Vacations in Cape May, New Jersey are an annual thing for Graham’s family.. ok.. sometimes multiple times in a year, but predominantly in the summer. Graham and I missed out last year with wedding planning, but this year, we packed up the car and Huxley, our lazy greyhound, to spend a week at the shore with his parents and younger brother. 

Sadly, Graham had to work during the first few days of our vacation.. and then we had to cut our time short since Hermine threatened to put the area in a state of emergency as well as making evacuation a possibility. We decided to head back to Philly Saturday morning to avoid the challenge of a slow-rolling mass traffic exodus. We were sad to leave, but it was nice to have a few days at home to recover. 

In spite of leaving early, we did manage to get in some fun (as you may have seen on Facebook and Instagram). Here were some of the highlights:

Graham watched with great trepidation as I fumbled with my phone to get “a good wave shot,” knowing my predictable klutziness and the unpredictable waters wasn’t the safest combination for electronics in my hands. My phone stayed dry! My butt did not! And this was just 10 minutes before meeting up with his family and friends for dinner.

Sunsets over water are amazing <3

Cape May has some really cute shore houses and buildings. There was a strip of connected houses we repeatedly drove by going to and from town to Cape May Point. I begged Graham to take me just so I could take pictures. They were all part of the Exit Zero brand (Cape May’s local newspaper).. a gallery, a curry house (!), and gallery. We meant to have dinner there on Saturday evening, but had to leave before getting the chance.

Washington Street Mall is always a must with its cute boutiques, Uncle Charley’s Ice Cream, and multiple places for fudge and saltwater taffy. We bought nearly 2lbs of taffy just before we left and there’s only a few ounces left. 

We also stopped by the arcades to get our fill of skee-ball and air hockey.. which meant we went 4 times during the week. Since we had to leave early and weren’t able to cash in on our tickets, we’ll be ahead of the game next year.

We managed to fit in a nature trail.. also nighttime hunting for ghost crabs. As we chased the crabs with our flashlights, I forgot to be mindful of the rough waters.. wet butt again! You can see how, towards the end of the week, the skies became dark and moody..

We did regret not being able to go to Hot Dog Tommy’s a second time during our visit. I’m a hot dog snob (I know, that’s like an oxymoron), and I always complain that nothing ever comes close to an awesome Seattle dog off the cart in Capitol Hill.. but Hot Dog Tommy’s BAD (Black Angus Dog) Dog (I know, a BAD DOG is really a Black Angus Dog Dog.. but it’s still cute that they call them BAD Dogs) is my new number one. Oh, and there’s also a vegan option for the herbivores.

We also wanted a chance to return to Cape May Point’s Red Store where we had one of the best brunches.. and that includes our favorite spots in Philly AND Seattle.

I really wish I’d gotten photos of both meals above, but I’ve been trying to be better about not letting Graham’s food get cold for the sake of a snapshot. Maybe next year…

Stacy