Look up! My one bit of advice for visitors to Cape May, New Jersey. That’s where so many of the city’s delights are to be found. Let me explain.
But first, a little history. Cape May, New Jersey, the nation’s oldest seashore resort, has been catering to vacationers since pre-Revolutionary War days. Later the shady tree-lined streets and colorful homes of Cape May became the playground of presidents. Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Chester Arthur, and Benjamin Harrison all sought refuge there from the humidity of Washington, D.C., summers.
Although the town grew beyond its colonial trappings, it became stuck in the late-19th century Victorian era, when it was rebuilt after being demolished by fire for the third time. Thankfully that is where it has remained. With more than 600 structures, most of which have been refurbished, Cape May—the whole city—has been named a National Historic Landmark, the only city in the United States to be wholly designated as a National Historic District….