Newsletter Archive | May 2008

Anna Marie and I stumbled upon the perfect “must see”
spot yesterday for your trip down or drive home this
year. It had been many years since we visited Leamings
Run Gardens, which happens to be the largest annual
garden in the country (at least that is what they say).
What a great experience! As we strolled the mile of
paths through the gardens we kept commenting on the fact
that most of our guests are probably completely unaware
that this gem of a destination even exists.

These gardens really are beautiful, and the setting
is amazing. As you wander through each of the themed
gardens you stumble upon incredibly beautiful vistas
filled with fern glades, gazing ponds, bamboo forrests,
and loads of flowers. When we saw it the annuals were
really just getting going. By mid-June I can only
imagine how wonderful they will be.

We don’t
encourage anybody to leave town once they arrive, of
course, but a visit to Leamings Run Gardens would be the
ideal thing to do if you want to get an early start to
your vacation, but your friends at The Queen Victoria
have said your room won’t be ready until 2:00 pm. OR, if
you have checked out of The Queen Victoria, but aren’t
quite ready to head home, consider a stop at the gardens
for a last treat. They are easy to get to and well worth
the stop, either way.

So Mother’s day is safely behind us and you’re in the
clear for a while, right? WRONG! Father’s day is just
around the corner and you are not prepared for it. Admit
it, it took every ounce of creative energy in your body
to come up with a gift idea for Mom. Now you need to do
it again! The problem is, Dads are harder than Moms.

Dad doesn’t NEED anything. He has all the shirts,
socks, golf balls, cologne, and gift certificates to
Home Depot that he’ll ever need. He doesn’t want another
novelty cap or t-shirt either. So what can you
do?

Funny you should ask. I happen to know of the
PERFECT GIFT for Dad … a gift certificate to The Queen
Victoria. Every Dad loves bringing his beautiful wife to
Cape May. Why? Because bringing your wife to Cape May
makes her happy and when your wife is happy you are
happy. And what better way to make your Dad happy than
to make your Mom happy at the same time. That is a
“2fer”.

Seriously, Dad will love The Queen
Victoria as much as you do. He’ll come home and tell you
it was the best gift he has ever received (other than
the birth of his favorite child who just sent him to The
Queen Victoria), which is really just a not so veiled
hint that he would love it again next year. So now you
have that going for you. No decision to make next year
either! Can it get better than this?

Give us a
call today and we’ll make sure that your Dad is the
happiest Dad around come June 15.

One of our favorite events every year is the Cape May
Designer Show house. This year we’re excited to see what
our region’s best designers are going to come up with at
the 2008 Show House.

Anna Marie and I toured the house in the “before”
preview. It was already apparent that there was a lot of
magic in the works to create a wonderful showcase,
literally starting from the bottom up. To start with
they dug out the crawlspace to create a basement for the
media and entertainment room. Every designer was there
with conceptual drawings and materials, all of which
promised a craftsman fantasy in the making.

The
Showhouse is scheduled to open to the public 6/15/08, so
if you’re looking for a real treat on your Summer visit
this year, make plans to visit the 2008 Designer Show
House.

The Cape May Music festival has returned and I have
to tell you that I am already enjoying it thoroughly.
Anna Marie and I have had the pleasure of attending two
of the concerts so far this year. We plan on several
more.

Last night we experienced an incredible concert! The
Atlantic Brass Band put on a show at the Lower Township
Performing Arts Center that was unbelievable! I don’t
normally get all that worked up about brass bands, but
last night’s concert was truly incredible. I can’t
remember enjoying a concert of any kind so much.

That is the wonderful thing about this festival.
Each and every show is a surprise waiting to be
experienced. The talent of the performers that attend
our little festival is truly astounding. Whether you
like chamber music, classical violin soloists, gospel,
or classical reviews, there is something for you here in
Cape May. The festival runs through June 15th, so there
is still time to plan a trip to The Queen Victoria and
catch a performance.

So how do you live in Cape May for 4 years and not
manage to find one of Cape May’s worst kept secrets? I
really have no idea! Anna Marie and I have been aware of
George’s restaurant on the corner of Beach and Perry
since our early days in Cape May. Sure, it is a few
steps further from us than a few other restaurants. Yes,
it does lack curb appeal, but so do others. I guess I’ll
just stick with those lame excuses. Anyway, last night
Anna Marie and I “discovered” Georges. What a discovery
it was!

Anna Marie and I marched into Georges wine bottle in
hand (yes … another BYO!) last night with curiosity.
Georges is primarily a Greek restaurant, and one glance
at the menu (and the chef’s last name) will put an
immediate twist into your tongue. We were feeling
adventurous, however, so we ventured in boldly. While
most everything has a bit of a Greek flavor to it, many
of the entrees were entirely pronounceable and all were
enticing.

We started out with an incredible
Falafel Crostini appetizer (for those of you who “have
no Greek”, falafel is an eggplant & garbanzo bean
concoction). This was followed up by a delectible
Atlantic Salmon dish for Anna Marie, while I sampled the
crab cakes. When the owner/chef John started on our
order he discovered that he was short one crab cake. He
called out from the kitchen, asking me if I wanted the
“good news or the bad news first”. I love good news, so
I was thrilled to hear he had just saved money on his
car insurance. Yeah, John is a bit of a joker. Anyway, I
told him to substitute it with anything he wanted, which
is a great way to hit if off with a chef. We were tight
the rest of the evening. I ended up getting a really
wonderful side dish of “Paxi Tuna”, which is also on the
appetizer menu.

The night was a lot of fun, with
plenty of banter with the owners and even a quick Greek
Line dancing lesson once the place had cleared out a
bit. We really thought it was cool that we drank our
wine out of little juice glasses … it seemed so
authentic. Really, the place is fun. By the way, I have
to mention that it must be really hard to photograph
this restaurant, because the photo here, and every one
I’ve ever seen, really fail to capture the feeling
inside the place. It is a small place, with only 10
tables, but the atmosphere is wonderful and most seats
have a view of the ocean!

Did I mention the
prices? Our meal consisting of two entrees and an
appetizer came to $33.07, after tax. There is definitely
no better dining value in Cape May. No wonder they are
rated the #1 restaurant in Cape May on Tripadvisor.com
(the same place that we happen to be rated the #1
B&B in Cape May).

• Cape May Music Festival May 18 thru June 15
• Cape May Stage re-opens May 21
• “Welcome Friends” open house hospitality night on
  the mall June 14
• Harborfest June 21
• Washington Street Mall Rededication June 21
• Cape May Crafts Sep. 6
• Food & Wine Festival Sep. 20-25
• Cape May Wine Festival Oct 11-12
• Victorian Week Oct 10-19
• Halloween Events Oct 17-31
• Sherlock Holmes weekend Nov 7-9
• Cape May Christmas Nov 21 – Jan 4