Chocolate | The High Pointe Inn

On Cape Cod February is for Lovers

Once again February has rolled around, and with it a number of great events to distract us from the onslaught of snow, sleet, and cold. Old Man Winter has certainly wreaked havoc elsewhere in the state, but on Cape Cod we have been spared the brunt of countless storms that buried the rest of Massachusetts in a blanket of white.

Nonetheless, we are cognizant of the fact that winter wears you down. So to turn up the heat and rev up the romance we’ve introduced the “February is for Lovers” package at our bed and breakfast inn on Cape Cod. Why restrict romance to just one night when you can celebrate all month?! Choose a night or two that fits your schedule and we’ll provide you with everything you need to create a romantic interlude for two: champagne and chocolates, a gourmet dinner for two, plus an optional in-room side-by-side couples massage to set the mood.

If chocolate does it for you and your loved one, don’t forget the Sixth Annual Chocolate Fest taking place in Osterville on February 5th. A true chocoholic love fest, the event includes a dessert contest, pet parade, and decadent treats offered at local businesses throughout the day.

Later this month you can take in the Fifth Annual Boatbuilders Show in Hyannis. Some of the finest dealers in the world will be on hand February 12 and 13 at the Resort and Conference Center. What better way to fast-forward to spring than simply “messing about in boats”?

That same weekend the Cape Symphony Orchestra will feature vocalists Sarah Uriarte Berry, Rosenal Hill, and Edward Watts in a tribute to Broadway musicals entitled “Today’s Broadway: Great Moments from Blockbuster Musicals”. Choose from performances held Saturday, February 12 at 8:00 PM or Sunday, February 13 at 3:00 PM and tap your toes to some of the classic tunes from Chicago, Mamma Mia, and Hair.

Finally, February 19th and 20th will bring dozens of regional antique dealers together to showcase classic furniture, glassware, and china at the Presidents Day Antique Show and Sale being held at Barnstable High School. Perhaps you’ll find a treasure or two that will warm the heart of your honey.

No matter how you celebrate your valentine this month, remember spring is right around the corner and, as for winter, this too shall pass.

Cape Cod in Winter: A Valentine’s Day Destination

As innkeepers on Cape Cod, my husband and I use the slower winter months to tackle the ever-growing list of improvement projects we hope will keep the Inn fresh and well-maintained for our guests. Touch-up painting is always on the list and is perhaps my least favorite chore, as is organizing closets. But this year we are tackling the final guestroom bath update to erase the 2020s era look of the previous owners and fine-tune the sleek and contemporary look we have achieved in the rest of the Inn.

The designated bathroom remodel is for our premium fireplace room that we affectionately call the Sand Dollar room. Located on the main floor, Sand Dollar features a queen canopy bed, wood-burning fireplace, soaring cathedral ceiling, ample walk-in closet, and French doors to the deck overlooking the courtyard and fountain. It is a particularly popular room in the fall and winter months because of the fireplace, but also a big hit in the warmer months when our guests like to lounge in the old-fashioned steamer chairs on the deck with a great cup of coffee or afternoon cocktail in hand and enjoy the view.

Rich has completed the demolition, applied for all the requisite building permits, and coordinated with the plumber, granite installer, and our fabulous tiler to ensure that installation will go according to plan. My task was to remove the two layers of wallpaper border and pick out the hardware, lighting, and decorative items that will complete the look of the new bath. I’ll probably help with painting the bathroom once the installation is complete, as somehow I have attained the status of “expert trim painter” in my years of a do-it-yourself innkeeper.

At any rate we are about mid-way through the remodeling process and my eagerness to complete the project is all-consuming. We hope to have the bathroom ready for the all-important Valentine’s Day weekend, as Sand Dollar is always in demand for its romantic ambiance, especially for Valentine’s Day.

This year we are once again offering our “February is for Lovers” package for Valentine’s Day weekend, and throughout the month of February. Why not sweep her off her feet with this romantic two-night getaway? Start your day with breakfast by candlelight. Later you can enjoy a bottle of chilled champagne and chocolates in your room, or opt for a side-by-side in-room couples massage. Then top the weekend off with a 3-course gourmet dinner for two at one of Cape Cod‘s most romantic restaurants. We‘ve done all the planning for you. Just call and ask for the “February is for Lovers“ package.

