Dancers in the Parade
There are not many places to stay there in the winter unlike the summer most of the hotels, restaurants and arcades are closed. The stores are open and ready for business offering many holiday deals. The hotel we stay in is the Grand Hotel. It is right across from the ocean on Beach Drive. We like it there because they have a great restaurant in the hotel and they offer a special deal to include some of your meals especially the breakfast buffet.
You need to plan early because they fill up fast. The indoor pool is great for the kids although it is hard to make time for a swim because we are so busy sightseeing and shopping.
One of the Holiday events are The House Tours. People line up in the cold to walk through the old victorian homes to see their decorations and layout. I find no interest in that.
Even though I have been vacationing in CM in the summer for the last 10 years I still like to see the sights. I love the lighthouse at Cape May Point.
One can climb to the top and see for miles. There is also a great gift shop below.
My favorite shell souvenier shop is at Sunset Beach. It is like going to the "end of the world" as I call because it is the furthest point you can go in NJ with out going into the water.
One of my favorite thing to do in the summer is to see the flag lowering ceremony. Every evening from Memorial Day until Labor Day a flag is lowered at sunset. The flag belongs to a U.S. Service man's casket. Sometimes the family is there for the ceremony. It is very moving as they play Kate Smith's "God Bless America" on the loud speaker.
You can not see this in the winter but you can see the sunken ship, Atlantus.
The downtown in Cape May is full of cute shops with tons of tee shirts and clever gift ideas.
You can also take a horse and buggy ride around town (I only did this once because it is really expensive). My favorite shop is The Whale's Tale.
They have cards, perfume, books, shell objects, jewelry and a large children's section with Playmobile toys. I always buy something there.
On the out skirts of town is the Wicker Shop which also has many great things to purchase.
The first night we get to town we eat at the restaurant Lucky Bones Backwater Grille. Their pizza is thin crust cooked in a wood oven and their salads are inventive. There are plenty of other places to eat but we try to keep it reasonable. The second night we eat at the hotel because it is included in our deal.
On Friday night we go to the tree lighting ceremony. The town's residents and visitor congregate at the gazebo in the down town and sing carols and wait for the big finale, Santa's arrival. Someone reads, The Night Before Christmas and after a few announcements and a prayer the lights are turned on. In case I did not mention, it is really cold out.
Can you see how cold we are? I bought a hat after this. (I am on the left)
