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.
Doug & Anna Marie’s Restaurant
Pick Of The Month … Georges
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).
“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
As I write this we are enjoying an incredible Memorial Day
weekend. Beautiful sunny days, cool nights, great restaurants,
fun shopping on the new mall make for a great weekend.
It really is the perfect start to another wonderful
Summer at The Queen Victoria. We wait all winter for these
gloriously sunny warm months, so I’m always thrilled when they
arrive. I’m guessing you are too.
Our advance bookings
for this Summer are up once again, which we love, but it does
make it a little more challenging for last minute vacation
planning. If you’ve been thinking of coming to Cape May again
this Summer but haven’t taken the time to make your
reservations yet, I highly recommend it. I want to make sure
you get the perfect room for your stay this year.
Just another sunny morning at The Queen Victoria
Featured “Room of the Month” …
the Queen’s Cottage
Last time I mentioned we were busy redecorating some
rooms in the inn, and this was one of them. Since the
day we purchased the inn we’ve been wanting to spruce up
the parlor in the Queen’s Cottage. It used to look a lot
like a kitchen.
Our vision was to create more of
a library/bar feeling, which we think we have achieved.
Between the new granite counter top, magnificent
Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper & frieze (that is
the wide border at the top), and designer inspired
coloring and furniture we hardly recognize the place.
The two rooms in the Queen’s Cottage have always been
some of our most popular rooms, so it was only fitting
to dress up their shared parlor. If you love the way
this room looks as much as I do, you should consider
reserving either Osborne or Balmoral for your next
visit.
I am so pleased to report to you that Cape May Stage
has officially started its 2008 season! The theatre
opened last Thursday evening to a sold-out house with
their production of “Fully Committed”. By all accounts
the show was wonderfully entertaining.
The really big news is not the new season, but the
new seats! Yes, those old folding chairs are history.
They have been replaced by tiered theatre seating …
just like in a real theatre. This is the culmination of
a four year renovation project that we are proud to say
we have generously supported. Anna Marie and I haven’t
enjoyed the new and improved seating yet, but we are
looking forward to it!
Remember, we have
complimentary tickets for you if you book a 3 night
mid-week or 4 night weekend reservation. What could be
better than that? Great accommodations and great
entertainment.
Normally you hear this phrase when greeting someone
you haven’t seen for a while. While I do care what is
new in your life, I figured you might be interested in
hearing about what is new at The Queen Victoria. As it
turns out, there are lots of “New” things at The Queen
Victoria.
In the interest of column space, I’m just going to
list all the new and improved things you’ll find at The
Queen Victoria on your next visit …
1) A total
redecoration of the Queen Victoria building’s sitting
room (pictured here), including wallpaper, furniture,
and pantry backsplash.
2) New carpet in the
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert Hall hallways &
stairways
3) Completely redecorated parlor in
the Queen’s Cottage
4) Robes are now provided in
every room
5) Room safes have been installed in
every room
6) New dishes throughout the inn
7) New bathrooms in the Regent’s Park, Queen
Victoria & Buckingham rooms
8) New parlor
table & chairs in Prince Albert Hall
Even
though there have been many changes at The Queen
Victoria this year, the one thing that hasn’t changed is
the feeling of warmth and relaxation that permeates the
place. If you’ve known us very long, you’ll know that
Anna Marie and I are intent on improving things at The
Queen Victoria without changing the feeling here. We
just want you to be more comfortable while you’re
staying with us.
We’re excited about all the
changes here at The Queen Victoria. We hope that you’ll
be excited to see them too.
Cape May’s New Mall
In my last couple of emails I’ve been keeping you
appraised of the progress of our new Mall. While the
dedication of the mall doesn’t happen until June 21st,
I’m pleased to report to you that work is basically
complete. They may be finishing up a few final things,
but it looks done to me. It also looks fabulous.
This photo was taken near the Ugly Mug, looking west
towards Congress Hall. There is a lot to see if you look
closely. First, of course, is one of our new fountains,
which we’ve never had before. Lots of folks voiced
reasons we shouldn’t have them, but I’ve got to tell you
that they were wrong. I love our fountains. You can also
see some trees in the background as well as the upper
left of the photo. Many of you lamented the loss of our
trees when they were cut down. These new trees are very
pretty and will provide shade and beauty far into the
future. One of the more interesting things in this photo
is the shop still under construction on the left. This
will be a new fish market and seafood restaurant. At
first the idea of a fish market struck me as strange
(OK, it still does), but the “SEAFOOD” restaurant is a
great idea. Think Lobster House in the middle of the
mall! We’ll see how it works out.
Anyway, the
mall is complete and it is wonderful and I know you can
hardly wait to return for a Queen Victoria visit to see
it and enjoy it. By the way, that dedication week
happens to coincide with the first ever “Harbor Fest”,
which looks to be a wonderful new Cape May event! We’ve
still got a few rooms available for that weekend, so
give us a call if you’re interested.
Favorite Guest Photos
The title of this segment of my letter can have two
meanings. Either these are favorite photos sent in by
guests, or these are photos of favorite guests. I’m
pleased to say that both meanings are fitting this
month.
I love this picture! Not only are these
two couples incredibly good looking, they happen to be
some of nicest people I’ve ever had the honor to call my
friends.
Joe and Cindy, seated up front, set a
new record for frequency of stays at The Queen Victoria
in 2007 at 10. I believe they’ll surpass that mark this
year (they are active members of the “Saturday Night”
club). If you come to The Queen Victoria that often,
you’re bound to celebrate a few special occasions. This
was taken during a significant birthday celebration for
Cindy. You’re also bound to make lots of friends here.
Here they are pictured with another of our alltime
favorite couples, Joe & Kathleen, who are also
frequent guests and good friends.
Joe and Kathleen were engaged in Cape May during one
of their early stays with us and have been regulars ever
since. I’m not at all surpised that two such wonderful
couples have befriended each other.
Make your reservations today for a romantic getaway at The
Queen Victoria Bed and Breakfast. We are looking forward to
helping you plan your next visit!
