work toward recovery. I was lucky<br />
— I was diagnosed with stage one and<br />
had a lumpectomy. I finished treatment<br />
about a year ago and have felt healthy, but<br />
not everyone is as lucky. The scar tissue<br />
created from surgeries can limit your<br />
range of motion and creates lymphedema,<br />
where areas on your arms swell. So, this<br />
program is to help breast cancer survivors<br />
deal with the pain. I would really like to<br />
get into more specialties rather than only<br />
the general stuff, and find my niche.<br />
What are some of your outside interests?<br />
My background before all this was<br />
mainly horticulture so I worked for<br />
Philadelphia Green, a program of the<br />
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. I<br />
worked for them for three years and<br />
when I was in California, I did a horticulture<br />
program at UC Santa Cruz. It<br />
was an Ecological Horticulture apprenticeship<br />
program so when I moved back<br />
to Philadelphia, I started working and<br />
taught people how to fix up naked lots,<br />
their yards and how to make gardens.<br />
I also worked in the parks with a park<br />
volunteer organization and helped to find<br />
resources in the city for different projects.<br />
I oversaw a small grant program to raise<br />
money for programming in the parks with<br />
kids or concert series, or just get tools for
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cleanups. I’ve had a lot of different jobs<br />
through my life that I enjoyed.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do<br />
when you aren’t in the studio?<br />
I love going to the Cove in the late<br />
afternoon when everyone is leaving. If the<br />
weather is good, I’ll go swimming and just<br />
walk on the beach. I enjoy that peaceful,<br />
quiet time when everything is starting to<br />
exhale, and I can relax.<br />
What is your perfect beach day?<br />
Friday afternoons when school is still<br />
going on and all the kids from West Cape<br />
May and their families are hanging out at<br />
the Cove. I love when we’re the last ones<br />
to leave, the sun is going down and the<br />
kids are still in the water. We’ll order a<br />
pizza and hang out on the beach until it’s<br />
too dark.<br />
Do you have a favorite restaurant<br />
that you visit often?<br />
The Washington Inn wine bar is one<br />
of my favorite hangouts. The Craigs have<br />
done an amazing job staying current and<br />
morphing that place over and over again<br />
into something pretty amazing.<br />
Is there anything you’d like to see<br />
come to Cape May that we don’t already<br />
have?<br />
More ethnic food like Thai or just<br />
something different. What we also really<br />
need is a community center. A place<br />
where people can come in with a big<br />
group of people or for meetings — I think<br />
it would be nice to have something like<br />
that open to the public.<br />
What would you say to someone<br />
looking to give yoga and pilates a try for<br />
the first time?<br />
I just know it works, but it depends on<br />
what they’re looking for. It helps you with<br />
your physical body and it helps between<br />
your ears — it’s movement medicine. You<br />
will walk out feeling better and I think<br />
that’s the healthy addiction piece of it<br />
— once you get into it, you want to keep<br />
doing it. The challenge is busting down<br />
the doors of the excuses people make like<br />
“I’m not flexible enough” or “I’m not in<br />
shape enough” and well, you’re not going<br />
to get in shape if you don’t start moving<br />
and practice. You’re not wasting your time<br />
with it and by the end of the 60 minutes,<br />
you will feel better.
