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INNSIDE STORY
Romantic (and chocolatey) ways to experience the Garden State
It's finally starting to feel like winter, time to cozy up and rekindle the romance. While you're planning your romantic escape within the Garden State, you might check out the pre-Valentine's Day festivities in Ocean Grove where you can take a free tour of participating inns and enjoy a winter walk on February 10th. Also on the 10th, the Baird Center in South Orange invites you to enjoy a cabaret of love songs while you sip on coffee and sumptuous chocolate desserts.
Starting February 11th is an exhibit at East Jersey Olde Town Village in Piscataway of Victorian and antique Valentines, a celebration of love throughout the centuries. David Gonzalez and the D.D. Jackson Trio meld romantic songs, stories, poems and jazz at the Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan on February 14th. Also on Valentine's Day, check out the daring couples selected for an "extreme date" -- swimming with the sharks at Camden's Adventure Aquarium.
Innside Specials
Stay "inn" this winter and rekindle the romance! Here's where the sweetest deals are at the moment:
"Be Mine Package" -- Chocolates, champagne, fine dining and an elegant Victorian stay (Whistling Swan Inn, Stanhope)
"Riverside Symponia Package" -- Dinner, massage, and an evening of classical music (Chimney Hill Inn, Lambertville)
"Romantic Getaway Package" -- Champagne, chocolate and a luxury stay at the Shore
(Blue Bay Inn, Atlantic Highlands)
"The Romantic Escape" -- Champagne, flowers, chocolates and breakfast in bed
(Main Street Manor, Flemington)
MEET THE INNKEEPERS
Regina O'Donnell
Victoria on Main, Toms River
 When Regina O'Donnell started her inn five years ago she was told she couldn't touch the cherry blossom trees surrounding the inn. They were once gifted to acting governor Mathis Berry who originally resided in the house. Parking and inn "flow" had to work around the historic trees.
Regina was again challenged to create space last summer when a young couple visited her inn for an
on-the-fly wedding. What started as a small gathering turned into eighty people. Turns out the bride worked for the town of Toms River and her fiance was in the Special Services. Regina moved the event outside and coordinated the whole effort, right down to the music. When it was time for the "Wedding March" to play, she couldn't get the music lined up so the bride's father ended up singing it while the groomsmen - all servicemen uniformed in white - looked on.
"They were all going back as a unit to Afghanistan the following week," Regina says. "I was so glad I could help them."
Fun Fact: An Irish guest taught Regina how to "plop" tea. Boil the whole tea bag in water to produce a more flavorful cup of tea.
Sally & Philip Gauntt
Cottage on the River (Island Heights)
 During the summer months Sally Gauntt's mother used to run The Ortley House, a 32-room guesthouse in Ortley Beach. Her parents also owned The Corner Tavern in New Brunswick near Rutgers campus. You might say hospitality is in the blood.
Nowadays Sally welcomes people to her own cottage on a bluff overlooking the Toms River. It's an off-the-beaten path kind of place. "Few people know about it except for sailors," she says. Boats are constantly going up and down the river, heading out to Barnagat Bay or the ocean, just five minutes away.
Back in the day, Island Heights was also a retreat for John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia department store legend. Children who worked in his store (this was before child labor laws) came to his seaside camp for two weeks every summer for music, education and recreation.
Fun Fact: Tiki Barber stayed at The Cottage on the River one July 4th weekend. He was with his pregnant wife who needed a B&B with A/C. She had her baby two days later.
EAT INN: Indulge in these chocolate-inspired recipes
A Chocolate Eclair Cake from Julia's of Savannah (Beach Haven) is easier done than said.
Chocolate Bread Pudding from Sea Crest By the Sea (Spring Lake) is a breakfast dessert worth waking up for.
NEW MEMBERS
A warm welcome to our new member!
Les Saisons
Art & Libby Christiansen
304 Elmwood Avenue
Maplewood, NJ 07040
973-762-3416
E-mail: lessaisons@comcast.net
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