This Wonderful Life, now at the Cape May Stage.

Watching It’s a Wonderful Life never fails to lift our spirits. Watching This Wonderful Life at the Cape May Stage is sure to have the same effect. If you’re planning a getaway at our whimsical Cape May Bed and Breakfast in the coming weeks, we’ll hope you’ll check it out.

This Wonderful Life is a one man show based on Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Steve Murray steps into the characters of George Bailey, Clarence the Angle, and other residents of Bedford Falls with aplomb. His transformations are stellar. While we’ve never doubted that life is well worth living, it is reaffirming to see that realization dawn in George.

An evening at the theater is lovely, but “Dinner and a Show” is better. The Cape May Stage has partnered with several Cape May restaurants to offer just that, at a discount. Arrangements must be made through the participating restaurants: The Blue Pig Tavern, The Ebbitt Room, The Mad Batter Restaurant, Tisha’s, and The Washington Inn. More details are available at Dinner and a Show.

There is still time to squeeze in a short getaway to our Cape May Bed and Breakfast before the end of the year. Wrap up your gift shopping at the Washington Street Pedestrian Mall, just blocks from our inn, or spend your days comfortably ensconced in our festively decorated parlor as you put the finishing touches on knitting and sewing projects. Then in the evening, step out to the theater.

This Wonderful Life runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., weekends at 3 p.m., and December 20, 21, 27, and 28. The Cape May Stage is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Tickets are available at Cape May Stage.

A stay at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast will put you in the holiday spirit.

See Cape May by candlelight.

Candlelight is magical.

It’s easy to keep the lights on high during long winter nights, but from time to time, it’s worth turning them off and lighting a candle. Small flickering flames work wonders on the ambiance of any room.

Two upcoming events in Cape May embrace this philosophy:

• The annual Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tour. Twenty Victorian homes, inns, and churches in Cape May open their doors to the public on December 3, 10, and 17 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. A free shuttle will transport tour-goers to all the stops on this self-guided tour. It is guaranteed to lift your spirits.

• Cape May Candlelight Hospitality Nights. Merchants along the Washington Street Mall will stay open late on December 8-9. They’ll light candles, and serve treats to holiday shoppers. The best part? You can walk to the Washington Street Mall from our Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

We invite you to get in the holiday spirit with these candlelit events, or simply by relaxing in our festively decorated, whimsical Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

See The Redemption of General Butt Naked at the NJ State Film Festival in Cape May.

The New Jersey Film Festival is all about New Jersey filmmakers. The festival both showcases the work of filmmakers from New Jersey and provides educational opportunities. A variety of workshops are offered during the festival, both for people already working in the industry and for New Jersey youth (including at-risk youth) interested in pursuing careers in film.

Highlights this year include the NJ Premiere of The Redemption of General Butt Naked, which took home awards from the Sundance Film Festival, and a selection of scenes from the Best Mob Movies ever. If you love a good ganster film, be one of the first of your friends to own a copy of “The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies”, which will be on sale during the Festival.

New Jersey film buffs are also looking forward seeing International Dance Films, the Black Maria Film Festival, Best Short Films, and of course Late Night Films, which tend to be quirky, edgy, and even scary.

If you have reservations at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast the weekend of October 21, we hope you’ll check out the 2011 New Jersey State Film Festival.

Additional information and tickets are available online at Cape May NJ State Film Festival.

Let yourself be spooked in Cape May this October.

There is something inherently spooky about Victorian architecture. Certainly it’s beautiful, especially when preserved and in like company. Yet the towers and turrets invite speculation. Hidden rooms and secret passageways hint at intrigue. Drafts cause drapes to flutter, or was that a hand pulling the drape aside? Creaking floors break the still of the night, or was that a ghostly cry?

