Newsletter Archive | March 2013

A gloriously sunny Spring morning at The Queen Victoria.

I haven’t featured Whitehall since it was just opening nearly 3 years ago.  Simply put, this is an incredibly comfortable room.  First of all, it is quite large.  It is also beautifully decorated, as you can see from this photo.  What can’t you see?  Well, for starters it has a walk-in cedar lined closet.  I can honestly say that I’ve never seen or heard of another B&B that can say that.  It also has a beautifully appointed bathroom with a nice step-in shower.

One of the wonderful things about this room is the relative privacy you’ll enjoy.  While all of our rooms in The Queen Victoria seem very private and quiet, Whitehall is especially so because it shares the entire second floor of the Queen’s Cottage with just one other room.  Guests from other rooms don’t have access to this building, thus the privacy.

Better yet, there is a large, comfortable and incredibly appealing parlor that is for the exclusive enjoyment of the two rooms on the floor.  The pantry for Whitehall is actually a full sized galley kitchen, completely stocked as all of our other pantries with soda, juice, bottled water, a Keurig coffee system, tea and a covered snack dish.

Do you enjoy traveling with other couples, perhaps family or friends?  If so, I strongly recommend that you rent both Whitehall and the other room on the floor called Brighton.  You’ll effectvely end up with a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo with your own special place to hang out.  Of course, you’ll still have access to all the other buildings and amenities of the inn.

Are you having a hard time deciding what dates to visit The Queen Victoria this Summer?  I suggest that you’ll want to be here on August 10th.

After the phenomenal success and popularity of last year’s Craft Beer & Crab Fest, plans were immediately put in place to hold another one in 2013.  I’m pleased to announce that it is now official.  Despite a mostly rainy day and a few “growing pains” problems with keeping the beer flowing and crab boiling, the 2012 event was hugely popular.  For 2013 things are on track for an even better event.

What will you find when you get there?  At the risk of stating the obvious, there will be Craft Beers and lots of Crab.  My first stop would be a visit to the Beer Tent to enjoy the offerings by:

• Cape May Brewing Company
• Tuckahoe Brewing Company
• Victory Brewing Company
• Harrison Beverage (Budweiser, not exactly a craft beer)

After you’ve sated your thirst, head over to the food tent for some great food, including:

• Fresh Boiled Crab
• Pulled Pork
• Hot Dogs
• Corn on the Cob
• Summer Salads (and more)

Did I mention the entertainment?  There will be music on the outdoor stage all day long.  Between visits to the beer and food tents, check out the old-fashioned Victorian circus with jugglers and acrobats from the The Give & Take Jugglers Little Circus.  You’ll also want to explore the craft vendors, and farmers’ market.

This is going to be a great event that you definitely don’t want to miss.  It is definitely worth taking a couple of hours out of your beach day to enjoy it.

After being “show houseless” for a year (the spellchecker didn’t like the word either, but I’m going with it), MAC has revived this proud tradition with a beautiful brand new home that is currently being constructed in a neo-Victorian Italianate Villa style.  Construction of this 2800 square foot home, located directly across the street from the Emlen Physick Estate, is on schedule.  The designers are anxious to get started working their magical transformations.

Part of the pleasure of these show houses is the mystery of what the designers have come up with.  While the last show house was quite contemporary, I’m expecting this one to be more Victorian, but probably in an updated style.  It will be very interesting to see.

The house, which has been named the Cavalier Cottage, will be open for tours and your pleasure between June 21st and October 31.  There will be lots of package offerings with restaurants, as usual.  The Tour & Lunch (or Tea) specials at the Carriage House Cafe & Tearoom located right across the street will be particularly compelling this year.

Anna Marie and I love to take tours when we go away on vacation.  In fact, we usually start any visit to a new destination with a tour of the city to get a feel for where we are.

One of the wonderful things about Cape May is that there are so many types of tours to go on.  Truly, you could probably fill your entire vacation with tours of one kind or another, if you really wanted to.  Here are a few tours I would like to suggest for your consideration:

• Historic District Trolley tour
• Emlen Physick Estate tour
• Cape May Light House (self guided)
• WWII Lookout Tower (self guided)
• Historic District Audio Walking tour (self guided)
• Self Guided Wine Trail tour
• Cape May Winery Tour & Tasting (Saturdays only)
• Queen Victoria Garden Tour (self guided, in season)

If you are interested in doing a few of these tours, you may want to consider purchasing a MAC (Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities) membership, as many of the tours mentioned above are free for members.  At $40/couple it is a great deal!  For your convenience, you can even buy the memberships from The Queen Victoria.

Since the inception of my newsletter, I’ve used this space to feature photos that guests have sent me.  Though we’re all taking pictures all of the time these days, it appears that we mostly use them to post to facebook or just leave them on our phones.  I’m not exactly sure about this, but I haven’t been getting any new photos for a long time.

So … I’ve decided to liberate myself and just publish my favorite photos.  Now I can feature pictures you send me or pictures that I’ve taken myself in Cape May.  Perfect, isn’t it?

This is a photo that I took almost exactly a year ago during one of my morning power walks (I was proud of myself for stopping to “smell the roses”).  This is a beach plum tree that is growing in the beach dunes just down the street from The Queen Victoria.  I love the way the sunrise in the background highlights the dew on the blooms of the plant.  It was beautiful in person, but it made a magical photo.  The good news is that this tree will be blooming again in the next week or two, so you have a chance to see it for yourself in person.

Cape May is very fortunate to have a few theater groups.  Our favorite has always been Cape May Stage, which is located in the beautifully restored and comfortable “Robert Shackleton Playhouse” opposite of Rotary park.

The first production of 2013 at Cape May Stage is “How to Make a Rope Swing”, which is definitely not an instructional performance relating to recreational rope swings.  I’ll be honest, I prefer a lighter performance, with comedy and music, but I know that some of our guests are into serious drama.  I think that this show is probably for them.  This show opens May 17th and will be a “World Premier”.  Here is how they describe the show on their website:

The South Jersey town of Oakbranch is replacing the old schoolhouse. Two local elders have been selected to decide on a person after whom the new building should be named. As they come together, they rediscover the circumstances of their first meeting- a time when the school was first integrated and the region earned its nickname, “The Mississippi of the North”.  Within the brick walls of the century-old building, a long-suppressed moment in the town’s history surfaces and threatens to change the memory of the town and these people, forever.

Anna Marie and I were SO happy when the Merion Inn re-opened their doors for 2013 a couple of weeks ago.  It is definitely one of our favorite restaurants.

The Merion is all about old-world charm and comfort (and great food, of course).  The decor is wonderful, setting the stage for a wonderful evening out.  When you step into the restaurant, you’ll find yourself standing in Cape May’s oldest bar.  I love the woodwork and feeling of these old bars!  You’ll also notice the grand piano in the bar, where there is always a pianist providing the perfect sound track for your evening.  Thursday night is “Jazz Night” at the Merion, which is always a wonderful experience.

But what about the food?  We love the food.  Over the years Anna Marie and I have both had various favorite dishes.  My latest favorite is the Flounder Franchese with Artichoke Hearts.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to order anything else … it is that good.  Anna Marie usually sticks to the “No Frill Seafood” section of the menu, often ordering the Broiled Scallops.  We almost always start off with the seasonal salads, which are always wonderful.

If you know us very well, then you know we tend to frequent BYOB restaurants.  Having said that, one of the things we love about the Merion is that we can get a decent bottle of wine without breaking the bank.  They are generous with their house wines by the glass and wines by the bottle are not outrageously priced like some other restaurants.