December 15, 2007
And a Ho! Ho! Ho! to you, too! This is the final issue of the Great Vacation E-Newsletter for 2007. We wish you and yours a Happy Holiday! We hope that 2007 and has been a great year for you, and that 2008 will be a fantastic year for you, your family and friends!
2008 is bringing many changes to the Great Vacation family. We’re expanding the areas we cover, and you’ll find more and more information available as the year progresses to help you make good decisions about where to vacation, as well as where to stay, dine, shop and have fun.
There will be some formatting changes in this newsletter to bring you even more relevant data, as well. We’ll be streamlining and providing more links for you to check out for more information.
Great Vacation is moving in many directions simultaneously. After all, it’s a big world out there, and our coverage will eventually include a whole lot more of it. We ask you to send this newsletter to everybody – relatives, neighbors, friends and perfect strangers – because it’s free, and it provides links to many, many things – all of them having to do with having a great vacation of their own.
So, for town calendars, attractions and activities, where to stay, dine, shop, theater and Atlantic City entertainment, you’ve come to the right place.
Now, it’s time to choose the winners in our photo contest. You’ll find details in this issue. Please cast your votes. The selection has been narrowed so that you can choose the three winners, and the details of what the winners will receive are included in the article. Don’t forget to send in your own favorite shore photos in the future. If you didn’t win this time, you could very well be a winner in our next photo contest.
In 2008 the Great Vacation in-room guides are taking on a whole new look and dimension to better serve vacationers. We’ll tell you more about what those changes are as the winter season passes and turns to spring.
Thank you for being members of the Great Vacation family. Have a great holiday season!
Sincerely,
The Staff at Great Vacation / Successful Seasons Inc.
Attention Vacationers Searching For Your Weekly Rental!
The time has come to change the world for vacation property owners and vacationers. Our service is called, appropriately enough, GreatVacationShoreRentals.com and it provides all you need to find the perfect vacation rentals! How are we different from other listing services? We’re VERY different, but you’ll need to log on now to discover what makes us unique. Log on now and learn why we refer to ourselves as”…your direct connection.”
Our new site offers a blog and forum, Great Vacation Newsletters loaded with Great Vacation tips and our sister site GreatVacationGuide.com provides you all of the tools you will need to plan every detail of
YOUR NEXT GREAT VACATION!
Photo Contest
It’s time to choose the best, and the best are going to receive some wonderful gifts, and you, the Great Vacation newsletter family of readers, will select the winners in three categories:
There are five finalist choices in each of three categories for you to judge. Vote for one (1) winner (only) in each category. Review the finalists (click here) and cast your votes. The categories are:
1. “The photo that best expresses a “Great Vacation!”
2. “The BEST nature photo.”
3. “The BEST overall photo.”
Three winners are going to receive a wonderful prize: A fantastic two-night stay for two adults in the oceanfront lodging at the Atlas Inn in beautiful Victorian Cape May – plus breakfast-for-two for two (2) mornings. Cape May's oceanfront Atlas Inn, 1035 Beach Avenue, features 90 rooms & suites, a sparkling pool and Bloody Mary's Bar & Grill, an on-site tropical seaside restaurant & bar. Handicapped Accessible. (Only one winner per category. No entry can win in two (2) categories. Winners may choose to spend their two-day stay at the Atlas Inn between May 1 and June 12, 2008, or between September 1 and November 6, 2008, based on availability).
The three winners will have their photos featured in this newsletter, and their photos will also appear in the 2008 Great Vacation in-room magazine guides in over 6,000 guest rooms in vacation accommodations in the southern shore region! (Owners of the winning photos will have to submit an original high resolution copy of their photo for publication use: only one winner per category. In the event Great Vacation is unable to contact a winner, the prize will go to the next choice. Photos published in the Great Vacation in-room guide become the property of Successful Seasons and Great Vacation).
Please (click here) to see the finalist photos, and cast your votes.
The names of the Great Vacation Photo Contest winners will be announced and featured in the January 1, 2008 issue!
(Great Vacation management, employees and their families are not eligible.)
Cape May Stage
Cape May Stage Presents the Hilarious Hit "Every Christmas Story Ever Told!”
Cape May Stage's madcap romp through all the holiday traditions we can remember, and a few we'd like to forget, is back for another year! Back by popular demand, the demented yuletide tales are back, packed with fresh bits, sketches and tidbits, and the special ‘Nutcracker Ballet’! "Every Christmas Story Ever Told!” written by Cape May Stage Artistic Director Michael Carleton, Jim Fitzgerald, and John Alvarez now through December 30th.
Complete with flying reindeer, grumpy grinches, talking snowmen and zany audience participation, this is a surefire good time for the whole family. A holiday classic to end all holiday classics!
"Every Christmas Story Ever Told!” performances are Wednesdays thru Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm through December 30th. Tickets are $28 adults, $20 seniors, $10 students. The “Dinner and A Show” promotion with 16 gourmet Cape May restaurants is still available.
The production is sponsored through the generosity of The Blue Pig Tavern at Congress Hall and The Ebbitt Room at the Virginia.
Early reservations are strongly encouraged. Cape May Stage: Ticket reservations and subscriptions: 609-884-1341.
(click here)
The 2008 Cape May Stage Season is ready for the new season. Ask about your subscription when you visit them or call.
A Special Note to All:
Last Chance for Cape May Stage’s Vacation Raffle
Ever dream about lounging at a large Cape May beach-house for a week and bringing lots of your friends and/or family with you? Cape May Stage, in cooperation with local real estate offices, is offering such a fantasy thru a Vacation Raffle being held up until December 23rd.
