About The Mission Inn

Mission Inn - 1117 New Jersey Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204

The Mission Inn
Bed & Breakfast
1117 New Jersey Ave.
Cape May, NJ 08204

Toll Free:1-800-800-8380
Phone: 609-884-8380
Fax: 609-884-4191
www.MissionInn.net
Email:
info@MissionInn.net

"About The Mission Inn"

Susan Babineau-Roberts, cordially invites you to experience the charm of her California Spanish Mission Style Bed and Breakfast -The Mission Inn.

Susan and her husband, Raymond, a successful businessman in his own right, are making a life long dream come true and hope you will share this journey.

You will find The Mission Inn guest rooms to be bright and airy and decorated tastefully but not overly fussy. Pamper yourself in our Queen or King-sized beds and savour that relaxing, west coast feeling in the beauty of east coast surroundings.

At The Mission Inn you will receive warm hospitality, excellent service and privacy. If you are a person who appreciates value, who enjoys the better things in life presented in a simple comfortable way, The Mission Inn is for you. "Hospitality begins with your call."

The Mission Inn can be reserved for business meetings, receptions or special events such as small weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, retreats or fund raising receptions. The first floor has a spacious Great Room with fireplace, the west enclosed Solarium and dining room. These three lovely rooms provide ample space for your events.

The Mission Inn was built in 1912 by Nelson Z. Graves after a turn of the century trip to the Pacific Coast and is part of Cape May's National Historic Landmark City architecture.

The Mission Inn is located one short block from the beach and six blocks to the historic area. The Mission Inn is within walking distance to fine dining, shops and historic homes. The Mission Inn offers complimentary one-way tickets to the Town Walk, Cape May's lovely business district, on the Great American trolley.

Please call or write us to receive our full color brochure.

Birders are welcome here at The Mission Inn!

In Homage to the California Spanish Missions of yesterday, each one of our bright and airy rooms has been given the name of one of the original California Missions.

Room 1 - San Diego de Alcalá

Room 2 - Santa Bárbara

Room 3 - San Juan Capistrano

Room 4 - San Buenaventura - 1782

Room 5 - San Francisco de Asis

Room 6 - Santa Clara

Room 7 - San Luis Rey de Francia

Room 8 - San Juan Bautista

Not everything in Cape May is Victorian
Herald Newspapers, 3 December 2003 by Carolyn Mee

You don't have to look far to find plenty of interesting offerings in this town that are anything but Victorian.

Take the Mission Inn B&B, for example. No antimacassars here. Instead you'll find tiles, adobe, mission bells and swallows.

Swallows? Inside? Well, not living birds, but artistic renderings.

Owner and proprietor Susan Babineau-Roberts has completely reinvented this 1912 edifice to match its decor to its California-Spanish architecture. Besides the furnishings, there is artwork everywhere you look, transporting all who enter to the southwest of colonial days.

The guest rooms are especially striking. Each evokes one of the 21 missions in California.

Susan has replaced the numbers on the rooms with murals painted on the transoms depicting actual missions. Step inside and you'll be there.

In the Capistrano Room, for example, your eyes are drawn to the floor-to-ceiling headboard, hand-carved and painted to look like the Capistrano Mission. In keeping with its history, the walls are painted with swallows in flight, returning as they always do between March 16 and 18^th.

Enter the Santa Barbara Room, and you'll feel as if you're looking down a hill onto the harbor where a three-dimensional sailboat floats lazily by. This room also has a floor-to-ceiling hand-carved headboard.

Obviously, Susan did her homework. After she bought the property and decided what she wanted to do with it, she and a friend flew to California and visited all 21 missions, taking photos and recording descriptions. Today, each room has a printed copy of historical information concerning the mission it replicates.

Meanwhile, her husband, raymond, researched the history of the property. He found Nelson Z. Graves and Pete Shields (0f the Peter Shield's Inn) had their "Spanish bungalow" built as part of a development of the east side of town.

During its early years, it was touted as a cottage by the beach, open only in summer, and it hosted such celebrities as Tyrone Power, Diana Barrymore, and Errol Flynn.

Despite this distinction, with its interior painted mostly white, some thought it looked "institutional."

Susan and Raymond bought it in June of 2002, and by October, they began their renovations.

