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by Bob & Tanya Waite
Like in The Family Man starring Nicholas Cage who gets a “glimpse” of what his life would be if he made a different decision at the JFK airport, Tanya and I know that we are only going to get a “glimpse” of all that Cape May has to offer. Every season in Cape May is amazing, yet we are going during the winter to write about spring in Cape May and we only have two days to visit. I tell this to Tanya and she asks, “Bob are you overthinking this trip?” But I looked at the tourist websites, I followed the voluminous lists of what to see and all the things to do in Cape May and wanted more than a glimpse.
We arrive at the Mason Cottage at 3 p.m. and are greeted by Eric, who along with his wife Rochelle is an innkeeper. He has a boyish smile and before we can get in the door he begins to tell us about the inn. We are shown the keypad that we can use to enter any time and he takes us to the office to register. Eric shows us the parlor and we see that the seating is very comfortable and the sofa seems to say, “Go ahead, take a nap.” In front of the sofa is a glass coffee table and on it is a bowl full of Hersey kisses. Eric tells us to take some to eat in our room.
After checking in we notice two sets of elaborate stairwells. Eric explains, When the building was built in 1869, the original owners decided to make it into two homes, one for them and the other for their newly married son.” Of course since then it became one home with two staircases, each leading to rooms that are now used for guests.
Rochelle introduces herself and takes us to our room. Tanya who, I wouldn’t dare say overreacts to a beautiful room, looks like she is ready to burst. She is holding back as Rochelle shows us the Davis Suite that happens to be one of the rooms with a jacuzzi connected to the bathroom. But what really riles up her intentionally suppressed enthusiasm is the separate lounge room with a gas fireplace, a television, a Victorian styled sofa, two comfortable upholstered chairs, a round cherry wood table between the chairs and the large ottoman.
Our bedroom is large and there are a queen sized bed, a large double window across from the bed overlooking Columbia Avenue and a window on the side that adds to its bright cheerful appearance. We have the choice of another suite that has a king-sized bed but doesn’t have the separate lounge room and we decline. The bed, tested by me (a certified napper and comfort seeker) makes me want to lie down for a while.
We settle in our room. Tanya takes photos and I go outside to look at the colorful Victorian structure with a wraparound veranda. Columbia Avenue is right in the center of historic district. The Inn is only a block from the boardwalk or rather promenade, which is paved and replaced the old boardwalk after by a Nor’easter in 1962 tore it up. It is also a short walk to the Washington Street Mall.
“Where should we eat?” I ask Tanya. “Do you want to drive around, browse the internet or maybe take a walk till we find somewhere that we think we will like?” She says as she always does, “Whatever you want.” I decide to ask Eric. He suggests The Cricket Club, which is only a couple of blocks away.
The Cricket Club sits in a restored Victorian building that has a casual atmosphere. We are seated in a room that seems like a porch with slanted exposed beam ceiling and windows along the single row of tables. There are candles on each table and as I look into Tanya’s deep brown eyes that are sparkling in the candlelight I say, “This, my gorgeous one, is a very romantic room.” Then I wink at her and she blushes. She retorts, ‘What have you got in mind handsome?”
The ambience is both soothing and exciting at the same time. The night we are there a singer is singing soft love ballads and we are looking into each other’s eyes enamored by the soft music and candlelight. Breaking our spell is our server, Kelly. She softly approaches the table and is very pleasant. I order a scotch on the rocks and Tanya orders a Mai Tai. We then look at the menu. There are 13 appetizers and we order the Steamed P.E.I. Mussels.
Kelly brings us our drinks. Tanya sips hers and assures me that it is made to perfection. We then order our main course. Tanya orders the Crab Cake Entrée, which consists of crab cakes baked then topped with a house remoulade and served with roasted fingerlings and green beans. I order the Braised Short Rib which is described on the menu as “a red wine braised short rib served with roasted fingerlings and green beans topped with a crispy onion garnish.” Kelly lets us know that we made good choices.
