I guess you can be anybody so long as you’re on vacation. I repeat this to myself when a BMW XM, the brand’s $160,000 pig-nosed SUV, cuts me off in traffic. It’s OK, they didn’t mean it. They’re the vacation version of themselves, whatever.
This ethos – it’s vacation, put on a costume – has seeped deep into the many towns that make up Cape May County. I noticed the shift when the Barefoot Country Music Festival first came to town. Fast-forward a decade and Wildwood itself has taken on a country flavor. Confederate flags on the boardwalk? A Honky Tonk saloon downtown? Y’all – this is New Jersey!
Avalon is similar, but the seasoning is a bit different. Avalon saw one of the biggest spikes in property values of any town in America during the pandemic. I’m the editor of Do the Shore, but I’m also a reporter who lives in Villas, and the on-the-job drive to Avalon feels like going through a hyperspace tunnel to another world.
When I first moved to Villas I had very little money to furnish my house; I found myself, crack of dawn, at demolition sales on Seven Mile Island. One of the property owners was there, a day before his new mansion was set for the wrecking ball. He told me that the house was lovely, but his wife slept there for two days and said they needed to redo the whole thing.
What does the day-to-day version of this person look like? Who are they at home? I’m buzzing to know, but I’m back at my home in Villas, a very different New Jersey from the one right up the road.
I interviewed Barbara Wilde, the owner of Willow Creek Winery, for a recent story. She turned a 50-acre property, with tarnished soil squeezed of every last drop of nutrients, into a rainbow garden so stunning she compares it to Italy.
Folks who visit the winery often say to her: “I can’t believe this is New Jersey!” I’ve heard that, too, from friends who make their way from the city to our peninsula. It used to annoy me. Like duh, this is New Jersey, sorry you missed the memo.
But it’s a blessing to live in a place with so many flavors. Cape May County, a destination resort for millions, almost has an obligation to be many things to many people. Sea Isle City, Wildwood, Cape May, Ocean City and the rest are all in a sort of competition to attract tourism dollars. Living here means enduring some crazy whiplash as I dot the Shore for stories to tell. But I’m a fan of roller coasters. Whip that thing around!
Remember that on some level, our county is a beautiful theme park with real people who live here every day of the year. No matter your costume, don’t drive like an idiot!
Contact the author, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald.com or give them a call at 609-886-8600 ext. 156