Newsletter Archive | October 2012

Wouldn’t it be amazing to meet somebody who really knew one of our many great American Leaders? Think about it. What if you could speak with the speech writer who assisted Abraham Lincoln with his “Gettysburg Address”? How about Kennedy’s inaugural address? I’m pleased to tell you that you have that opportunity!

My friend and fellow Cape May resident Myles Martel not only knew Ronald Reagan, but was his debate coach for his 1980 debates with Jimmy Carter. On the day after Ronald Reagan won the 1980 Presidential election he wrote a letter to Myles thanking him for his assistance in that pivotal debate. It was one of the first things he did after winning the election.

This Saturday Myles will be combining his insights into Ronald Reagan’s leadership approach with his vast experiences as one of the nation’s leading executive leadership consultants and sharing them with us in the first of a series of lectures entitled “Lessons of History” at Cape May Stage.

Ronald Reagan was certainly one of the great American leaders of the 20th Century. Even those folks who disagreed with his policies usually admit to liking him and recognized and admired his leadership skills. Here is your chance to learn what made Ronald Reagan such a successful leader.

I want to assure you that this presentation will not be political in nature. The timing of this event, in the final days of the 2012 Presidential campaign, is completely coincidental. It is all about leadership, not politics.

So, you’ve been surrounded by Christmas “Stuff” at all of your major shopping outlets for months now, but you’re feeling like that really isn’t satisfying your Christmas needs. I am here to help you!

The surest way to get into the Christmas spirit is to immerse yourself in the Cape May Christmas scene. You know what I’m talking about! It really is perfect.

Every year Cape May gets all dressed up for Christmas a little bit early. We always turn all our lights on at 5:00 pm on the Friday before Thanksgiving. In fact, we’re already busy decorating because we have so many decorations to put up. I’ve seen a few other homes getting started too, so I’m sure it will be as festive as ever.

A visit to The Queen Victoria for this Christmas preview weekend is also a sure way to put you Grinches in the Christmas mood. Nothing says Christmas quite like a stroll through our beautiful Victorian town all decorated for Christmas.

You’ve undoubtedly heard of Charles Dickens. You’re probably most familiar with “A Christmas Carol”, which is a staple during the Christmas season. What you really NEED TO KNOW about Dickens, however, is that Cape May hosts a Dickens Festival every December.

I’m excited to tell you that this year’s event is going to be exceptional. The Queen Victoria has partnered with MAC to put together an amazing 3 day program filled with world class entertainment, informative lectures, tours, wine tasting and two incredible feasts. You really don’t want to miss this event!

If you’re looking for something more out of the Christmas season this year, something special and different, then the Dickens Extravaganza may be just the ticket. Registrations for this year’s event are already up significantly. We’re looking forward to spending time with the interesting and fun loving group that have already reserved their seats (and rooms). Why don’t you add yourself to this group and join Anna Marie and me for 3 very special days in Cape May? You’ll be so happy you did!

After having sold this event out months ago, we recently took a cancellation, making room for 2 more people to join us for a “Channeling with Craig McManus” weekend.

Craig is already pretty famous, and a great many of our guests are already familiar with his “Ghosts of Cape May” series of books. If you don’t already know of Craig, though, you’ll be interested to learn that Craig is a renowned Channeler. I’ve personally seen Craig channel the spirit of loved ones to our guests, providing amazingly detailed descriptions of their appearance, their nicknames, the names and types of their pets, etc. We’re talking about details that our guests often were unaware of until following up on later. He is the Real Deal.

Each of the 2 channeling sessions is limited to 10 people, so there is an excellent chance of Craig channeling for everybody in attendance. There are no guarantees, of course, but I can tell you from experience that it is fascinating even if nobody comes through for you.

We’ve still got a couple of rooms available for Saturday, Nov 10, so if you want to experience something really different, give us a call and put your name on one of them. Don’t wait too long, as there are only 2 seats left in the evening session (7-9pm)

It is obvious that many of you are already thinking about Christmas, as quite a few of you have reservations for the Christmas season already.

