Saturday, July 21, 2007

Fireside Chats -- From Doo Wop to Populist History

One of the advantages of owning the Blue Shutters is making new friends among the guests who visit. Some of the best times come at the end of the day, when we settle into conversations. This week, those conversations ranged from doo wop music to populist history. I don't know for sure, but my quess is we had two preeminent doo wop experts with us -- complete with CDs, DVDs and scrap books featuring famous doo wop artists. These folks -- who hail from New Jersey -- are also into the history of Cape Ann, and we have insightful conversations about the many interesting places and people of the region.

Last night over "al fresco" wine and cheese with some guests from central Massachusetts, we covered a range of topics -- haunted houses, favorite cocktails and populist history (did you know Winston Churchill and Woodrow Wilson are thought by many to be major league bigots?).

We look forward to many more days and nights like this, learning more about our guests -- and subjects like these -- in conversations around the front room, by the outdoor fireplace or on the front steps overlooking the beach

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Some New Views -- Thanks to Blue Shutters Guests

First off, sorry we've gone blog-quiet these past few weeks -- but soon after launching this blog effort, life around the Blue Shutters got VERY busy. We've had a great time with our guests, and it seems clear that those guests have had a great time -- on Good Harbor Beach, around downtown Gloucester, and at parties and local events. One of those guests was Peter Hennessey, who was in Gloucester for a family wedding. While Peter was here, he took some beautiful photos of the Inn, the beach and one of the innkeepers (a cute shot of Ed Comer). We thank Peter for sharing these with us -- and allowing us to share them with others. These pictures are up on our website, on the photo album page. There are other contributed pictures on the website -- from members of the Topaz Partners PR team. Topaz (the PR firm I run when I'm not helping out around the Inn) had an offsite meeting at the Shutters and a few folks brought cameras along. We hope you enjoy these pictures -- and we invite others to pass along their memories (picture and words) of their experiences at the Inn for all to enjoy.