Cape May Stage Board Member Dagmer Chew, the broker/owner of a thriving local real estate office, spearheaded a very unique opportunity for the Equity theatre this season. Through purchasing raffle tickets (1 ticket for $5.00 or 3 for $10.00), one lucky winner will receive a week’s free vacation in 2008 at 205 Pittsburgh Avenue, Cape May. All proceeds from the raffle go to support the non-profit theatre’s operations, and hopefully raise more awareness about the Arts in our Victorian vacation town.
“During the 2007 season local real estate offices acted as a conduit to make this raffle available to those visiting from outside Cape May County. Raffle tickets were offered to every vacationer renting through one of the local real estate offices this summer. The raffle tickets are still available to the public at these real estate offices. Cape May Stage will also continue selling raffle tickets at the box office before and after each production of the Stage’s holiday comedy, “Every Christmas Story Ever Told!”.
The drawing will take place on Sunday, December 23rd before the show begins. Call the Cape May Stage office at (609) 884-1341 for tickets and further information.
East Lynne Theater Company
East Lynne Theater Company's 2008 Season Tickets Available
Not sure what to give someone for Christmas? Why not the gift of entertainment with East Lynne Theater Company's 2008 Season Tickets? One size fits all and the recipient can choose what days to attend – and even bring friends! If purchased by Feb. 14, patrons may take advantage of "The Sweetheart Deal:" $84 for 7 tickets. If purchased between Feb. 15 and July 1, the price is $75 for 5 tickets. Either way, this is a considerable savings. Prices in 2008 are $25 for general admission; $20 for senior citizens; and $10 for full-time students.
As usual, ELTC's 2008 season is filled with music, a radio show, classic gems and a world premiere. In March and November, "Sherlock Holmes' Adventure of the Speckled Band" performed as a vintage radio show, is back. After the success of Philip Barry's "You and I," director Gayle Stahlhuth and the talented cast of seven will return for four weeks in June. Newspaper critics called it "top drawer" and "delightfully timeless."
During the last two weeks of July, it's the world premiere "All the Things You Are: The Music of Jerome Kern," with NYC cabaret performers Michael and Anne McFrederick. Kern was a master of melody who published more than 650 songs for 117 musical shows, plays, and films. Lyricists with whom he worked include Dorothy Fields ("A Fine Romance") and Oscar Hammerstein II ("All the Things You Are.")
Many patrons have asked about ELTC favorite, Broadway veteran and magician extraordinaire, Robert Aberdeen, who has performed in several ELTC main stage productions, fundraisers, and on the road. Now he brings his magic for four nights only in July and August, to the 2008 Season in "Magic by Robert Aberdeen."
Two comedies from the 1920s are next. In August, it's Franz Molnar's "The Guardsman," the comedy that established Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne as theatrical stars. "To the Ladies" runs in September and October. Written by Pulitzer Prize winners George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly, this charming comedy originally starred Helen Hayes. George S. Kaufman's daughter has never seen "To the Ladies" and will be spending time in Cape May just to see ELTC's production.
"O. Henry's Christmas Stories" rounds out the 2008 season just in time for the Holidays, with Artistic Director Gayle Stahlhuth once more taking on twenty-plus characters as she recently did in the highly acclaimed "Louisa May Alcott's Christmas."
For 2008 Season Tickets, mail a check to the office at 121 Fourth Ave., West Cape May, NJ 08204, and tickets will be mailed to you. For information and reservations, call East Lynne at 609-884-5898 or (click here). East Lynne's season would not be possible without the support of Curran Investment Management, La Mer Beachfront Inn, Aleathea's Restaurant, the NJ State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the generosity of many patrons.
Dear Friends of the Meerwald,
This winter we have two big projects to complete: Replacing the stem on the A. J. Meerwald and removing the roof structure over the docks.
This fall we discovered rot in the stem of the A. J. Meerwald. To replace the stem, we will have to pull planks, and remove and replace the knightheads. Some of this will start at our dock in Bivalve, and then we'll move to Dorchester to get hauled out in the dry dock. We expect to be on the dry dock for 4 to 6 weeks. During this period we would also like to remove the bottom paint to bare wood and prime and repaint the bottom.
This will be an expensive project and we will need plenty of volunteer help. Our new co-captain, Bill Mylett, is also a shipwright and will be leading this project. We will be working six days a week and it would be great to have help on each day. We have projects for both skilled and unskilled labor. This is a great chance to see how a large wooden boat is put together. If you are interested, please call 856-785-2060 x 101 or email bmylett@bayshorediscovery.org. It helps us plan our day's work if we know who is coming in advance.
The second big project is removing the roof structure over the docks in Bivalve. This will involve lots of cutting of timbers, salvaging the good wood and carrying what is not good to the dumpster. If you are interested in helping out on this project please call 856-785-2723 x129 or email jbriggs@bayshorediscovery.org.
Both of these projects have to be completed before the end of March. In addition, there are still the regular maintenance items on the boat to complete, such as sanding and painting everything, greasing the blocks, and several engine room projects. We really need help to get these projects done on time, and any assistance you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you and Happy Holidays,
Capt. Jesse A. Briggs
Avalon
Nothing to report at this time
Cape May
Nothing to report at this time
Ocean City
December
31...First Night New Years Eve Celebration – A complete schedule of entertainment leading up to fireworks at midnight. For more information call 609-525-9300.
Sea Isle City
Nothing to report at this time
Stone Harbor
Nothing to report at this time
The Wildwoods
December
26-31...Boardwalk Basketball Classic