The food is delicious. My short ribs melt in my mouth and Tanya’s loves the crabcakes, which are full of crabmeat and cooked to perfection. I have the Crème Brûlée for desert and its crispy crust and tasty custard make me want another. We also meet the general manager, Lauren Banzo, and she comps us our desert. While we eat, chat with the manager and thoroughly enjoy ourselves, we are serenaded with soft ballads, and we each have that first date kind of glow.
It is dark but we decide to walk several blocks to the promenade that is well lighted and in the evening has a special kind of beauty. We see shops that are now closed, Convention Hall, and although we are hoping, we do not see the lighthouse several miles to the south.
We walk back to the Mason Cottage and the streets of Cape May seem magical to a married couple with a first date glow. The Bed & Breakfasts and other beautifully cared for homes make us feel that somehow we have been transported to a Hallmark Movie.
Back at the Mason Cottage we sit in the lounge with the fireplace burning and watch a movie. I fall asleep on the chair and Tanya gently wakes me up when the movie is finished. We go to bed. The bed is perfect. I drift back into sleep with no intermission and Tanya meets the sandman as soon as her head hits the pillow. It is the soundest sleep either of us have gotten in weeks. As Tanya would say, “This bed is the bomb diggity!”
I wake up excited about eating breakfast, Tanya, not so much. She likes to spend her mornings getting ready for the day and she’s not hungry until later. However we both go down to the breakfast area. We sit at one of the smaller tables and there are other guests at the long table. Coffee is out and a server visits our table. Our breakfast is two courses the first being the Breakfast Banana Split, which instead of ice cream uses scooped yogurt but it also has berries and a fruit sauce. It is delicious. Tanya’s eyes brighten up. We talk to a couple from the Lehigh Valley that are very familiar with Bucks County and have a daughter who lives in Newtown. Our next course is a frittata filled with vegetables. We also have a side meat. I have sausage and Tanya has two slices of bacon. With it is a homemade biscuit. Tanya loves the breakfast and forgets that she is not a breakfast person.
After breakfast we leave the Mason Cottage and take the four and a half mile drive to Cape May Point to see the lighthouse. We understand that from the top of the lighthouse is a staggering view of the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, when we get there the lighthouse is closed. Its winter hours are curtailed to being open only on weekends.
The Light House is located at Cape May Point Park and there is ample parking. We take photos of this majestic beacon and then walk to the beach. Walking by the ocean we adjust our gait so not to get wet from the incoming tide. The beauty of the ocean reflecting the icy blue sky makes Tanya say, “Isn’t God amazing!”
Looking down the beach we see an unusual structure that looks in the distance like a giant abandoned bathhouse with vegetation on its roof. As we get closer we realize that it is a giant concrete structure with signs posted on it that say things like, “Keep off,” “Do Not Enter.” I tell Tanya that the government keeps aliens from another galaxy in the building. She says, “Yeah right.”
Puzzled, we leave the area and cut through the park on the nature trails to return to our car. On the trail we meet another tourist who came to Cape May Point Park on a tour bus. We ask her if she knows anything about the concrete structure, and she tells us the story that the tour guide told the group.
It turns out that this is a bunker that was built during the WWII as part of our coastal defense. It was once covered with sod sand and mud to make it look like a hill hiding its six-foot thick concrete walls. It was created to guard local waters against German U-boat invaders during WWII from 1943 to 1944. We leave and drive back to the Mason Cottage.
Back at the inn, Rochelle shows us some of the rooms that are not currently occupied. There are ten guestrooms at the inn and each is unique. One room, however, really caught Tanya’s attention. The Grand Mason Suite is the largest suite and is meant for longer stays. It has a living room, a beautiful bedroom with floral print wallpaper and a kitchenette with an adjacent dining nook. I could see by my wife’s thoughts and by her facial expression, I know that she is thinking about how wonderful it would be to spend several weeks or even a whole summer here. In my slightly telepathic state, I concur. She smiles at me. I guess she can read minds too.
