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.
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!
We were able to snag a table outside which was a huge win, and started with some drinks – sparkling rose for me!
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.
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!
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:
On Saturday morning, we signed up for an 8am beach yoga class via a local yoga studio – how gorgeous is this view?
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.
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!
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.
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!
For lunch, we took a walk down the beach…
And then hit up a spot called “La La Lobster” for lobster rolls! Delicious.
On the walk back we found this epic sandcastle that I had to take a picture of for Riese! Impressive, right?
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!
Aren’t their deviled eggs gorgeous? So creative!
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.
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!
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.
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!
I had their frittata for breakfast, plus some bacon and cherries (purchased from the farm store).
With a view of their garden – beautiful!
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!
Riese would have loved this – Turner said they bring their kids here a lot.
You can see the lighthouse peeking out in the background of this next shot!
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.
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!
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?
