SALT MARSH SAFARI. Smell the salt air from the deck of a 

40-foot skimmer as it navigates inlets and salt marshes. Guide Ginny 

Powell’s enthusiasm was contagious as she handed around elements 

of the ecosystem from big plastic bins while sharing her knowledge 

of the area’s natural history, fish, marine mammals, plants, tides and 

birds. She also relayed fascinating facts, like how ospreys mate for 

life. (Which, on second thought, is less impressive since they also take 

solo six-month Caribbean vacations each year and then meet up again 

to nest in Cape May. Heck, most humans could easily mate for life if 

we got six months a year in the Caribbean.) 

HISTORY, OH, HISTORY. It’s on every block, but for a more 

specific era (1789–1840), stroll the 30 shady acres of historic Cold 

Spring Village, a living-history experience with skilled interpreters 

engaging kids and adults in activities. Take breakfast or lunch in the 

on-site restaurant, the Grange, set in the original grange where farm-

ers met to discuss crops and other issues. As Paul Jau, a reenactor 

for 20-plus years, told me, “You come here to get away from the 21st 

century for a while.” 

TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE. A boardwalk walk, 

that is. For more Jersey Shore ambiance, just up the road (really, 

they flow together) are the Wildwoods: Wildwood, Wildwood Crest 

and North Wildwood. You’ll find more motel and hotel options, mostly 

locally owned, plus an ample selection of weekly rentals, from condos 

to apartments to cottages. Wildwood has two miles of boardwalk, with 

shops, beach kitsch, restaurants and an ocean-side amusement park. 

TOUR A WINERY. There are six wineries in a six-mile radius. 

Wineries replaced lima-bean fields after Rutgers University did a test 

field in the late 1980s to see how certain grapes would grow. What 

they found is that ocean and bay breezes, combined with soil specif-

ics, made for a longer growing season with earlier bud breaks … and 

some very tasty grapes. I toured Cape May Winery and learned why 

grapes prefer wide spaces between rows for air circulation, how to 

measure sugar levels and make oak barrels, and how they grow roses 

at the end of every row to act as their “canaries in the mine” (mold 

is deadly, and roses show mold and insect damage before grapevines 

would). The tour focus was on education and “discernment,” but 

provided enough wine-tasting that a nap was required afterwards. 

CHANCE IT! There are many other options, such as shop-

ping or simply strolling around and watching weddings (Cape May 

has been called the third-most-popular wedding destination in the 

U.S. after Las Vegas and Disneyworld—the ospreys’ influence, per-

haps). But you’re almost always going to wander into something. The 

first afternoon of my visit, I found myself at a Mummers Parade in 

Wildwood. I’d never heard of Mummers and their intensely competi-

tive, wild-and-crazy Philadelphia string bands in elaborate themed 

costumes. It was like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, with the bands 

marching and going through their routines as people from the side-

lines jumped in to join the fun. I’m not exactly sure when I went from 

observer to participant, but I know I was out there, dancing like a 

fool, strutting my stuff, and laughing until my side hurt. 

Not a bad way to start a vacation.