What to do in Cape May in Nov/Dec
Last weekend I took a weekend trip to Cape May. I know what you’re thinking, “Why would you go to Cape May in the middle of November?”.
What I strive to prove on my website every day is that “New Jersey Isn’t Boring”, and the concept is that I can find you something to do in New Jersey 365 days of the year. Cape May is a shore town that has something to do all year round!
One of the perks of going to Cape May in November is staying at a hotel on the beach for a quarter of the price. I stayed at the Grand Hotel on Beach Avenue, which over looks the ocean. This is the view from my hotel:
On our first night, which was a Friday, we went to Willow Creek Winery in West Cape May for wine, tapas and a bonfire. It was a little chilly, but the bonfire kept you warm. Plus the atmosphere of the winery is cozy. It was really nice sitting on a couch, drinking wine and just relaxing after a long day and 2+ hours of travel. Thank you to Leah who helped us with the wine tasting and gave us some tips for the rest of the weekend.
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After the bonfire, we ended up at Elaine’s in Cape May for a ghost tour. Since the season isn’t as busy, we went on the tour with one other couple. It was nice to walk around town learning the history of Cape May as well as hearing some ghost stories at different locations. The tour also gave us a lay of the land, and made it easier to walk around the following day. Shout out to Taran who was an awesome tour guide.
Thanks @ElainesCM for a great ghost tour! #njisntboring pic.twitter.com/joOYr03olp
— NJ Isn’t Boring! (@njisntboring) November 14, 2015
A perk of being in a shore town off season is that it’s a lot quieter. Even a restaurant like the Mad Batter which is usually PACKED to the brim was able to seat us right away for breakfast on Saturday morning. This alone made the trip worth it. Mmm Pancakes…
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After breakfast on Saturday we walked around Washington Street and West Cape May for some window shopping. Most of the shops are still open until Christmas even if their hours are slightly limited. Clothing, food, fudge,taffy…you name it, they got it.
I had never been to West Cape May before, but there are lots of great shops and restaurants there. Plus, you easily walk there from Washington Street. I loved all the antique shops and independently owned stores and restaurants. It’s a really cute area.
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After shopping we headed off to what I call the “Booze Portion” of our trip. Cape May currently hosts 6 wineries and 1 brewery. Off season 5 of the vineyards are open year round, and Cape May Brewing Co is as well. We started at Hawk Haven Vineyard where we got a tour and 8 wine samples. Our tour also came with wine and cheese which was quite delightful. Thank you to Ryan for an A+ experience there. We loved the wine, vineyard, and tasting room.
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After Hawk Haven Vineyards, we headed up to Natali Vineyards for another tour and tasting. I loved this vineyard! Some of the best wine I’ve ever had, and the owner, Al, was very kind and informative.
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We ended up taking a bottle home and jetted off to…
Our next stop, Cape May Brewing Co! We got a special private tour with one of the owners, Chris, who showed us around their warehouse and how the beer is made. This is definitely of my favorite breweries, and they had so much to choose from on tap. We left with a growler. For more pictures click HERE.
Time for a flight at @CapeMayBrewCo #njcraftbeer #njisntboring pic.twitter.com/zgYuqCp3TZ
— NJ Isn’t Boring! (@njisntboring) November 14, 2015
To view all of my photos from Willow Creek Winery, Hawk Haven Vineyards and Natali Vineyards, click HERE
After the booze portion, we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so we ate at a local diner, Rio Grande Diner. There are a few diners in the Cape May area, so if you are a NJ diner lover like me you check a few off your list.
Exhausted from a day of walking (22,000 steps on my fit bit), drinking, and eating we went back to Washington Street. We ended up having a drink and some buffalo wings at the Ugly Mug (which was highly recommended to us), before retiring to the hotel.
Buffalo wings and @capemaybrewco at #uglymugcapemay. #njeats #capemay #njisntboring
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We left Cape May on Sunday, but not before taking a walk along the beach one more time. Don’t take the New Jersey ocean for granted!
On our way back we stopped at another Cape May diner, the Court House diner (review coming soon) where we grabbed a hearty breakfast and most importantly…coffee!
Morning coffee at the Court House diner #njdiners #njisntboring pic.twitter.com/GWWdIjwHcG — NJ Isn’t Boring! (@njisntboring) November 15, 2015
This diner just happens to be 2 minutes away from our next stop, the Cape May Zoo! This zoo is FREE and definitely worth seeing. Please donate so they can continue to keep it clean and beautiful. We saw lions, tigers, and bears…oh my! We also saw leopards, monkees, farm animals, GIRAFFES, zebras and so much more.
To view more pictures from the Zoo, click HERE
And last, but not least, if you drive 30 minutes you can see the legend herself (and a Historial Landmark), Lucy the Elephant!
Finally seeing @lucytheelephant! It’s been on my #newjersey bucket list for a long time. #roadsideattractions #nj #njisntboring A photo posted by New Jersey Isn’t Boring (@newjerseyisntboring) on
She is definitely something to see at least one time in your life. Beautiful! It’s $8 to go inside with a tour (it’s a non-profit, this money goes right back into restoring her). You can also go to the top and see the view:
As well as look our her eyes to see what she sees. Tip: Look out the Right eye.
Not bad for a weekend trip…and we didn’t even go to everything we wanted to do. So if you think that going to Cape May off season is “boring”, I think I proved you wrong.
Be sure to check out Cape May’s Tourism Website for events going on in Cape May as well!
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