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IN THE NAME OF THE FLAG<br />
Following in the footsteps of his father Marvin, Larry Hume continues the<br />
tradition of lowering the Stars-and-Stripes at Sunset Beach every night<br />
during summer. It’s a tradition that won’t be fading any time soon.<br />
STORY BILL BARLOW<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY ALEKSEY MORYAKOV<br />
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Michele and Larry Hume with sons Dan (left) and Greg (right) at Sunset Beach, which offers a smorgasbord of Americana. Opposite page:<br />
Larry’s late father Marvin honors an American flag that was draped on the coffin of a veteran during the famous sunset ceremony.<br />
Few people likely set out to start<br />
a new tradition, and those who<br />
do so often fail. But sometimes<br />
a heartfelt gesture launches a<br />
legacy honored by generations.<br />
“It’s funny how things like that evolve,” said<br />
Larry Hume, owner of Sunset Beach Gifts.<br />
“People don’t know what something is<br />
going to turn into. That’s really how it was.<br />
There was no grand vision.”<br />
Each summer, Larry and his family<br />
continue his father’s tradition of ceremoniously<br />
lowering the American flag at Sunset<br />
Beach each day from Memorial Day through<br />
August 31. He expects his sons Dan and<br />
Greg to continue the tradition long after<br />
he’s gone.<br />
Hundreds attend each day, both for the<br />
ceremony and to watch the sun descend<br />
over the Delaware Bay behind the dwindling<br />
remnants of the SS Atlantus, better<br />
known as the Concrete Ship.<br />
Each day, a flag that had once draped the<br />
coffin of an American veteran is lowered<br />
from a flagpole near the beach. Families<br />
from throughout the region bring their relatives’<br />
flags to participate in the ceremony,<br />
which has taken place for more than 40<br />
years.<br />
On the busiest days, more than 1,000<br />
people crowd the beach and parking area,<br />
and Dan and Greg are pressed into service<br />
directing traffic once the lots are full, along<br />
with the shoulders of Sunset Boulevard.<br />
Many visitors who come to Cape May<br />
for a week set one night aside for Sunset<br />
Beach. Larry suggests arriving early to get<br />
a good parking space, enjoying the facilities<br />
at the site and staying to watch the sun go<br />
down.<br />
exit zero 78 july<br />
Years ago, the event was scheduled<br />
to start 20 minutes before sunset, so that<br />
“Taps” played as the sun touched the horizon.<br />
This meant a great deal of confusion.<br />
Now, the event starts at 7pm each evening,<br />
and at 6pm on Saturdays in September, even<br />
though sunset is well after 8pm in June.<br />
“That makes it easy for everybody,” said<br />
Larry. It also means that when the ceremony<br />
takes place, it has the full attention<br />
of those gathered, and reduces the overlap<br />
with those only interested in the sunset.<br />
Each evening starts with a brief recorded<br />
introduction. Larry or another family member<br />
then reads a brief statement about the<br />
veteran being honored, including some<br />
biographical detail, speaking into a microphone<br />
from inside the gift shop. Larry then<br />
hustles outside to join the gathered family<br />
members of the veteran.
“By the time I get to the flagpole, Kate<br />
Smith has just started to sing ‘God Bless<br />
America,’” says Larry. “Next comes ‘The<br />
Star Spangled Banner,’ followed by the<br />
bugle call of “Taps”, at which point, members<br />
of the family lower and fold the flag. It’s<br />
really cool. I get thank-you cards, thankyou<br />
emails.”<br />
Sign-ups open on the website on May<br />
1 each year. “It books in about two minutes<br />
and 20 seconds for the whole year,” says<br />
Larry. He believes thousands try for a slot<br />
each year as a way to honor their veteran.<br />
When the forecast calls for heavy rain,<br />
the Humes find some break in the weather<br />
to do the ceremony to avoid disappointing<br />
the family, even if it must take place hours<br />
before sunset.<br />
Larry’s father, Marvin, a US Navy veteran<br />
who served in World War II, died in<br />
2015. Most believe Marvin began the tradition,<br />
but he took it over from Ruth and<br />
Preston Shadbolt, who began lowering the<br />
flag to the music of Kate Smith some time<br />
in the 1970s.<br />
Details of that time are difficult to come<br />
by, says Larry. The couple had a local kid<br />
play “Taps” on his trumpet, and they may<br />
