With Memorial Day on the horizon, Jay Lloyd tries to beat the getaway crowds.

By Jay Lloyd

CAPE MAY, N.J. (CBS) — As a kid, we always went to “the beach,” never “the shore.”

And for us, that meant Coney Island –- along with 6 million of our neighbors, as though Manhattan wasn’t crowded enough.

Not too many years later, boot camp took me to Cape May, NJ, where you could actually see some sand between the people.

It was a revelation.

But even that once pristine strip of paradise has been “discovered” — although, from now until the Memorial Day crowds descend on the shore, Cape May regulars can still find some solitude.

“The sand, the sun, the air, the breeze off the ocean — it’s great,” one beachgoer told me recently.

And you don’t have to wait for summer to let the fun begin.  This weekend in Cape May trumpets a beer-tasting, a giant sidewalk sale, a clamshell-pitching contest, and a wine tour. All without the summertime crowds!

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