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anne mauney with a sunset view on the dock
September 16, 2022

Girl’s Weekend in Cape May, NJ

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Last weekend was extra fun: I was on a girls’ trip in Cape May, NJ!

One of my best friends from college, Turner (her actual name is Laura, that’s a nickname), her family has a house in Cape May and we’ve been going up there for a weekend most summers since college. 

I love it there – it’s such a beautiful town and seeing good friends and getting to play in the ocean is basically my ideal weekend.

anne mauney standing on the beach in a pink dress

The last time we had a Cape May weekend was back in 2019, thanks to the pandemic in 2020 and having a newborn in summer 2021, so I was very happy to be able to be able to go again this year! 

This year for the trip, it was me, Turner, and Lisa, another good friend from college – we all lived on the same floor freshman year, and Lisa and I were roommates sophomore year and Turner and I were roommates senior year (along with our friend Kris, who usually joins us in Cape May but couldn’t this weekend as she is pregnant and due in a few weeks – we missed you, Kris)!

It was really great to catch up with both of them – it had been too long!

We all arrived on Friday and after getting settled at the house we walked over to Mayer’s Tavern, one of our favorite dinner spots. It was gorgeous outside – cool but not cold, and the sunset was beautiful.

It’s hard to beat the sunset + water combo, in my opinion!

anne mauney on a cape may dock with sunset

We were able to snag a table outside which was a huge win, and started with some drinks – sparkling rose for me! 

sparkling rose with a sunset

For dinner, we shared a bunch of appetizers to start – the smoked bluefish spread, plus some broiled oysters with pimento cheese as well as some raw oysters. 

Everything was very delicious; even the bread that the bluefish spread came with was really good! It was grilled and had a really yummy smoked flavor.

appetizers from mayers in cape may

For our main course, we ordered 2 of the fried scallops + french fries meal for the 3 of us to share, which was perfect as they were fairly large and we had had so many appetizers. 

Their fried scallops are super good – they aren’t really breaded but have a bit of a crust on them that’s very light. Super delicious. It came with a good slaw, too! 

scallops and fries from mayers in cape may

We took our time at dinner chatting and savoring the food and our drinks, which is something I always really appreciate getting to do nowadays as when kids are involved dinners are usually the opposite of slow and relaxing. 😉 

View of the beautiful docks on the walk back:

night view of the docks in cape may

On Saturday morning, we signed up for an 8am beach yoga class via a local yoga studio – how gorgeous is this view?

yoga mat on the beach in cape may nj

The yoga class wasn’t what we were hoping for (we literally did the same few seated postures over and over and didn’t even do one downward dog or any sort of flow – womp, womp), but I loved starting our day on the beach listening to the waves so it was still a win.

But next time we would try the offerings from a different studio, I think. 😉 

Post-yoga we drove over to a cute spot called Ostara’s Coffee House for breakfast.

ostara's coffee house in cape may

I got an unpictured latte as well as their English Muffin egg sandwich with avocado, bacon, cheddar, and tomato. It was really good – I think their English muffins must be homemade because they were amazing! 

egg, bacon, tomato, cheese, and avocado sandwich from ostara's coffee house

We spent the rest of the day at the beach – my favorite! It was PERFECT beach weather – not too hot but warm enough to swim. 

view of feet and the beach in cape may

There were actually a decent amount of people out on the beach, even though it was September – although we were there a little earlier in September than we usually are so that makes sense! 

I love swimming so I spent a good chunk of time in the water enjoying jumping over the waves. 

Lisa and Turner came in briefly but weren’t as into it as me, which is cool. 🙂 I didn’t mind doing my own thing, although I missed Kris, who will usually spend ages out in the water with me as she likes it (almost) as much as I do! 

view of the beach in cape may nj

For lunch, we took a walk down the beach…

beach in cape may nj

And then hit up a spot called “La La Lobster” for lobster rolls! Delicious.

lobster roll from la la lobster

On the walk back we found this epic sandcastle that I had to take a picture of for Riese! Impressive, right?

huge sandcastle in cape may nj

After our beach fun, we headed back to the house to shower and get changed and then biked into town (I love biking in Cape May as it’s so nice and flat and we use beach cruisers – it feels like the ultimate “I’m a kid again” activity)!

