One of my favorite memories of my father was our trips to the shore—we never knew which road he would take to get there. It was our “mystery” ride; he always told us “we’d know when we got there” if we asked where we were heading. (Most of the time we knew better than ask). Oh, the adventures of those trips, traveling down roads that promised so much along the way. Those surprises are still there, perhaps not the same ones we would visit back then, but adventures just the same. A promise of a great ride…

Nature Center Photo by Elizabeth Fleming

A trek to Cape May, traveling down the back roads, could possibly start with Route 50, just outside of the small hamlet of Mays Landing. The first stop, if you so choose, could be breakfast at the Mays Landing Diner, just a short way through Main Street, turning north onto Route 40. It’s just “down the road” as those of us who grew up in the country would tell you. Continuing once again down Route 50, you will pass Crabby’s Seafood House in Weymouth, where crabs are dumped by the dozen on a table strewn with newspapers. Seafood specials are served family style, and tempt even those not enticed by Old Bay seasoning and the delight of picking crabs.

The next stop along Route 50 of particular notice would be the Atlantic County Park in Estelle Manor, open from 7:30 a.m. until dusk, providing scenic hiking trails and a nature center. Once you’ve walked the trails and enjoyed the beauty of the park, you could reward yourself with a visit to the Cheesecake Factory in the center of the small village of Tuckahoe.

Frog Hollow Bakery Photo by Elizabeth Fleming

Or passing on the Cheesecake Factory, you might want to stop at a little donut shop, the Frog Hollow Bakery, in Greenfield, run by three generations of the Patterson family. The elder Patterson arrives before dawn to start preparing those luscious donuts and pastries that wrap your senses as you enter the little cottage. You might want to save room or take some home. After all, what’s one more for the road?

Of course, if you were to travel the Garden State Parkway to Cape May, you would pass by all the towns that make up the lyrics to the song, “On the Way to Cape May.” Ocean City, Sea Isle, Avalon, or Wildwood; but as anyone who travels the back roads can tell you, taking the less traveled route is the only way to go. Route 9, which runs parallel to the parkway, winds along and provides so many interesting venues: campgrounds, shopping, the Cape May County Zoo, and Leamings Run Gardens, to name a few.

Woodland Village Shops Photo by Elizabeth Fleming

The Cape May County Park and Zoo was a recipient of the New Jersey Governance Award, and requires no entrance fee, although donations are welcome. The park and zoo are open every day except Christmas, weather permitting. The zoo and park cover over 200 acres and include picnic areas, fishing ponds, tennis courts, playgrounds, softball fields, and walking trails, in addition to hosting a wide variety of exotic and native animals. Be sure to add it to your list of places to go and animals to see…

I particularly love it when friends point out places that are off the beaten track, places you probably passed by a million times but never thought to stop and check out. They are the ones that make the journey worthwhile…For instance, along Route 9, in the town of Clermont, which boasts the beautiful grounds of The Woodland Village and Nursery, and the Cape May Wicker Company, a friend recently recommended a health food shop appropriately called “Perks for Life.” This stop proved to be a real “perk” and an inspiration in meeting the proprietor, whose life took a dramatic turn, prompting her to do extensive research and studies in maintaining a healthy lifestyle using homeopathic remedies.

The places you see, the people you meet along the way, only enhance the perfect ending to a road trip that ends with getting to the place you dreamed of going to in the first place. Or was it the adventures you had along the way, taking roads you never knew, stopping at places you never noticed? I, for one, opt for the latter. As my Dad would have said, “You’ll know where you were heading once you get there!


By Elizabeth Fleming
AboutNewJersey.com Travel Writer