Another Year in NJ

If I'm being honest I'm stealing the idea for this blog post from my best friend Hailey. In fact, I suggest you go check out hers right here! She's actually my inspiration for creating a personal/lifestyle blog outside of the blog I already run for makeup related things, so definitely go check her blog out.

Anyway, every year for the past few years, Hailey and I have gone to New Jersey for vacation with my family. The past few times we've stayed in a place in Wildwood, but Hailey and I tend to find ourselves wandering over to Cape May for various reasons. The biggest being the utmost beauty that Cape May entails.

 The first day we primarily tried to relax and settle down, quickly took a quick trip to the Wildwood boardwalk as it's in close walking distance. The next morning we woke up and immediately prepared to lay out on the beach. Both of my parents are heavy beach bums, and as much as I do enjoy the beach myself we probably only spent two or three hours out in the sun. Well, I should say that I spent two or three hours out in the sun. Hailey tends to protect her delicate pale as casper baby skin under an umbrella. But she's still super cute in her swim suit and we got a little bit of time out in the ocean. Hailey has a bit of a fear of going out into the ocean, but later on that week she ended up overcoming her fear! I'll talk about that a little further down, don't worry. I must say I'm very proud of her!

After a bit of time at the beach, Hailey and I made our way to Cape May and explored a bit. The main center shops is such a cute place to go, especially when it's not crowded. At other times it's a bustling area that's hard to navigate but the "quaint" (as Hailey would say) shops and surrounding victorian homes make it all enjoyable regardless, and still one of my favorite places to be. 

From left to right: Horse carriages! This one caught my eye in particular, beautiful white horse with a cinderella-esque carriage. The horse rides are very expensive so we have yet to experience it, but the horses are beautiful. Then we found a little antique shop, where I discovered a new interest in post-mortem portraits and found a beautiful antique opera glass that I unfortunately couldn't afford.

Another morning on the beach, where Hailey and I drank from coconuts. I've gotta say it was an odd experience for me, but it was yummy! This day Hailey and I spent considerably longer time in the ocean, and this is the day Hailey kind of conquered her fear of it! After realizing that there's a good calm point in between where the water meets the shore, and where the waves are breaking out further, she had no problem walking in and jumping the waves with me.

Something that must be experienced when going to the areas of Wildwood or Cape May is visiting Uncle Bill's Pancake House for breakfast. We do it at least once every year we go, and it's always one of the biggest things I look forwards to. In my 23 years of existence I've never experienced a more delightful breakfast as I do at this pancake house. I can only hope that one day there will be one near me, or I'll live in an area where they have a location. Who wouldn't want to eat something that looks like this every morning?


One of my all-time favorite things about going to Cape May is seeing the Victorian homes. It's a little weird taking a picture of someone else's house, who may even be home at the time, but someone's gotta do it. And we both did. They've got beautiful shapes, colors, and character to them. A few of them are even haunted, and I won't even try to pretend like living in a haunted victorian home isn't something I would do. 

Another fun tid-bit about going to this area of Cape May is Delaney's Irish Pub & Grill. Not only have I had a few odd paranormal experiences in this place (I have a video of paranormal experiences on my youtube channel) but they have the best clam chowder I've ever tasted. If you're ever there, I highly recommend it. Get the bowl, then sprinkle a packet of sugar and a few dashes of Old Bay seasoning into it and you're set!


Hailey and I took a day to go antique shop hopping and it was one of the most enjoyable possible things we could've done in my opinion. The types of things we found and different historic items we saw were interesting. I couldn't help but be freaked out by all the different dolls in each shop. There's just something about dolls, and even more of a something about antique and vintage dolls. I ended up leaving with a few beauty items: vintage brush, compact, and powder puff. I also picked up a postcard that was sent from NY to Maryland, an area in Maryland that actually isn't too far from me at all. I thought it was cool, and on the back the sender was convincing the receipted to visit mom which I got a good giggle out of. Hailey ended up getting a filled victorian scrapbook, which I swear is the living place of a spirit.

When you're in Cape May for vacation, you can't miss out on taking one of their ghost tours. This time around Hailey and I went on the Lighthouse Trolley tour. They drove us on to the Cape May lighthouse, telling us different haunted tales about some homes on the way.

What I didn't realize is that we'd actually be entering the lighthouse and walking up a large spiral enclosed staircase that was much more of a trek than my ignorantly-wearing-heels ass could handle. We made it up eventually, after taking a break or two at a landing. But once we got to the top the view was amazing. On the inside you could see where the light was, and they had photos of the old bulbs and technology they used to use.

Merely a street down from where the Cape May lighthouse lives you'll find Sunset Beach, home of the SS Atlantis shipwreck. The small little beach is calm and usually a nice place to search for seashells if that's you type of thing. 

The whole week Hailey and I talked about how we wouldn't get tricked into buying any type of touristy merchandise. But sure enough we walked into the shops on Sunset beach and ended up stumbling across one store with great prices. They had a cute section with beautiful crystals and fossils, and we ended up leaving with awesome hoodies and shirts for only $10 each. The items I purchased are hands down the most comfortable articles of clothing I've ever owned, I'm not even embarrassed to have fallen into the tourist merchandise trap.

At some point after leaving Sunset Beach and exploring Cape May we stopped by some little boutiques that we heard about while on our haunted tour. I felt the need to walk in them to see if we'd experience anything paranormal, though unfortunately did not. However, as we were leaving I looked up to look at the sky as it was minutes away from storming. When I looked up I noticed something a little odd in the upper floor window of this building. Do you see what I see?

On our last day we went to the zoo, which I've personally never been to before and Hailey's been to once. Unfortunately a lot of animals were either away or sleeping because it was extremely hot out, but it was a cute small little zoo that otherwise would have a lot to see. Look at that proud beautiful boy! Have you ever heard a peacock scream? It's fucking terrifying.

One of my favorite parts of the zoo was actually seeing the lemurs. They reminded me of my childhood,  Zaboomafoo just so happened to have been one of my favorite shows. Hailey got an amazing picture of one of these little guys with a little blep. Look at their little faces and their stripped tails! I might be crazy but I feel like a lemur would be a fun companion to have. They just seem very curious.
Our final meal in New Jersey was a couple of sushi rolls and some amazing tempura ice cream. I'm a big time sushi lover but these rolls were extra delicious. Maybe it's because we ate them somewhere besides home? Actually, Hailey explained to me at some point during our vacation that she thinks food that's eaten somewhere besides your home or your area somehow tastes better. In this instance I think I know what she means.

Have you ever had someone light your ice cream on fire? When the waiter brought our fried ice cream out to us he had a lighter in hand and said "okay, are you ready?" He sat the plate down and before I knew it our ice cream was ablaze. Fancy and exciting touch there.
I'm thankful to have the opportunity to visit such a nice place yearly, and I have many plans to visit other exciting new areas coming up. Until next time, New Jersey!