Join Psychic Artie Hoffman at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast, January 27 and 28, 2012. This is a great opportunity for folks who have never had a psychic reading to experience one; Artie will give a free, private 15 minute psychic reading to any guests who are interested. Longer readings are also available.

Artie Hoffman joins us at John F. Craig House, January 27 and 28, 2012.

Artie Hoffman has been in touch with his psychic abilities since 1988. Since that time, he has used his gift to help individuals heal and follow their hearts. After a session with Artie, many people feel like they’ve rediscovered themselves.

We figure this kind of experience can’t hurt. It might even help.

Artie is a fascinating man, with deep insights about human character and a great sense of humor. It will be fun to have him as a guest of our Cape May Bed and Breakfast once again.

We still have a few openings the weekend of January 27, 2012. Join us, and Artie, for what could be the experience of a lifetime!

Learn more about Artie Hoffman at his website.

How many New Jersey Bed and Breakfasts have inspired songs? At least one: the John F. Craig House!

Bill Johnson reveals his hit song, Bad Barb'ra.

Among their many talents, Bill and Mary Lou Johnson love to sing, and they add lots of fun to talent nights around Cape May in the summer. You can only imagine how great it was when Bill surprised us with his latest creation – Bad Barb’ra – the new theme song for the John F. Craig House. You can listen to it and read the lyrics at Bad Barb’ra.

Bill and Mary Lou are part of our inherited Craig House family. They stayed with Connie and Frank Felicetti before Chip and I bought our second Cape May B & B in 2002. All the guests enjoy the festivity of Bill and Mary Lou’s wedding re-enactment each August. They bring their original wedding dress and tux, and hire Cape May Carriage to pick them up and take them to the Washington Inn for dinner. As so often happens, deep friendships are developed among guests; Cindy and Frank Yablinsky have become the honored attendants at Bill and Mary Lou’s wedding re-enactment each year.

Actually we are honored, as we start our 21st year innkeeping, by how many of you have become such an intricate part of our lives and the John F. Craig House family.

We’re delighted with Bill’s song, and with the fact that he took the time to create and share a song about our Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

 Happy New Year!

Bad Barbara and Chip

Each year, we celebrate the arrival of the new year in the best way we can–down on the beach, with guests of our Cape May Bed and Breakfast. It’s become a tradition for us to congregate at the inn a bit before midnight with any guests who choose to join us; together we wander down to the beach where we open champagne, toast the New Year, and dip our feet in the icy Atlantic (at least, some of us do). We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy New Year, from Chip and Barbara at John F. Craig House.

You, our guests, make each day a celebration. Running an inn is a lot of work, to be sure, but it’s the best work there is. Our job allows us to meet people from all over the country, and even the world. It allows us to see many of the same faces, year after year. And since folks usually come to our Cape May Bed and Breakfast for a holiday, the mood at the inn is light and cheerful. We couldn’t ask for anything more.

As we welcome 2012 this year, we’re thankful for good friends and good heath. What more is there in life?

Happy New Year,

Chip and Barbara

At this time of year, Chip is always reminded of the fact that our generation grew up with trains. The railroad still had a huge impact on travel when we were kids–more so than it does now, what with the affordability of automobiles and the prevalence of air travel. The whistle of a train signaled adventure, and many of us heeded its call.

Embrace the magic of Christmastime at John F. Craig House.

We pay homage to the history of trains each Christmas at our whimsical Cape May Bed and Breakfast. Chip spends a good day setting up his Lionel train garden, and frankly, it doesn’t feel like Christmastime until the trains have made their first pass around the tracks. Many of the trains and garden accessories date from the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. Chip has had many of them for a very long time.

When the steam train whistle blows, guests of our Cape May Bed and Breakfast know it is time to “play trains”. It’s astounding how the trains bring out the playfulness in even the most steadfast of grown men and women. Witnessing these transformations is one of the most delightful aspect of the holidays for us.

Christmas in Cape May is in full swing everyday at the John F. Craig House, from Thanksgiving until New Years. We still have a few openings Christmas week. Come join the fun!

Join us for the 20th anniversary New Year’s Eve Celebration at John F. Craig House, our whimsical Cape May Bed and Breakfast. As of this writing, we have one opening left for the 2011 New Year’s Eve, in the Dudley Suite.

Spend New Year's Eve 2011 at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

As evening falls on December 31, we invite our guests to gather for a cocktail party. We’ll all go our separate ways for dinner, then meet back at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast around 11:30. Any guests who would like to join us for a wintry beach walk then don warm winter coats, hats, and scarves, and we stroll the block to the beach for a champagne toast.

Will Chip dare to dip his toes in the Atlantic this year? If he does, will others join him? We don’t expect polar bear plunges – just a refreshing wash of the feet. It readies us for the new year.

Chip and Barbara bidding 2010 farewell and saying hello to 2011.

