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Cape Charles Cape Charles House Looking for a lifestyle change, Bruce and Carol Evans stayed at the Sea Gate B&B (see below) with innkeeper Chris Bannon and put in a bid for this Colonial Revival frame house built in 1912 the same week. They started renovating and upgrading the house, turning it into one of the grandest on the Eastern Shore. Bruce became chairman of the town planning commission and the county’s industrial development authority. Carol serves on the zoning board and is president-elect of the chamber of commerce. They opened their B&B in 1994, and have been entertaining guests in a house party atmosphere and touting the charms of Cape Charles to one and all ever since. The pair come with credentials as well as enthusiasm. Bruce retired as a store manager for Sears. His wife, who trained in fashion design, was teaching microwave cooking for Sears and writing for a national cooking magazine. All these talents are manifest in their B&B. Their two parlors offer plush seating, oriental rugs and some of Carol’s collections: an old silk spool cabinet, paperweights and her grandmother’s samplers. The chandeliered dining room, transformed from a library, is snazzy in hunter green and burgundy with a Schumacher print wallpaper border, roman blinds and matching antique glass on the fireplace mantel. Corinthian columns frame the staircase to the second floor, which harbors five spacious guest rooms with king or queen beds and private baths. Each is identified with someone important in Cape Charles history. We were comfortable in a side room named for William Scott, the multi-millionaire who tried to get the Pennsylvania Railroad to come to town and finally put up the money himself. Five antique rug beaters were fanned on the wall above the queensize bed. A sofa and writing desk were situated against the bay windows, and a couple of old trunks held a decoy collection as well as our luggage. The large bathroom contained a clawfoot tub and shower. The most coveted room is named for the original occupant, Julia Wilkins. It’s a beauty in blue and white, with a kingsize bed, a border of Royal Copenhagen plates beneath the ceiling, a settee, a wicker loveseat, a private balcony and a bathroom with a jacuzzi. The rear B.F. Kellogg Room is cheery in yellow, while the front Alexander Cassatt Room in apricot colors is hung with Carol’s prints. Breakfast was a gourmet treat, quite amazing given that the Evanses were hosting a reunion of old friends and his fellow barbershop quartet singers and their wives for the weekend, making a total of sixteen hungry people at two seatings. Orange juice and cut-up mixed fruit preceded a work-of-art baked stuffed croissant bearing cream cheese, peaches and cinnamon, garnished with bacon and grapes and served with plain and hazelnut-flavored maple syrups. Other specialties include creamed eggs and mushrooms in dill sauce over homemade dill bread, an egg and cheese quesadilla with herbs and bell peppers, grits and cheese soufflé and banana-stuffed french toast. Carol was preparing a cookbook of favorite recipes, and offers five-course dinners for groups of guests by reservation. Wine, cheese and hors d’oeuvres are offered in the early evening. Chocolate mints are bedside treats. Five rooms with private baths. Doubles, $120 to $200. (757) 331-4920. Fax (757) 331-4960. For more information: www.capecharleshouse.com Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places / Mid-Atlantic, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2003. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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