Their vision began to take shape when they brought in artist Jim McLaughlin of "Painted Pastimes" in Audubon, NJ. Working together with Susan on color and design schemes, they created eight guest rooms that embody the spirit of the California Spanish missions.

John Murphy of Phoenix Construction added his artistry in creating adobe fireplaces for four new guest rooms as well as other unique features.

The hallway that leads to the rooms is painted in a texture method so that it looks like weathered adobe, punctuated here and there with turquoise colored tiles and a climbing rose bush in full bloom.

On the first floor, there are also southwestern treasures in every space.

In the dining room, there's a magnificent stained glass window circa 1912. In the Great Room, there is a 16 foot barrel ceiling, a 12 foot high brick fireplace, both original to the building. The Great Room is a perfect setting for the seasonal twelve (12) foot tall Christmas tree.

The solarium features a cozy corner fireplace and a 1945 original painting done by local artist Nina Scull, who lived in the house after graves sold it. At that time, they called it the "Nina Scull House."

Plantation shutters have taken the place of the blinds, and allow the mission theme to follow through.

All of these intriguing touches set the scene for the gourmet breakfasts and happy hour fare.

The full gourmet breakfast begins with juice - every morning a different variety (deliciously creative combinations like peach mango).

Next, the fruit dish is served: poached pears or peaches stuffed with granola, brown sugar and cinnamon.

An entree follows. Susan's favorite is egg souffle which she said are "like little cupcakes" served with a blackberry sauce or fresh apple topping. (The blackberries are grown in Susan's garden.) breakfast meats are the next course.

Susan is very sensitive to her guests preferences. She always asks in advance whether they have any dietary restrictions, and she purchases all the produce from the local farm market.

Happy hour is another culinary delight of fresh baked cookies accompanied by complimentary wine, hot cider with cinnamon, pink lemonade, or hot chocolate.

An inviting fresh fruit bowl is always present, as is tea with all the fixings.

There's also an outdoor veranda with wrought iron furniture that is dressed in linen for afternoon happy hour when the weather permits.

In all, the Mission Inn is a delightfully different B&B, bringing a slice of California to Cape May.

End article, Herald Newspapers, 3 December 2003 by Carolyn Mee

Scroll through the California Mission (below) for a brief history of each of the original twenty-one missions.

"The California Missions"
	*San Diego de Alcalá - Founded July 16, 1769* This first mission in California was founded in 1769 by Fr. Junipero Serra and named for St. Didacus of Alcatá. Originally located on Presidio Hill in San Diego, it was moved to its present site in 1774. Burned by Indians in 1775 and destroyed by earthquake in 1803, the mission was restored and rededicated in 1931.

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmela - Founded June 3, 1770
Located South of Carmel, this mission was founded June 3, 1770 by Fr. Serra at the presidio of Monterey and moved to Carmel in 1771. The church is one of the most authentic restorations in the mission chain. Fr. Serra was buried here in 1784.

San Antonio de Padua - Founded July 14, 1771
This remote mission was restored in 1948 with a grant from the Hearst Foundation. The old building was completely cleared from the site and rebuilt from the ground up. San Antonio once housed 1300 Indians who produced bountiful crops and herded thousands of cattle.

San Gabriel Arcangel - Founded September 8, 1771
San Gabriel was founded by Frs. Pedro Cambón and Angel Somera. This distinctive mission is located approximately 9 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and was once known for its fine wines.

San Luis Obispo de Tolosa - Founded September 1, 1772
The mission was attacked by Indians three times before 1774, and the thatched roof was set ablaze by fire arrows. The padres developed a roof tile to protect their buildings and the other missions soon followed their example, replacing thatch with tile throughout the chain. There is a fine museum here housing a splendid collection of early California photographs and religious articles.

San Francisco de Asis - Founded October 9, 1776
Mission Dolores as it is widely known is the oldest building in San Francisco, having survived the earthquake of 1906. Surrounding buildings were shaken to the ground and burned in the fire that followed. Within the walls of the cemetary lie the remains of more than 5,000 Indians, most of them victims of the white man's diseases.