Once warmly back at the inn, we sing Auld Lang Syne and eventually make our way to bed. Breakfast in the morning is a leisurely affair.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this for 20 years, but the calendar says we have, so it must be true. It’s a tradition we embrace. Each year, we find ourselves surrounded by a mix of old friends and new faces. Each year, we give thanks for all the guests who made the past year so wonderful. And each year, we look forward to all that will come in the new year.

If you’d like to join us on New Year’s Eve this year, please reserve the Dudley Suite at your earliest convenience. The Dudley Suite features a king-sized bed, a fireplace, and a rooftop balconette. We can’t think of a better place to awake in 2012.

We’re happy to announce that Medium and Author Craig McManus is coming to our Cape May Bed and Breakfast this weekend, November 4 and 5, 2011. As of this writing, we still have one room available. For details, please see our Specials page.

Meet Craig McManus tomorrow night at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

Our weekends with Craig are always fascinating and fun. We never know who or what we’ll encounter. Sometimes those encounters are surprising, sometimes they’re moving, and sometimes they’re funny. We’ve had guests meet former residents of their room, and guests reconnect with departed loved ones (though Craig makes no guarantees that this will happen).

Join us this weekend. The package includes a Meet and Greet with Craig on Friday evening, a walking ghost tour on Saturday afternoon, and a séance on Saturday night. Give us a call or visit the reservations page of our Cape May Bed and Breakfast.

Learn more about Craig at his website, Craig McManus.

If you’re still casting about for something special to give to mom this year for Mother’s Day, consider giving her a night or two at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast. Better still, plan to travel here with her.

In 2011, Mother’s Day falls on May 8, the day after the Kentucky Derby. As many of you know, we take the Derby extremely seriously here at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast, as we have since way back when (1968) in Gettysburg. We have some serious fun, that is.

If your mom is as big a fan of the Kentucky Derby as we are, why not join us at the inn the weekend of May 7-8, 2011. Toast your mom with a Mint Julep. Buy her a fantastically outrageous hat. Float her the $2 to place on a horse, and if you win, share your earnings with her. Now that would be a Mother’s Day to remember.

Chip and the sisters. Picture your mom in a fancy hat standing here with Chip.

We’ve always loved the Kentucky Derby. It’s just plain fun to be swept up in the excitement of the race, especially when we’re surrounded by friends, and we’re all wearing spiffy hats.

That’s what it’s like during Kentucky Derby weekend at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast. We all don fancy hats (and sometimes fancy duds as well), Chip makes vats of mint juleps, and a grand time is had by all.

We still have a couple of openings at our Bed and Breakfast Cape May during Kentucky Derby weekend, May 7 and 8, 2011. We hope you’ll join us.

Below are snapshots from past Derby Days at John F. Craig.

Derby Days in Cape May.

The only requirement is that you wear a hat.

Gerry and Tracey have celebrated Derby Days with us since 2000.

Each year we enjoy celebrating Easter at our Cape May NJ Bed and Breakfast. We fill the inn with Easter baskets, Easter hats (we love any occasion to wear a lovely hat), and candy. We hide eggs, and laugh as you try to find them. And then, of course, there is the bunny cake.

The 2010 Easter Bunny Cake at John F. Craig.

Ah, the Easter Bunny Cake. We bake it, you help decorate it. We’ve had all sorts of bunnies in the past: outrageous bunnies, funny bunnies, pretty bunnies… you name it. It’s always interesting to discover the inner bunny lurking within guests of our Cape May NJ Bed and Breakfast; but the best part, of course, is eating the bunny.

Guests interested in attending church on Easter morning will find several options close to our inn:
First Presbyterian Church
Cape Island Baptist Church
Our Lady Star of the Sea
Cape May United Methodist Church

After church, many people – locals and visitors alike – take part in the Easter Stroll along the Washington Street Mall (1 p.m., April 24, 2011). It’s fun to participate in the Easter Stroll and it’s fun to watch.

We still have one room open at our Bed and Breakfast Cape May NJ during the weekend of April 22, 2011. Hope to see you then.

When you’ve been in the Cape May Bed and Breakfast line of work for as long as we have (no, you may not ask how long), you wake up one day and find that you have a number of wonderful traditions.

Most of these traditions arose organically, as traditions are wont to do. For example, we met Craig McManus soon after purchasing this old Bed and Breakfast Cape May, when a tour came through the inn. We struck up a conversation with him, and now, years later, Craig regularly stays with us and leads seances for guests. He’ll be here this weekend.

When we first took over the inn, we celebrated Presidents’ Day Weekend with our guests (we love any excuse for a party, so we had one). Now, we look forward to seeing the Presidents’ Day Motley Crew each year. Some of the Motley Crew has spent Presidents’ Day Weekend at our Cape May Bed and Breakfast for fifteen years, but we always welcome Rookie Motleys, too.

Derby Day, Easter bunny cakes, and New Year’s Eve on the beach…. They’re simple traditions that we share with old and new friends, and they bring us joy.

Below are photos of the 2010 Presidents’ Day Weekend Motley Crew.

The 2010 Motley Crew.

Presidents' Day is always entertaining at our B&B.