It’s fun to let yourself be spooked, especially with Halloween on the horizon. Perhaps no where lends itself more towards spooking than the Victorian Seaport of Cape May, home of our Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

It is no surprise, then, that Cape May embraces Halloween with vigor. There will be dozens of Halloween Happenings in town from October 14 to the 31st, 2011. Book a room in our Cape May Bed and Breakfast during that time, if you dare…

A sampling of spooky events in Cape May, NJ:

• Murder Mystery Luncheons and Dinners.
• Haunted Lighthouse Tours with psychic medium Craig McManus.
• Tales of Terror Trolley Rides.
• Historic Haunts House Tours. October 14, 21, 28.
• Cape May City Halloween Parade and Trick or Treating. October 23.
• Halloween Party at the Physick Estate. October 23.
• Annual Phantom Ball, theme Weird Science, at Congress Hall. October 28.
• First Annual Spooktacular Extravaganza at the Ocean Club and Sea Salt. October 29.

For a complete list of spooktacular events, please see Cape May Events.

Give yourself over to pleasure - attend the 2011 Cape May Wine and Food Fest.

The Cape May Food and Wine Festival celebrates all types of food and drink at a variety of venues around town. Highlights include:

Self Guided Wine Trail: daily, noon to 3 p.m. Spend a leisurely few hours visiting Natali Vineyards and Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery. Tour their facilities, speak with the wine makers, and taste their wine. If you’d rather not drive, consider biking from our Cape May Bed and Breakfast. Hawk Haven Winery is six miles from the inn, and Natali Vineyards is 16 miles away.

Winery Cellar Tour and Tastings: daily at 3 p.m. at the Cape May Winery. Stroll through the vineyard and taste wine directly from the barrel, accompanied by cheese and fruit. The Cape May Winery is less than 4 miles from the John F. Craig House; borrow a bike and be on your way.

Beer Tasting Dinner: September 20 at 6 p.m. Folks who prefer beer to wine take heart – the beer dinner is an opportunity to learn about pairing beer with food while enjoying a four course dinner at Aleathea’s Restaurant. Gary Monterosso, one of the country’s leading experts on all things beer, will be on hand to offer beer and food insights.

Scotch Tasting Dinner: September 24 at 6 p.m. Learn about the complexities and subtleties of Scotch during this four-course dinner at Aleathea’s Restaurant. There will be Scotch pairings for each course. Scotland native David Blackmore, leader of the Glenmorangie USA educational program, will be on hand to discuss the nuances of one of the worlds finest drinks.

Gourmet Lunches: September 18-20 at 12:30 p.m. Each day a three-course gourmet meal will be served at a different restaurant in Cape May.

Chefs’ Dine-Arounds: September 18 and 19 at 6 p.m. Visit five of the best restaurants in Cape May for five different courses, each paired with wine. A trolley will shuttle dinners between restaurants. It’s guaranteed to be fun.

Other events include seminars on nutrition, world hunger, organic food, and new food harvesting frontiers. Come because you love good food and drink, come to learn a little something, and come to relax and unwind. Hope to see you at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast during the 2011 Cape May Food and Wine Festival.

Additional festival information and tickets are available 800.275.4278.

The incredible, delicate, Monarch Butterfly.

September is the month the monarchs return to Cape May, New Jersey. Monarch Butterflies, that is. Just as the royals regularly flee to their country homes, Monarch Butterflies regularly migrate; they head north in the spring, south in the fall. During the coming weeks, we’ll be seeing more and more of these orange and black beauties in the garden of our Cape May Bed and Breakfast, and throughout town. Such a treat.

A number of private gardens will open their gates to butterfly watchers towards the end of the month:

• Tours of Private Monarch Butterfly Gardens: Friday, September 23.

• Butterfly Gardens from North Cape May to Rio Grande: Saturday, September 24, 10 to 3:30.

• Butterfly Gardens from Goshen to Dennisville: Sunday, September 25, 10 to 3:30.

These gardens each have many different kinds of milkweed, which Monarchs use for egg laying. Tour goers will learn much about Monarchs and their complex migration. It is sure to be both interesting and educational.

Monarch Butterflies are just one colorful attraction in Cape May. There are many more. September is a glorious month here. The crowds have dispersed and the heat has abated, but days are warm enough to feel summery still. Our Cape May Bed and Breakfast is close to the beach and the Pedestrian Mall, and is a wonderful base from which to explore all the attractions of Cape May.

