Jen A. Miller - Explorers Guide Jersey Shore: Atlantic City to Cape May: A Great Destination ()

EXPLORERS GUIDES

EXPLORERS GUIDES

Atlantic City to Cape May

A Great Destination

SECOND EDITION

The Countryman Press Woodstock, Vermont

Copyright 2011 by Jen A. Miller
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages.

Explorers Guide The Jersey Shore: Atlantic City to Cape May: A Great Destination
ISBN: 978-1-58157-134-9

Interior photographs by the author unless otherwise specified
Maps by James Miller, The Countryman Press
Composition by Eugenie S. Delaney

Published by The Countryman Press, P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091

To my parents.
I never would have gotten this far without you.

SO YOUVE DECIDED to go down the shorebut youre not going to the beach or even to the shore. When you travel to the southern coast of New Jersey, youre going down the shore, where within 45 miles you can find everything from casinos to gourmet dining to relaxed seaside communities, all with pristine beaches. Your Jersey Shore vacation is what you make of it, and Im here to show you your options. There are a lottrust me. Ive been writing about the shore for years, and Im still surprised by what I find.

HISTORY

The shore area was first inhabited by Native Americans, then by farmers who let their animals graze on the land. Fishermen soon followed and set up small towns along the water.

The South Jersey Shore as we know it today would not have existed without Philadelphia or its steamy summers. In 1790, Philadelphia was Americas largest city, and living conditions werent ideal, especially in summer, when temperatures could reach past 100 degrees with soul-sucking humidity.

In the 1850s, railroads started bringing people to the coast, and by 1880 a new rail line opened between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. Vacationers soon followed, and they kept going all the way south to Cape May. Congress Hall opened there in 1816. Few in town believed it would succeedwhy would that many people ever want to stay in their corner of the world? Townspeople even nicknamed the building Tommys Folly after Thomas Hughes, who built the hotel that is still standing today and the cornerstone of a busy shore town.

By the 1950s, going down the shore was a tradition for families from the Philadelphia area, and the subtle differences among the towns still hold today. Ocean City was the family-friendly spot (no alcohol allowed, even as BYO); Sea Isle City, Avalon, and Stone Harbor were the quieter towns with a preppy appeal and jeans-and-T-shirt casual bar scenes; Wildwood was where the action was without the gambling. It was even known as Little Las Vegas since Vegas performers, including the Rat Pack, flocked to the Wildwoods when the heat turned up too high in the desert. Many Victorian buildings in Cape May had been destined for demolition, but a push by local citizens in the 1960s and 1970s saved her gems and started a townwide redevelopment kick that eventually swung up to the Wildwoodswhere folks work to save their Doo Wop motels as opposed to gingerbread cottages.

What youll find today is a shore in its prime. People have realized the value of shore homes, and real estate prices now match. Where you could maybe buy a lot or two for $20,000 in the 1960s (as my grandfather had the opportunity to do), its not uncommon these days to see for-sale prices that cross the $10 million rangethough there are plenty of more affordable options.

Even changing real estate hasnt stopped vacationers from coming down to enjoy the sights, the sounds, and the water. If youre reading this book, youre probably one of them. Whether you found the shore by accident, or youve been coming here since you were a baby, theres plenty of new things (or new-to-you things) to see and do down the shore.

TRANSPORTATION

If youre coming from the Philadelphia area, youre probably driving down via the Atlantic City Expressway, accessible through Rt. 76 in Philadelphia, then Rt. 42 in New Jersey, which feeds into the Atlantic City Expressway. If youre headed to points south of Atlantic City, you can hop onto the Garden State Parkway (exit 7S), which ends in Cape May.