Cape May Strawberry Festival

Today we rode our bikes over to Wilbraham Park for the annual Cape May Strawberry Festival. The event has two long aisles of booths, one down the paved street and the other on the grass inside the park, where vendors of all types were hawking their wares. Jewelry, antiques, tie dye clothing, wood carvings, you name it they had it. Not to forget the food, strawberries were the star along with lots of other freshly prepared offerings. A band of geriatric rockers was going psychedelic in the center of the lawn. We spent some time wandering among the colorful displays managing to not buy a single unneeded chotzke to add to the already crowded RV. We found an unmanned bench on the grass and sat down to people watch before unlocking the bikes and riding down to the beach boardwalk.

The weekend brings a lot of visitors to the strip at Cape May. It appears to be a major wedding destination as every major hotel seemed to have a large reception gathering on the outside patio areas. Along the beach, numerous cabana rentals make their living providing shade to the tourists. From basic umbrellas to full on Omar the tent man villas, they’ve got you covered (literally). There are a few arcades and mini-golf spots but much more low key and subtle than other east coast beach vacation spots.

We rode to the far end of town where things are much quieter and walked out to the beach closer to the northern point. Beautiful sand dunes and open beaches. We zig zagged through the back streets and looked at the waterfront houses picking out our favorites. But the real action is closer to the center of town where the 1800s Victorian summer homes have been restored and adorn the cute little streets. Many have been converted into B&Bs with tourists rocking in the shade of their expansive porches.

We found ourselves passing by the quaint central walking street where the carriage rides have their starting point. I sat on a bench in front of the cathedral and called my friend Joe while PJ peeked into a couple of the tourist shops that line the promenade. The evening was cooling down and we had begun to work up an appetite so we rode around the corner to a funky little eatery we had discovered in 2016 when we were on the road south.

The Gecko is a colorful little hut with a nice patio area outside. They serve up the best organic soups and fresh paninis in all of New Jersey. Just watch the low ceiling beams as you walk through! We sat out in the garden and had a tasty dinner. PJ grabbed one of the Mexican blankets they provide to warm the goose bumps on her knees. Ready for a restful night, we pedaled back up broadway to our cozy little spot at the Depot.