San Juan Capistrano - Founded November 1, 1776
The legendary swallows of Capistrano arrive each Spring on St. Joseph's Day, March 19 from their wintering grounds some 2,000 miles to the south. Although sometimes delayed by storms, most of the birds land at Capistrano on the traditional day. Thousands of mud nests can be seen among the ruined arches.

San Clara de Asis - Founded january 12, 1777
Many outstanding padres served at Santa Clara. among them was Fr. Mugin de Catalá, know as a prophet for his remarkable ability to see into the future. In 1830 he said "At the place called Yerba Buena (San Francisco) there shall one day rise a great city. The city will flourish and its inhabitants will become rich and powerful, and when at the height of its prosperity, it will perish by earthquake and fire."

San Buenaventura - Founded March 31, 1782
Now located on the main street in Ventura, the old church was once surrounded by rich fields, orchards and vineyards. The museum contains two bells carved from two-foot blocks of wood. These wooden bells were used during Holy Week when the metal bells were silenced.

Santa Bárbara - Founded December 4, 1786
This is the only mission in the chain under the continuous control of the Franciscans since its founding. The present church is the fourth to stand on this site. The facade and some of the interior detailing were patterned after an ancient Roman temple.

La Purisima Concepcion - Founded December 8, 1787
All the missions except La Purisima were built in the form of a quadrangle to keep the neophytes in and the enemies out. The padres laid out the buildings in a line, possibly to facilitate evacuation in case of earthquake. La Purisima was restored by the National Park Service and the C.C.C. and is now a State Historical Monument.

Santa Cruz - Founded August 28, 1791
a series of misfortunes befell Santa Cruz over the years and now nothing is left of the original mission except a portion of a two story structure once used as a soldiers barracks. In 1931, a small replica of the church was erected and it is now used for weddings and private masses.

Nuestra Senora de la Soledad - Founded October 9, 1791
Dedicated to Our Lady of Solitude, Mission Soledad was a crumbled ruin until the Native Daughters of the Golden West began restoration in 1954.

San Jose - Founded June 11, 1797
Throughout most of its 39 operational years, this mission served as a military base for expeditions against the Indians of the interior. Little remained of the original mission except a part of the monastery and an ancient grove of olive trees until work began on the rebuilding of the church on the original foundation in 1982.

San Juan Bautista - Founded June 24, 1797
A raiding party of Tulares attacked the mission one day, scattering the neophytes who ran for cover. a cool-headed padre dragged out an old English barrel-organ and started cranking. The neophytes, sensing the padres plan began singing and the savage Tulares laid down their weapons and begged for more music. The old organ can still be seen in the mission museum.

San Miguel Arcangel - Founded July 25, 1797
The church at san Miguel is the only one in the chain to retain its original paintings and decorations un retouched. They were executed by the Spanish artist Estvan Munras and his Indian helpers in 1820. In the mission is a unique "mission window" made of thin, greased sheepskin stretched over a wooden frame. This type of window was installed during cold weather before the days of glass in California.

San Fernando Key de Espana - Founded September 8, 1797
Gold was discovered on one of the mission ranchos, and within four years the army of opportunists who descended on the mission had exhausted the small lode. The first gold shipment from San Fernando to the mint in Philadelphia was valued at $344.75 or $19 per ounce.

San LuisRey de Francia - Founded June 13, 1798
When the missions prosperity began to decline because of secularization, Fr. Peyri decided to retire from San Luis Rey and return to Spain. To avoid emotional farewells, he left secretly in the night and when the Indians discovered his departure, they rushed to San Diego to beg him to remain. He was already on his way out of the harbor, however, and for years, the Indians offered prayers for his return.

Santa Inés - Founded September 17, 1804
Santa Inés, called "Hidden gem of the Missions" was damaged severely in the earthquake of 1812, but the church still retains its original ceiling beams and floor tiles. Designs on the wall behind the altar were painted by Indians and have not been retouched.

San Rafael Arcangel - Founded December 14, 1817
San Rafael was founded in 1817 as a hospital asistercia (sub-mission) for Mission Dolores and was elevated to full mission status in 1823. None of the original buildings now exist, but a replica of the church has been built.

San Francisco de Solano - Founded July 4, 1823
This is the last mission to be established in California. It was purchased by the State in 1910 and designated a California State Landmark.