not have lowered the flag with ceremony<br />
each day. In any event, when Marvin bought<br />
the property, Preston Shadbolt asked him to<br />
keep the new tradition going.<br />
The two men hit it off, says Larry. Shadbolt<br />
was older — his obituary from 1985<br />
states he joined the Marine Corps at the<br />
age of 18, during the final year of World War<br />
I. Marvin was happy to continue the new<br />
tradition but decided it should specifically<br />
honor veterans.<br />
“He started with an ad in the newspaper,”<br />
says Larry. The advertisement asked<br />
for the use of veterans’ flags to fly over Sunset<br />
Beach and to be used in the ceremony.<br />
There was an immediate response.<br />
While flags from veterans of World War<br />
II, Korea and Vietnam have been used, the<br />
family has also honored several veterans<br />
of more recent conflicts, including those in<br />
Iraq and Afghanistan.<br />
By around 1980 or 1981, Marvin had<br />
added a biography of each veteran — Larry<br />
has a filing cabinet stuffed with them. Some<br />
families have become close friends. He<br />
pulled out the file for Captain Brian Faunce,<br />
an Army officer killed in action in Iraq in<br />
2003 at the age of 28. Captain Faunce was<br />
a Cape May regular whose mother Judy<br />
believed he would have been proud for his<br />
flag to fly over Sunset Beach.<br />
The families have become close, a bond<br />
that was cemented when Judy Faunce took<br />
a photo of Marvin Hume with his grandson<br />
Dan, who was a Marine at the time and<br />
wearing his uniform to the flag-lowering.<br />
That is the last photo of Marvin and Dan<br />
together, Larry says, so it meant a lot when<br />
she texted it to him after his father’s passing<br />
in 2015.<br />
Marvin was a college student before<br />
America entered World War II. He joined<br />
the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor on<br />
December 7, 1941. That attack claimed the<br />
exit zero 79 july
Mini golf at Sunset Beach — there’s also a café and a couple stores. Opposite: Sunset Beach is a magnet for photographers, as demonstrated<br />
by these magical images, shot by Charles Riter and Jon Bilious.<br />
life of his close friend, assigned to the USS<br />
Oklahoma, along with more than 2,400 other<br />
American service members.<br />
Marvin met his wife while in the service<br />
and they were married within three<br />
months. After the war, Marvin worked for<br />
McDonald Aircraft in St. Louis, Missouri,<br />
before he decided to return to New Jersey.<br />
He opened a store on the Atlantic City<br />
boardwalk and purchased Sunset Beach in<br />
1973, but had someone else run the store for<br />
years. Larry was just out of high school, dating<br />
Michele, a nursing student who would<br />
later become his wife, when his father asked<br />
if he wanted to run what was then a combination<br />
gift shop and luncheonette.<br />
“This is year number 40 for me and my<br />
wife. We weren’t even married when we<br />
started,” says Larry, adding that the Concrete<br />
Ship still actually looked like a ship,<br />
and there was a boat rental business at the<br />
end of Sunset Boulevard. Work at the former<br />
magnesite plant nearby was down from<br />
its war years heyday, but the plant remained<br />
in operation at that time.<br />
“It was really kind of surreal. We would<br />
drive in past the factory on the way to work,”<br />
says Larry. Through it all, little about the<br />
ceremony has changed, except that the<br />
crowds have grown and a digital recording<br />
of Kate Smith has replaced the scratchy<br />
phonograph record.<br />
In 2019, the New York Yankees and the<br />
Philadelphia Flyers broke longstanding<br />
traditions of playing Smith’s most famous<br />
recording over criticism of racist lyrics she<br />
recorded in the 1930s. Larry says he asked<br />
his son Dan to look at the matter and make<br />
exit zero 80 july<br />
a recommendation. In statements posted<br />
and given to area media, Dan said they<br />
would not defend the lyrics or condone that<br />
language, but the Kate Smith version would<br />
remain. He added that Kate is played at the<br />
ceremony but is not the reason for the event.<br />
Before the service, starting at around<br />
6pm, Larry holds an orientation for the<br />
family members, explaining what will happen<br />
and answering any questions. He also<br />
has some comments.<br />
“I always want to say something about<br />
patriotism,” he said. “America is your home,<br />
and it’s right to love your home.”
