Welcome Center

Things the Cape May Welcome Center has:
–Maps
–Information on Cape May
–Vending machines
–Restrooms
–An extremely irritable employee who does not like children
I had one of the only bad experiences I have ever had in Cape May at — ironically — the Welcome Center today.
It was the last day of our time in Cape May. We had spent two weeks with my husband’s family, who had flown in from England and whom we hadn’t seen in a year and a half, and the adults were feeling rather somber. The two middle kids — boys ages 2 ½ and 5 ½ — were picking up on the mood and behaving more rambunctiously than usual. We took our relatives to the Welcome Center — which doubles, essentially, as the bus depot — to say goodbye, as they were taking a bus to Philly to catch their flight. I stepped out to get some drinks and snacks for the trip, and when I returned, the boys were definitely keyed up — running about the Center and making more noise than I personally would have allowed (they were being supervised by my sister-​in-​law and a family friend, and in their defense, the Center had no other visitors at the time and the kids were not shouting or being destructive in any way). I had literally JUST walked in and was in the middle of saying, «Boys, you need to calm down,» when one of the employees stood and SHOUTED at our family friend, «GET THEM UNDER CONTROL OR GET THEM OUT!!!» I was absolutely flabbergasted. I apologized immediately, got the kids quiet, and as soon as my son again began to trot across the (still empty) Center, I immediately escorted him outside.
I have no patience whatsoever for whiny, bratty, or out of control kids, nor am I the type of parent who makes excuses for her kids’ bad behavior — I fully agree they were being overactive and he had every right to say something. But for an employee at at Welcome Center, of all places, to stand and shout, rather than ask us politely (at least the first time), was simply rude and unprofessional. He should be just as embarrassed about his behavior as I was about my kids’ — maybe more so, given that he’s the adult and should have better control over himself.
Bottom line: in spite of the cute «put your face here» mermaid and pilot stand ups at the Cape May Welcome Center (and bus depot), it is apparently no place for kids.