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.

The photographs are from Marie Rose’s 2010/2011 stay at our Bed and Breakfast Cape May. We’re already looking forward to next year!

Marie Rose Bloomer on the front steps of our inn.

20 years of welcoming the New Year on the beach of Cape May, and still going strong!

Thank you, Marie Rose, for sharing these wonderful photographs.

Chip leads us in Old Lang Syne

On this special day, T-time is more like a cocktail party, after which guests go their separate ways for dinner. We all gather back around 11:30, bundle up in our warm winter clothes, and head down to the beach to welcome in the New Year.

Generally at least one person (Chip) dips their toes in the ocean. It’s fun. It’s invigorating. It’s crazy.

Once back at the inn, we sing Auld Lang Syne and totter off to bed when we want.

We thank all of you who spent time with us in 2009, and look forward to seeing you all again in 2010. Without you, as they say, we’re nothing.

Happy New Year!

Watch the sun set on 2009 in Cape May

Okay, we all know it isn’t possible to truly stop the passage of time, much as some of us may wish we could. The next best thing is DENIAL. Instead of looking towards the future this year, look to the past: spend New Year’s Eve in Historic Cape May NJ.

There are many advantages of welcoming 2010 in this Victorian Seaport: it’s safe, well lit, and easily walkable. You can travel by trolley. There are numerous excellent restaurants where you may savor your last meal of 2009. You can attend the theater, or listen to music.

Those of you who enjoy dressing to the nine’s will want to attend the New Year’s Eve Glitter Ball in the Congress Hall Ballroom, with five course meal, live entertainment, dancing and of course a champagne toast. For a less formal (and less pricey) evening, consider New Years Eve Boiler Room Fiesta, also at Congress Hall, or head to Carney’s New Year’s Eve Party.

Of course, things will be festive here at our Cape May inn on New Year’s. More on that in the next post.

Before you head out of town, enjoy a peaceful walk on the beach, and let the cold winter air clean your mind. When you return home, you’ll be ready for whatever 2010 has in store for you.