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Murphy’s Law<br />
exit zero 82 july
He’s best known for turning the Mad Batter’s Open Mic Night into a local phenomenon.<br />
When he’s not working at his day job (carpenter), MQ Murphy writes and performs<br />
songs. Here, he opines about the ups and downs of COVID, how he washed up in<br />
Cape May, and his biggest unrealized ambition.<br />
INTERVIEW JACK WRIGHT<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY SUZANNE KULPERGER
MQ , in case you hadn’t noticed, this<br />
is a time of real strife, tension and general<br />
chaos. As a musician/songwriter, how does<br />
this affect your creative process, given that<br />
people say you can’t write great things<br />
when you’re comfortable?<br />
Strife? Tension? Chaos? What have you<br />
heard, Jack? Seriously, I’m an optimist —<br />
and that comes easy to me since I was born<br />
male and white to a supportive, close-knit<br />
family. That’s a whole bunch of head start.<br />
As far as being unable to write things<br />
when we’re comfortable — that might be<br />
correct. Writers, painters, singers aren’t all<br />
made the same — they’re moved by different<br />
stimuli and create for different reasons.<br />
Sometimes stress is what it takes. There’s<br />
that quote that’s often bent to serve different<br />
purposes, “an artist’s job is to comfort the<br />
afflicted and afflict the comfortable”.<br />
There’s art that moves you and art that<br />
soothes you depending on what you need.<br />
My writing tends to veer between silly and<br />
sad — the ‘happy’ song is a challenge I’ve yet<br />
to conquer.<br />
As a clearly sensitive soul, how are you<br />
coping with the trauma of this world? Does<br />
it make you want to bury your head in the<br />
sand, or do you find yourself being more of<br />
a news junkie than usual?<br />
Definitely has made me more of a news<br />
junkie — I keep hoping for good news. As far<br />
as burying my head in the sand, I’m grateful<br />
that the day job (which has proceeded<br />
uninterrupted) requires me to pay attention<br />
to the task at hand so that my fingers don’t<br />
end up colliding with a saw blade. My fingers<br />
are sensitive.<br />
When was your last Mad Batter Open<br />
Mic Night? Tell us about it. And how badly<br />
are you missing them?<br />
The last one I hosted was March 8, just<br />
before the Covid hit the fan. That was one<br />
of those memorable nights. Interestingly,<br />
the sign-up sheet was not full. When that<br />
happens I have to be a little creative —<br />
maybe try to cajole a player who happened to<br />
come in just to relax to get up and do a set. A<br />
less-than-full sign-up sheet can also mean<br />
that the players get to stretch out more than<br />
exit zero 84 july<br />
they usually can in a 15-minute slot. That<br />
night we ended up with some wonderful<br />
combinations, players sitting in with other<br />
players and getting some spontaneous<br />
performances. In an intimate setting like<br />
The Batter a saxophone can spark some<br />
magic (I’m looking at you, Jon Thompson.)<br />
March 8 was one of those special nights.<br />
After doing them for about eight years I find<br />
they fall into three categories — sometimes it<br />
feels like work, sometimes they’re good-togreat<br />
and sometimes they’re just knock-medead<br />
amazing. I’m missing them terribly.<br />
Tell us how those nights started.<br />
Back in 2012 I was doing a radio show<br />
at WCFA-LP here in Cape May when I got<br />
a call from Kay Busch, the manager at The<br />
Mad Batter. The Mad Batter was one of<br />
the sponsors of my show, Six Degrees. The<br />
Batter is perhaps the only venue in town<br />
that hosts live music seven night a week all<br />
year round. They deserve a lot of credit for<br />
their commitment to live music. I’m not<br />
sure how long they had been doing an open<br />
mic on Sunday nights, but Kay asked if I was
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PLUS... Premium Chocolates<br />
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interested in hosting it. I said sure. I didn’t<br />
have much experience with the whole open<br />
mic thing. I’d only ever been to one before<br />
— the old Pilot House open mic where I met<br />
many of the Cape May area players. I agreed<br />
to host the Sunday night event and brought<br />
my make-it-up-as-you-go-along style with<br />
me. I felt that the players who came out to<br />
participate needed to be recognized so I<br />
made sure to introduce them to the crowd<br />
before and after their performance. I also<br />
took lots of photos and notes so that I could<br />
write something up to post on Facebook<br />
later that night or the next morning. I’ve<br />
