Cape May County is a treasure trove of thrills, games, specialty seafood, happy hour specials, traditional family-style restaurants, beach gear, breakfast favorites and relaxing rituals. Yet with its 620-square-mile span, this Jersey Shore county can be quite daunting. With all this ground to cover, where should you even begin? We’re here with our fourth edition of Island Hopping, offering our map of suggestions of where to “do the shore” for a great week of Cape May County fun.
Start your morning with a delicious home-cooked breakfast! Conveniently located in Rio Grande, ShopRite is THE place to go for all of your breakfast essentials. Offering deals and discounts on countless food items, you are sure to save big! ShopRite offers the freshest produce, meats, bake shop items and much more. Check out ShopRite’s ad in this week’s Herald, or log on to shoprite.com for the most up-to-date deals.
After a nice meal with the family to get your day going, head to the Cornell Harbor at 14th & Ocean Drive in Avalon for some fishing fun aboard Miss Avalon. Miss Avalon is a huge 78-foot fishing yacht powered by twin diesel engines that departs twice daily for full-day or half-day trips. If fishing isn’t your thing, Miss Avalon also offers dolphin and nature cruises, sunset cruises and private party cruises!
For lunch, check out Circle Pizza on 21st Street & Dune Drive in Avalon, a staple on the Seven Mile Island for over 40 years. With an extensive menu filled with Italian flavors, there’s something for everyone. New this summer, the Garden of Eat’n at the Avalon Food Court is an outdoor area featuring eight different food venues. This means your entire family can choose different cuisine, but still be able to sit down and eat your meals together!
Next, head to Cape May for an educational afternoon. Learn about Cape May’s history during one of Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities’ (MAC) many tours. Tour the Cape May Lighthouse and see panoramic views of the Jersey Cape and Delaware Bay. Or, hop aboard the trolley and tour Cape May’s Historic District while you hear entertaining and enlightening stories about the nation’s oldest seaside resort and how it survived. With a full calendar of tours, events and activities for the summer, MAC always has something happening that the entire family can enjoy.
When your history lesson is complete, enjoy dinner and a show at Elaine’s Dinner Theater in Cape May. Opening on July 12 is an all new production, “Sherlock Holmes and the Werewolf of London.” The world’s greatest detective will need all of his skill, along with his partner Dr. John Watson, to discover who has been terrorizing the streets of old London town. Is there really a werewolf stalking the city, or some kind of ingenious imposter preying on the fears of the citizens? Find out at Elaine’s!
If you aren’t much of a theater lover, visit Sapore Italiano in West Cape May for a delicious sit-down dinner. Set in one of the oldest homes in the seaside resort town, this restaurant offers classic homemade Italian food including antipasti options, carne, pollo, pesce and “real” Italian pasta. With a menu like that, there is no reason to leave hungry!
If you prefer to eat dinner at home, Fish House Market & Eatery in Wildwood Crest can provide you with delicious seafood to go, all cooked and ready to eat as soon as you walk through the door of your hotel room, condo or house. Try the award-winning crab cakes!
Post-dinner, swing by the Boiler Room, located underneath Congress Hall in Cape May, a place that feels worlds away from the quaintness of Victorian Cape May. Hear the best live entertainment around at this hip underground music club, all while sipping on delicious, cold craft beer. If you get hungry later on in the night, the Boiler Room offers many varieties of brick oven pizza.
Bar hop over to Flip Flopz in North Wildwood, your one-stop party resort in South Jersey! Bring your friends for an unforgettable time and dance the night away while enjoying the sounds of that night’s live band or DJ.
End your day of island hopping at Westy’s Irish Pub in North Wildwood, an Irish style pub with a relaxing atmosphere. Take a seat at the oceanfront deck’s sprawling wrap-around bar, hit the dance floor to groove to music played by the island’s top entertainers, or order one of Westy’s specialty drinks from either the upstairs or downstairs bar.