Who knows? Perhaps you‘ll be the first couple to try the new Sand Dollar room bathroom.

Spend Valentine’s Day at a Cape Cod Bed and Breakfast

Valentine's Day at the High Pointe Inn

My all-time favorite gift of love from my husband came not on Valentine’s Day, but at Christmas last year. It had been a particularly rough year for us due in part to the challenges of running a business in a tough economy, plus the added stress of helping a family member get through a crisis. Though we tried to make the holidays a special time for celebrating friends and family, there were the occasional moments of sadness and longing for the carefree days before marriage and family and entrepreneurship. Read the rest of this entry »

More Reasons to Visit the Cape This Winter

Yesterday I wrote about why Cape Cod is such a great place to visit, even in the winter. Today I want to offer you a few specific events to consider making a trek to the Cape to attend this month or next. Anyone of them would be well worth your time and money.

January 23-24: 21st Annual Cape And Islands Orchid Show. Hyannis Resort and Conference Center, Hyannis, MA. When Rich and I first went to the Orchid show, I was recovering from back surgery. Rich was nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs watching me maneuver around the exhibition hall with my cane. But the beauty of the exhibits and the exotic orchids soon won him over. And the opportunity to talk with the exhibitors on the art and science of orchids was irresistible. As a result we bought several specimens to try our hand at propagating them, and even though we did not have much success, the afternoon we spent at the show was like being transported to some exotic island. In January that is a welcome respite from the winter cold.

February 6: 5th Annual Osterville Chocolate Festival, 10AM to 3PM, Main St. Osterville, MA. There was a chocolate festival in North Conway (where we used to own an inn) every February. The event drew hundreds of people who cross country skied inn to inn to sample the innovative chocolate creations of the innkeepers. I supposed the idea of cross country skiing between the venues was a way to minimize the impact of the extra calories consumed that day by the participants. Although the Osterville event does not require any physical exertion, it is a really fun event to attend. And who can resist chocolate? (Save for my husband and best friend who are not chocoholics like me. I’ve always been a little suspect of that…)

February 12-14: Fourth Annual Boatbuilders Show, Resort and Conference Center, Hyannis, MA. Often on a summer’s day, Rich and I will drive down to the marina at Sesuit Harbor in Dennis. Our favorite little clam shack is there. You eat outside at picnic tables in the “most beautiful dining room on earth” as designated by the proprietor, J.C. The view is of the boats in the marina and the channel out to Cape Cod Bay. On any given sunny day there is an almost constant stream of boat traffic. We watch each boat as it traverses the channel, admiring the lines of a Boston Whaler, the flying bridge of a fishing vessel, or the cut of a sail. We dream about owning such a boat one day, and motoring around Cape Cod or out to the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. We know it’s a pipedream, but still for those lovely moments as we eat our clams and drink our beers we are transported to another lifetime and all its possibilities. I think that is the allure of a boat show…to dream, if only for a moment, what life would be like if you owned a boat. The Boatbuilders event showcases boats built in small numbers by small shops on and near the Cape and elsewhere in New England, and the purpose of the show is to showcase the beauty of the boats and the people who build them. In February, it is far too cold to be sitting at a picnic table at Sesuit Harbor. But when I go to the boat show I can return to my summer’s dream of owning a boat, and while I am there, the world is full of possibilities.

New Year’s Eve and Chocolate Fondue

When I was a kid growing up in New England, New Year’s Eve was a very special family holiday. My parent’s best friends would come for dinner, which was typically fondue. All the rage in the ‘60s, we would start with meat fondue. My mother would prepare small bites of raw beef, chicken, and pork that each person would cook in the fondue pot using a long, slender fork. Once the meat was cooked, an array of unique condiments was passed to adorn the tender morsels. Following this would be a cheese fondue. Like molten lava, the cheese would be kept warm in the fondue pot, and small bits of bread, fruit, and potato would be dipped into it, according to each individual’s preference. Read the rest of this entry »

On Cape Cod February is for Lovers

Cape Cod in Winter: A Valentine’s Day Destination

Spend Valentine’s Day at a Cape Cod Bed and Breakfast

More Reasons to Visit the Cape This Winter

New Year’s Eve and Chocolate Fondue

Categories

Meta

Blogroll

Archives

Come on over to our Blogs!