been told there’s a special community vibe<br />
to the MBOM. It has turned into a very good<br />
night for the bar and I’m proud of that.<br />
Any idea when they will be restarting?<br />
No word on that — ‘normal’ is a moving<br />
target these days. The picture changes from<br />
day to day.<br />
If you were a rock star tomorrow, what<br />
venue would you play and why?<br />
Well, my version of rock star isn’t the<br />
stack-of-amplifiers-in-an-arena kind of<br />
thing it might’ve been when I was in my<br />
twenties. If I got to choose it’d be tough to<br />
pick between the Ryman Auditorium in<br />
Nashville and a more intimate venue like<br />
Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts.<br />
Places where people listen — music might<br />
be as close a thing to religion as I’ve got and<br />
The Ryman was once a church.<br />
What’s the worst thing that’s happened<br />
to you as a result of COVID?<br />
Ah, the worst thing is that my overall<br />
assessment of the human race has dimmed<br />
considerably. It has been more than a little<br />
depressing to see how thin the veneer of<br />
civility can be in a supposed first world<br />
nation. A crisis can bring out the worst in<br />
the species. It also can bring out the best, so<br />
it’s not all bad.<br />
And what about the best things, the<br />
positives? Books you may have finally<br />
read. Songs you may have finally written.<br />
Projects finally completed.<br />
Strangely enough, people might be<br />
trying harder to communicate since the<br />
quarantine. We aren’t seeing each other<br />
face-to-face on a regular basis. When the<br />
regular gatherings at the local venues —<br />
spelled ‘bars — came to an abrupt halt,<br />
the musicians began to do live concerts on<br />
Facebook. I’ve done three or four.<br />
Probably because of wanting fresh<br />
material, I did sort of finish a song that<br />
I started writing 13 years ago, before I<br />
considered myself a songwriter. Calling<br />
myself a songwriter still seems a bit<br />
presumptuous to me. I’ve always liked<br />
writing, and maybe used to entertain the<br />
idea of writing some kind of book some day.<br />
I guess I realized somewhere along the line<br />
that I probably don’t have the attention span<br />
or organizational skills required for that.<br />
Songs, on the other hand, are mostly short<br />
and I’ve always liked music. A better fit.<br />
Favorite Netflix binge show?<br />
Without a doubt it’s The West Wing. I’ve<br />
watched all the seasons of that show from<br />
beginning to end many times. Great writing,<br />
great characters, great acting.<br />
Is there anything you DIDN’T get done<br />
yet that you swore would be done during<br />
quarantine?<br />
Fortunately or unfortunately I’ve been<br />
able to keep working so I haven’t had much<br />
in the way of slack time.<br />
What’s your favorite mask style?<br />
The kind with eyeholes — I hate tripping<br />
The Perfect Escape<br />
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& HOLISTIC CENTER<br />
Make a date with the Cape May Day Spa<br />
and treat your body to an uplifting,<br />
luxurious spa experience.<br />
The Cape May Day Spa is a full-service spa<br />
offering state-of-the-art spa services in a tranquil,<br />
richly-appointed ambiance of total comfort.<br />
Book your appointment today<br />
by calling 609.898.1003.<br />
Massages • Facials • Manicures<br />
Pedicures • Baths • Couple’s Packages<br />
607 Jefferson Street • Cape May, NJ<br />
www.CapeMayDaySpa.com 609.898.1003<br />
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Flying Fish Studio<br />
Cool, Casual, Fun, Stylish!<br />
Hats • Tees • Tanks • Sweatshirts<br />
Hoodies • Zip-Ups • Jewelry • Art<br />
Custom Wholesale Printing Orders<br />
Monday-Friday 11-5, Saturday & Sunday 10-5<br />
130 Park Boulevard 609-884-2760 theflyingfishstudio.com<br />
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over stuff. Really, I’ll wear whatever works,<br />
whatever is handy. Forgot to have one with<br />
me one day so I just cut a sleeve off a T-shirt<br />
I had in the truck — it worked fine. I’m<br />
taking the expert advice seriously — a mask<br />
is a pretty small inconvenience when there’s<br />
so much we don’t know yet.<br />
Have you done much cooking during all<br />
this? Or is there someone else in your life<br />
who excels at that part?<br />
Me? Cooking? I can fry an egg and make<br />
a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The<br />
secret to my good health and general cheery<br />
outlook is my spouse’s cooking. She has<br />
worked as a professional chef and to tell the<br />
truth she deserves to have a husband with<br />
a more refined palate than mine. When I’m<br />