We started our evening at The Virginia Hotel for drinks + appetizers. They have a huge and beautiful front porch and we love coming here for pre-dinner happy hour! 

having drinks at The Virginia hotel

Aren’t their deviled eggs gorgeous? So creative! 

fancy deviled eggs from the virginia hotel

We also had some broiled oysters (I was all about the oysters this weekend), and I got an heirloom tomato and cucumber salad as I was already getting hungry and we didn’t have dinner reservations for a couple more hours. 

appetizers from the virginia hotel

After our snacks and drinks we did some shopping in town. They have a nice walking only area where there are a ton of cute boutiques and we also went to the kid’s store and got some gifts for our kids, too. 🙂 

There were tons of people out and about on such a beautiful evening – it was really hopping out there! 

For dinner, we hit up another favorite which is right down in the main walking mall area – Louisa’s cafe! 

sign outside louisa's cafe in cape may

I started with their kale caesar salad (unpictured), and for my entree I got their BBQ salmon, which was really good. All their fish comes with the same two sides – brown rice and a yummy slaw. 

bbq salmon with brown rice and slaw from louisa's cafe in cape may

We were considering dessert but service was a little slow and it was already pretty late (our reservation wasn’t until 8:45) and we were all kind of crashing by the time we finished dinner. So, we biked back to the house and it was straight to bed!

On Sunday morning, we went over to Beach Plum Farm for breakfast. Another cute spot we’ve been to before and always enjoy.

Hello, chickens!

beach plum farm chickens

I had their frittata for breakfast, plus some bacon and cherries (purchased from the farm store). 

frittata and bacon from beach plum farm

With a view of their garden – beautiful!

beach plum farm frittata with a garden view

After breakfast, Turner and I said goodbye to Lisa, who needed to get home, and the two of us went over to the Cape May lighthouse area to do a little hike as it was cloudy and cooler so not a great morning for the beach. 

I don’t think I ever walked around this nature area before on previous visits; it was really beautiful!

cape may nature walk

Riese would have loved this – Turner said they bring their kids here a lot. 

boardwalk nature walk cape may

You can see the lighthouse peeking out in the background of this next shot!

distant view of cape may lighthouse

We ended the hike on the beach. Quite ominous looking out there, but really beautiful! I love being by the ocean when it’s moody like this… so pretty. 

beach with a view of cape may lighthouse

Turner and I headed back to the house and showered and packed up after our hike, then hit the road – but we had one last fun stop on the docket – about 1 hour in to each of our drives, we stopped for lunch together at a spot called Sweet Amalia Market and Kitchen!

It’s in Newfield, NJ, and was on both of our routes – Turner goes here often on her drive to and from Cape May to Philadelphia, and was talking it up, so I was pumped to try it! 

Nice way to break up the drive a little, too. 

This spot is known for their oysters, so obviously I had to get my final oyster meal of the weekend! They were really delicious – super plump and flavorful. Plus an arugula salad!

sweet amalia market and kitchen salad and oysters

Such a fun weekend in one of my favorite spots, and it was a real treat to get to reconnect with my college friends. I already can’t wait until next time!

What’s your favorite beach town? 

- anne
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7 comments
  • Kris S September 16, 2022 · 1:03PM:
    Aww I missed you ladies!! You all look so great- I'm so glad you had a fun and relaxing weekend! We took our babymoon in Cape May this June so I feel like I was just there hanging at all the good spots we usually go together (Mayer's, beach plum farm..). Hoping to be there for girls weekend next year, C is already on board for watching the little one ;)
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 16, 2022 · 2:07PM:
      Excellent! We missed you, friend! xoxo
      Reply
  • Roadrunner September 16, 2022 · 2:08PM:
    What a wonderful weekend at a wonderful place! Very nice that you could get away for a mini-runion!
    Reply
  • Joe September 18, 2022 · 8:52AM:
    Glad for you but you’re just rookies in this tradition. Ten of our fraternity Brothers spent a week in Ocean City the week following Labor Day for over 38 years to commemorate the summers we spent working there and living in the original “Animal House” as college guys in the ‘60s
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 18, 2022 · 8:42PM:
      That's awesome! I hope my friends and I can keep it going for that long, too!
      Reply
  • V September 22, 2022 · 12:20PM:
    I love Cape May! We were actually there that Thursday/Friday morning. Had a lovely run down the beach, followed by a bike ride on a cruiser. It was amazing weather! I also love stopping at Amalia's Kitchen. Such a cute farm stand, and the food is great!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 22, 2022 · 3:10PM:
      Yay, fun that you were there too! Such a gorgeous place. I had never heard of Amalia's until this trip, but it will now be a go-to for my travel days!
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

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