We are ready to take the short walk to the Washington Street Mall where we will take the Trolley bus and experience the Cape May Historic Trolley Tour and tour the Emlen Physick Estate. The Washington Street Mall is something to see. There are lots of food venues, shops, bookstores, boutiques and galleries. It is buzzing with people going in and out of stores. It is the downtown shopping district and common town square where streets have been turned into walkways. There Victorian building are crisp and clean and we love the ambience. However, we have little time for browsing. At 2 p.m. the tour begins.
Although no longer pulled by cable, the trolley is authentic and looks like it belongs to another time. Anywhere else it would be an anachronism but not in Cape May. We enter the trolley and talk to some women from Maine who are in Cape May for the first time. The trolley tour guide sits facing us and uses a microphone so that she can be heard above the sounds of the engine and traffic. The windows are large and sitting in the back we have a great view from both sides.
The tour takes us on a journey through the history of Cape May as documented by the Victorian buildings we see. Next to San Francisco, Cape May has largest concentration of well-maintained Victorian buildings in the nation. The colors are bright and many of the buildings have intricate gingerbread on overhangs, especially one the homes.
Street by street our tour guide tells us stories about the buildings we pass and the times in which they were built. Some of the things I find interesting are the competitiveness that residents had to look more prosperous than their neighbors. An example is that when indoor plumbing began replacing outhouses, people would add an extra room attached to the side of their homes so that people could see they had a bath and toilet. We saw the original firehouse, the house where abolitionist Harriet Tubman lived while she spent time in Cape May and so many other buildings that have historic interest. We learned about the fire that destroyed a large section of the city and how that changed the architecture on the streets that were affected. The tour guide is funny. She uses humor and interesting anecdotes to educate us on Cape May’s history.
We are dropped off at the Emlen Physick Estate for our next tour. While waiting for the tour to begin, we visit the gift shop that is on the grounds. After looking at books and souvenirs, our tour guide comes and takes us through the house. Cape May M.A.C. (Museums Art Culture) on its website says, “Guided tours of the 1879 Physick House Museum provide an in-depth look at Victorian architecture, detailing how the Physick family and their staff lived, worked and spent their leisure time. The 18-room mansion is an architectural gem designed by famed American architect Frank Furness, one of the best examples of Victorian Stick Style architecture in the country.”
We are there during the winter, so we do not get to see the beautiful gardens and outbuildings. However, we tour the house and learn about this very interesting and sometimes amusing transitional phase of American history. It is a time when having a telephone is more a symbol of wealth and importance than a necessity since so few people have one. Tanya is interested in the kitchen, bathroom and ornate furniture, and Dr. Physick’s mother’s room, which in such a house would be the wife’s room, but Dr. Physick is a lifelong bachelor. I enjoy learning about the social history and the influence that Emlen Physick has on the town. During the tour we see some very unusual appliances, clothing from the period, and we hear some very interesting and amusing stories from our delightful tour guide. (For more information the Cape May Historic Trolley Tour and the Emlen Physick Estate visit www.capemaymac.org where you can also find out about many other tours and places of interest in Cape May.)
After the tour we are dropped off at the Washington Street Mall and walk back to the Mason Cottage. After resting for a while, we drive north of Cape May and eat at an Irish pub. Then we return to the Mason Cottage to relax in the parlor and then we go to our suite.
It is morning and I go to breakfast while Tanya is enjoying an extra hour of sleep. Breakfasts at the Mason Cottage are either sweet or savory and they alternate from day to day. I have a sweet breakfast and then go upstairs expecting Tanya to still be in bed, but she surprises me and is packing. I pack too. We are ready to leave but not before saying goodbye to our gracious and hospitable hosts. After saying goodbye we leave, knowing only too well that we need to come again. Like Nicholas Cage in Family Man, we’ve only gotten a glimpse. There are so many more things we can do in Cape May—beaches, shops, tours, restaurants and entertainment. Tanya and I want to know more about America’s first seaside resort and over the years, we will have more than a glimpse.
The Mason Cottage is located at 623-625 Columbia Avenue, Cape May, NJ. To book a room, call 609-884-3358 or visit www.themasoncottage.com
Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine and Tanya is his wife, travel companion and the co-writer of this department.