out at work my food choices are pretty lame<br />
— at home we eat as much fresh local food<br />
as possible. I’m thankful that this is a pretty<br />
good area for that.<br />
Tell us about your day job.<br />
I’ve been a carpenter for the last 43<br />
years or so. Started as a helper for a small<br />
construction company here in Cape May for<br />
a couple of years and then went to work for<br />
a contractor in Cape May Court House for<br />
about nine years — we worked everywhere<br />
from Cape May Point to Avalon and Upper<br />
Township. I went out on my own around<br />
1986 — had a crew for a while. We built some<br />
new homes and did lots of additions and<br />
renovation work. For the last 15 years or so<br />
I’ve mostly worked alone. I get to have a lot<br />
of input in the design of the projects I take<br />
on and I enjoy the challenges, both physical<br />
and technical.<br />
When did you come to Cape May and<br />
why?<br />
I spent summers here since 1952 and I’ve<br />
lived here year-round since the fall of 1973<br />
when I graduated from Temple University<br />
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and<br />
maybe half a plan. Partway through the first<br />
winter here I realized that if I wanted to<br />
eat I’d have to do something besides make<br />
pottery. After working in a machine shop,<br />
driving a cab, working as the night shift<br />
baker at Dunkin’ Donuts and cooking at the<br />
Ugly Mug and The Mad Batter (as breakfast<br />
cook in 1976) I ended up doing carpentry —<br />
turns out, it suits me fine.<br />
Assuming life as we formally knew it<br />
returns, what are you most looking forward<br />
to enjoying?<br />
A meal at a restaurant and live music in<br />
one of our no-longer-smoky bars, the Exit<br />
Zero Jazz Festival, Singer-Songwriter Cape<br />
May.<br />
Are there any trips you want to plan for<br />
the future, near or far?<br />
Sitting here in New Jersey on a hot day<br />
at the end of June I’d love to go somewhere<br />
cool. I’d love to go back to San Francisco and<br />
Napa — Sonoma. Maybe an undisclosed<br />
location on the Eastern Shore. Not much<br />
of an international traveler, but I’m open to<br />
persuasion.<br />
What are your unrealized ambitions?<br />
(So far, that is...)<br />
I used to hope to design and build a home<br />
— it would have a screened-in sleeping<br />
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porch and maybe overlook the ocean or a<br />
lake. That seems a bit like a long shot at this<br />
point.<br />
I’d also like to record an album of songs<br />
— try to get them the way I hear them in my<br />
head. That’s probably more likely to become<br />
a reality. I’m inching towards it.<br />
Describe your perfect (COVID-free)<br />
day in Cape May?<br />
Sleep late and/or get up early — grind<br />
some coffee beans and make a double<br />
espresso for my wife and one for myself.<br />
If it’s summer, take one of the rare plunges<br />
into that ocean thing down at the end of the<br />
road. Have a cold beer and grill some fish.<br />
Laugh at our goofy dogs, get a good night’s<br />
sleep.
CAPEMAYSTAGE.ORG<br />
VISIT<br />
SCAN QR CODE BELOW<br />
OR<br />
THE SHOW MUST<br />
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JOIN US ONLINE FOR<br />
OUR NEW VIRTUAL EVENTS<br />
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exit zero 89 july
6 0 9 ) 5 3 6 - 9 1 5 7<br />
(<br />
S T O C K T O N P L , C A P E M A Y<br />
5<br />
T A Y _ L O K A L<br />
S<br />
L O K A L C A P E M A Y<br />
#<br />
A P ' C<br />
E W E S T B H O T E L<br />
C A P E M A Y ' S<br />
N<br />
N E W E S T B O U T I Q U E H O T E L<br />
/ O P E N Y E A R A R O U N D /<br />
I O P E N Y E A R - R O U N D I<br />
T A Y L O K A L . C O M<br />
S<br />
@<br />
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a cape may moment<br />
Another glorious sunset from the Cove beach. Aleksey Moryakov<br />
Books... your best beach buddy<br />
HENRY’S<br />
Since 1972<br />
CAPE MAY’S LANDMARK JEWELER<br />
“I love it!”<br />
Cape Atlantic<br />
Book Company<br />
OPEN @ 10am<br />
City Centre Mall 2nd floor<br />
Washington Street Mall, Cape May<br />
609-846-7688 • capeatlanticbookco.com<br />
Not Your Grandmother’s Jewelry!<br />
407 Washington Street Mall • 609-884-0334 • HenrysCM.com<br />
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Benefits those living with paralysis in Cape May,<br />
Atlantic, Ocean, Monmouth and Cumberland Counties.<br />
Sunday, August 23<br />
MODIFIED COURSE<br />
15 miles around the Cape May Island<br />
Start/Finish: Fisherman’s Memorial, Cape May Harbor<br />
They will<br />
surf again<br />
in 2021!<br />
DeSatnick Foundation is a 501(c)3 Non-profit<br />
www.desatnickfoundation.org<br />