Cape May during the Christmas season is truly beautiful. It is also a BIG event, lasting well over a month. When you have as much Christmas spirit and stuff going on as Cape May does, you have to spread it out a little bit.

Cape May kicks off Christmas on November 16th this year, moving right on through December with more tours than you can shake a stick at. The first 3 Saturdays of December feature the big Candlelight Tours, in which 20-25 homes will be on tour. There will be well over a thousand people touring these homes located all over town. There are carolers, strolling musicians, porch musicians, comfort stations and some serious festiveness going on all over town. It really is something to behold. We’re completely booked for the 1st weekend, but we still have a few rooms available for each of the next two weekends. IT’S NOT TOO LATE to experience the amazing Cape May Candlelight Tour.

For those of you who are fortunate enough to be able to visit The Queen Victoria mid-week this Christmas season, there are several wonderful and more intimate house tours to enjoy.

Spend Christmas at The Queen Victoria

Of course there is also The Queen Victoria Christmas package, which takes place over Christmas itself. If you’re looking for a special way to spend Christmas this year, come join us. Last year we had 28 rooms full of guests celebrating Christmas at The Queen Victoria. Our package includes dinners on both Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, as well as a lot of other special surprises.

I’m REALLY looking forward to our Wine Blending weekend! Those of you who know us well, know that one of our favorite things to do is go wine tasting. Well let me tell you, our wine blending party is way better than wine tasting (though you’ll taste a lot of wine too!)

Our annual wine blending weekend has definitely become my favorite event of the year. It is not surprising. Each year we get a crew of really fun loving people enjoying a really wonderful event involving the consumption of some great wine during a time of year when there isn’t much else going on. What more could you ask for?

Let me tell you about it. First you arrive on Friday, hopefully in time for afternoon tea and a wonderful dinner out at one of our great restaurants. On Saturday afternoon we gather at the Cape May Winery and settle into the barrel room for the afternoon. As you enter the room you’ll see several tables laden with decanters of wine, loads of wine glasses and a few measuring cups (remember, this is science). Each table becomes a “team”. First we sample each of the 4 blending wines (all red) to get a feel for their various characteristics. Then we start blending for an hour or two. Ultimately, each table selects its finest blend and mixes up a decanter of it. We then break for a tour. After the tour we return to our tables and do a blind taste of each team’s blend. We vote on the best blend, which is then bottled with a custom label with your name on it (or anything else you want printed on it). We usually have some left over wine from the afternoon, which we’ll then bring back to the inn, just in time for tea.

This is sure to be a wonderful event. I hope you’ll join us!

Wine and cheese go together, right? So it only seemed fitting to hold our 5th annual “Big Cheesy” cheese tasting weekend immediately following our Wine Lover’s Weekend.

I’ve already committed myself by declaring the Wine Lover’s Weekend my favorite event of the year, so it pains me not to be able to say the same about the Cheese Tasting Weekend. Why can’t I have two favorites? Well, it comes a VERY close 2nd place then.

The name of this weekend pretty much says it all. Each year we gather fine cheeses from all over the world (or town, as the case may be). If you know cheese, you know just how different they can be. If you haven’t explored the nuances of the myriad of different cheeses, then you haven’t really lived yet, and you definitely need to call us and make a reservation.

We’ll have 15-20 cheese platters arranged around our very large dining room table, each labeled and described for your exploration and enjoyment. There will also be of wine glasses and ice buckets for you to use with your favorite bottle of wine that you can bring to the event. (yep, it is BYO). Bring something you want to share, as it tends to become a little communal at the wine buffet.

They say the best things in life are free, and this event just proves that is true. Bring yourself and your favorite beverage and enjoy a wonderful afternoon.

I guess I have to mention that this event is only open to guests actually staying with us that weekend.