For more Monarch Butterfly Tour information, please call 609.898.8848.

Tranquility in Cape May

Irene came and went with a vengeance, and we’re glad she won’t cross our path again. Now that she’s gone, there is tranquility. The sky is the perfect shade of blue. The air is cool and clean. The ocean laps gently to shore, fury forgotten. All is forgiven. We’re home.

Cape May was fortunate. Irene’s damage here was minimal, especially when compared with what she did elsewhere. We are thankful, and our hearts go out to those who are still suffering the effects of the storm.

Our Cape May Bed and Breakfast is open for business. Come relax, and share your opinion of Irene during our afternoon “Tea Time”.

Celebrate New Jersey tomatoes in Cape May.

Several upcoming events in Cape May remind us that New Jersey is fertile state, known by many for its fabulous produce. To support our local  farmers, we encourage guests of our Cape May Bed and Breakfast to check out The West Cape May Tomato Festival on September 3, 2011, the West Cape May Annual Lima Bean Festival, on October 8, 2011, and Rea’s Harvest Country Fair, on October 15, 2011.

The West Cape May Tomato Festival will celebrate luscious, large, New Jersey grown tomatoes (said by some to be the best in the country). Vendors will showcase and sell a large variety of art, jewelry, and stained glass as well. Wilbraham Park, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, on September 3, 2011. Rain date is September 4.

How many times in your life can you say you spent the weekend celebrating lima beans? The West Cape May Annual Lima Bean Festival is one of a kind. In addition to lima beans, there’ll be entertainment, antiques, quality vendors, and a large selection of tasty food. September 8 at Wilbraham Park, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rain date is October 9, 2011.

Celebrate the harvest at Rea’s Harvest Country Fair at Rea’s Farm in West Cape May. This working farm (once one of the largest farms in Cape May County) will welcome the public for a day of hay rides, pony rides, and games for adults and children. There will be high quality flea market dealers, antiques, and many great food vendors as well. October 15, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rain date October 16. Rea’s Farm is at Bayshore and Stevens Streets in West Cape May.

Any or all of these events are a great excuse to head to our Cape May NJ Bed and Breakfast for a weekend.

Enjoy a delicious, hearty breakfast at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast before heading out to fish or watch the competition.

This event traditionally marks the start of billfishing season in Cape May. The fish most always bite during this event, but this year promises to be even better than normal. Indeed, thanks to the presence of unusually long, wide, warm Gulfstream waters, July 2011 should be one of the best starts to billfish season in years. There is a good chance that it won’t be necessary for Viking and Ocean owners to head into deep waters – the billfish may well be fairly close to shore.

Participants in the great War Offshore bring their Viking and Ocean boats, old and new, big and small. The Viking Team are the defending champions, so the Ocean Yachts Fishing Team will be striving to reel in a victory. It’s all in good fun, and it’s always a good time.

Both Ocean and Viking owners are welcome to stay at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

Additonal information is available at South Jersey Tournaments.

Read on to learn more about the events occurring in and around Cape May, NJ this weekend:

26th Annual Antique Show & Sale. Cold Spring Village fills with antique furniture, jewelry, books, collectibles, and much, much, more. It’s a lovely setting to view articles from the past. July 9 – 10, 2011.

The 47th Annual Promenade Art Show runs July 8-10, 2011. Close to 100 professional and amateur artists will be displaying their work along the beach front boardwalk and promenade. Enjoy a stroll, beautiful scenery, and fine art between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

If you like cool old cars, you’ll enjoy the Antique Auto Show in Rotary Park, which is a short walk from our Cape May Bed and Breakfast. It runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 9, 2011.

After a full day, relax on the porch of our Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

Cape May is always bustling with activity in the summertime. Folks flock here from New York City, Philadelphia, and beyond to lounge on the magnificent beaches and delight in the charming historic architecture. Cape May, New Jersey, is a true paradise for vacationers, as it has been for hundreds of years,