info@desatnickfoundation.org<br />
exit zero 94 july
Cherishing Life’s Moments<br />
Serving Cape May & Lower Township<br />
609-884-3793<br />
spilkerfuneralhome.com<br />
DENNIS J. SPILKER Manager/Funeral Director NJ # 4038 • KEVIN J. BEARE Funeral Director NJ # 3806<br />
A spectacular harbor setting<br />
CORINTHIAN<br />
YACHT CLUB<br />
of CAPE MAY<br />
for your special event<br />
Our traditional clubhouse,<br />
gorgeous sunset views and<br />
exceptional cuisine lend a<br />
memorable, distinctive touch to<br />
any gathering. Relax around our<br />
firepit before and after!<br />
1819 DELAWARE AVENUE, CAPE MAY<br />
609-884-8000 • cyccm.com / capemaybeachwedding.com<br />
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a cape may moment<br />
Another day, another spectacular sunset in America’s Original Seaside Resort. Aleksey Moryakov<br />
Ocean View<br />
Veterinary Hospital<br />
The best care for<br />
your best friend<br />
DOCTOR ON<br />
PREMISES<br />
24/7<br />
General Practice & Emergency Care<br />
Complete Surgical, Diagnostic, & Pharmacy Facility On Site<br />
Fair Pricing Policy: Same Price, 24/7<br />
New Patients & Vacationers Welcome<br />
DR. IRA S. NIEDWESKE, MEDICAL DIRECTOR | OCEANVIEWVETNJ.COM<br />
609-486-5025 | 2033 US 9 NORTH, CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NJ 08210<br />
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The Trolley Guide<br />
If you haven’t seen those cute trolleys rolling through the streets of Cape<br />
May, there are one of two explanations: You’re not paying attention, or<br />
this is your first time visiting America’s Original Seaside Resort. In any<br />
event, here is a handy guide that tells you the what, when and why of<br />
trolley tours. For more information, get in touch with Cape May Mac, who<br />
run the trolleys, as well as other fun things. Visit them at capemaymac.org.<br />
A healthy pet<br />
has lots<br />
to smile about.<br />
CAPE MAYHEM & VICTORIAN ODDITIES<br />
Where It Goes: Through Cape May’s historic district.<br />
How Long It Runs: Thirty minutes.<br />
When It Runs: Saturday evenings at 7:45pm and 8:45pm.<br />
What It Is: Headless photography? Electric corsets? Coffin torpedoes?<br />
You won’t believe some of the strange beliefs, oddities, fads and superstitions<br />
of the Victorians. This trolley tour explores them. Hear stories from<br />
Cape May’s history that are bizarre, unexplained or just plain weird.<br />
Who It’s For: You’re drawn to the macabre.<br />
GHOSTS OF CAPE MAY<br />
Where It Goes: Through the streets of Cape May.<br />
How Long It Runs: Thirty minutes.<br />
When It Runs: Evenings on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:45pm<br />
and 8:45pm; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8:45pm; Saturdays at<br />
7:30pm and 8:30pm.<br />
What It Is: What was that? The undead of Cape May come back to settle<br />
their scores? Just be grateful you’re in a trolley with an experienced guide<br />
to tell you about the many hauntings discovered by Cape May author and<br />
medium Craig McManus on this trolley tour through the Historic District.<br />
Who It’s For: Those who thrill over a good ghost story.<br />
combo Historic District/Physick Estate House Tour<br />
Where It Goes: Cape May’s Historic District, then the Physick House<br />
Museum, on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate.<br />
How Long It Lasts: About two hours.<br />
When It Runs: Daily, 11:45am, 1pm and 2:15pm.<br />
What It Is: It’s beautiful. It’s charming. Victorian Cape May — one of the<br />
few places where you feel that traveling in a different era is possible. Wonderful<br />
tour guides will explain how and why it survived and thrives today.<br />
Then a guide will take you on a tour of the Emlen Physick Estate.<br />
Who It’s For: Everyone who finds Victorian Cape May enchanting.<br />
Historic Haunts Combination Tour<br />
Where It Goes: Throughout Cape May then the Physick House Museum<br />
on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate.<br />
How Long It Lasts: About an hour.<br />
When It Runs: Evenings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:15pm.<br />
What It Is: Take an evening trolley ride through the Historic District and<br />
hear stories of haunted Cape May. Step off the trolley at the Physick<br />
House Museum with your guide and see the first floor of the Physick<br />
House Museum, reputed to be haunted, as you learn about Victorian<br />
Spiritualism.<br />
Who It’s For: Those whose minds can take in both the known and the<br />
unknown without freaking out.<br />
Welcome to Cape May<br />
Where It Goes: Throughout Cape May.<br />
How Long It Lasts: About 45 minutes.<br />
When It Runs: Evenings on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30pm.<br />
