CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY( NJ), USA
Cape May, New Jersey bed and breakfasts offer traditional hospitalit
Cape May bed and breakfast establishments are integral to Cape May's reputation as the oldest seaside resort in the United States. Ever since the mid-1700's when Philadelphia residents started to vacation in the pretty little town, tourism has been the dominant industry. Commercial and sport fishing are subservient to Cape May's role as a seaside getaway for thousands of Americans and overseas visitors, who flock to Cape May B&Bs, lodges and inns.
For keen fishermen and watchers of marine mammal watching and birds, staying in a Cape May bed and breakfast makes so much sense. Enjoy a quick breakfast before embarking on a day of fishing or eco-tourism and return happily tired in the evening to you comfortable home-away-from-home. Believe it or not, you can also visit wine farms near Cape May. There is also great shopping available in areas near where the Cape May bed and breakfasts are situated.
Cape May has become known both for its Victorian gingerbread homes, some of which have been converted to bed and breakfasts, and its lively cultural life. The town hosts the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Cape May Music Festival and the Cape May, New Jersey Film Festival. For these, many visitors stay in bed breakfasts. Cape May is home to the Center for Community Arts, which offers year-round arts classes as well as African American history tours, Cape May is known traditionally as the home of the so-called 'Cape May Diamonds'. Ask your bed and breakfast hosts to tell you all about them and they will have stories to share.
These "diamonds" wash up on Sunset Beach and other beaches in the area. They are not diamonds but clear quartz pebbles that travel down the Delaware River. Collecting Cape May diamonds is a popular pursuit among Cape May bed and breakfast visitors and many tourist shops sell them polished or even as faceted stones. Not only "diamond diggers" and nature lovers occupy B&Bs, lodges and inns in the city. Many visitors, delegates and students connected with the United States Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May stay at Cape May bed and breakfasts. This is the USA's only Coast Guard Recruit Training Center. In 1946, the US Navy relinquished its base there to the Coast Guard and in 1982 the Coast Guard consolidated all recruit training functions in Cape May.