What It Is: This is the best introduction to Cape May for first timers. Find<br />
the hidden gems and the little-known treasures, as well as natural and<br />
cultural points of interest.<br />
Who It’s For: You just arrived and can’t wait to see the town. You’ve been<br />
to Cape May, but it’s been a while. You’re a local and you’ve never taken<br />
this charming tour that celebrates your home town.<br />
Robert Panaccio, VMD<br />
Robert Moffatt, VMD<br />
Nancy Reilly, VMD<br />
694 Petticoat Creek Lane • 884-1729 • capemayvet.com<br />
ONLY<br />
$5!<br />
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YOGA ON THE BEACH<br />
@beachyogacapemay<br />
M, W, F, Sat & Sun 8:00 AM<br />
Behind the Cape May<br />
Convention Center<br />
Sunset Yoga on the Bay at<br />
David Douglas Memorial Park<br />
Beach, North Cape May<br />
Tuesday 7:00 PM<br />
Visit yogacapemay.com<br />
for a complete schedule<br />
or call Karen Manette Bosna<br />
609-827-8886<br />
The Gypsy Yogini<br />
Weather Permitting
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The Empress<br />
501 Hughes Street, Cape May<br />
The Empress fronts historic Hughes Street at the corner of<br />
Decatur in the heart of Cape May's Historic District where the<br />
horse and carriages pass daily. Her beautifully landscaped<br />
grounds with private gardens and wrap around porches, catch the<br />
breeze from the ocean just two short blocks away.<br />
The Candlelight Inn<br />
2310 Central Avenue, North Wildwood<br />
The Candlelight Inn Bed and Breakfast is one of the most elegant<br />
homes in North Wildwood located on a large lot, a short walk to<br />
the boardwalk, beaches, shops and restaurants. The wide wrap<br />
around verandah with wooden rockers catches the ocean breezes.<br />
Christina P. Clemans Licensed Real Estate Broker<br />
1159 Washington Street Cape May, NJ 08204 609-884-3332 www.chrisclemanssir.com<br />
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Serving the Cape May area for 119 years<br />
for all of your Real Estate transactions!<br />
« over 350 vacation rentals<br />
« open 7 days a week<br />
credit card & online payments accepted<br />
Please visit our website at CBcapemay.com<br />
for more details and all of our listings!<br />
512 Washington Street Mall, Cape May - 609-884-8428<br />
lynn gleeson/william bezaire, owners
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Property of the Month 409 Cambridge Ave, Cape May Point<br />
Just completed, this beautiful four bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom<br />
home has been custom designed by Matt Sprague and built by Matt<br />
Walter of Walter Renovations. Sitting on a 50x100 lot this Cape May<br />
Point home has been designed with 7” hardwood floors throughout<br />
most areas of the home. As you enter the home you are greeted by an<br />
open concept living area on the first floor. The kitchen features a cast<br />
iron sink, granite countertops, top of line cabinetry, stainless steel appliances<br />
and a huge island for entertaining.<br />
The downstairs has 9’ foot ceilings throughout. The living room features<br />
cathedral ceilings and a Heat and Glo vented gas fireplace with<br />
remote control. The first floor also has a sunroom/office, master bedroom<br />
suite, laundry, and a half bath. The large open floor plan and living<br />
space offer views of Lake Lily. The upstairs includes another master<br />
suite with a private bathroom, and two more bedrooms with a shared<br />
Jack-and-Jill bathroom. The upstairs features its own heating and cooling<br />
system for efficiency and comfort.<br />
This home has been completely outfitted to be energy efficient with<br />
Navien on-demand gas hot water heater and double hung and awning<br />
windows with screens. The property has so much to offer including a<br />
private backyard with automatic sprinkler and an 8x8 shed for all your<br />
beach equipment. Complete with a paver patio, walkway, blue stone<br />
steppingstones, driveway and edge stone border with river rock. 409<br />
Cambridge Avenue is only a short walk to the beach, lighthouse, nature<br />
trails and more. The center of Cape May is only a short bike ride or<br />
drive away! Come see everything Cape May Point has offer with this<br />
BRAND-NEW home!<br />
Listed at $1,249,000<br />
For more information, contact Carol Menz, Broker at Coastline Realty on 609-374-0325<br />
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picture of the month By Aleksey Moryakov<br />
Waiting for a takeout order at Louisa’s Café on Jackson Street.<br />
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Call 609-884-6543 to schedule an appointment
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