| August 2007 |
Vol 1, Issue 1 |
|
 |
A Whale of a Summer
Cedars Summer Newsletter - August 2007 |
|
|
| Dear
Guest, |
 What a summer it has been. We've enjoyed a record second quarter. Business has been excellent, the guests have been great and the area is basking in the glow of our now even more famous Jamestown!
Before we get into the newsletter, make sure you see our Whale of a Promotion below to win two free nights at the Cedars or valuable gift certificates. We wish you luck in hooking the big one!
Thanks to the hard work and planning of the Host Committee and hundreds of people, our 400 Jamestown celebration went way beyond any practical measures of success. Their efforts have made the Historic Triangle the spot to travel this year. Throughout the year, our guests mention hearing of the celebration through TV, press, print and word of mouth. They are, and continue to, be genuinely excited and enthusiastic about things to see and do here in Virginia's Historic Triangle.
In addition to the celebration, the Jamestown Island archaeology work (<-- Youtube overview)continues to yield extraordinary and interesting artifacts. Over the past few months, they have found a cash of weapons, a 17th century dress accessory and a early 1600s cellar is now being escavated. To keep up with their archaeology efforts, check out the Daily Press' website, Secrets in the Dirt website. You can also see the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities' Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project.
We have a lot of exciting news to share with you. We hope you had a wonderful summer and hope we get the chance to host you in Williamsburg very soon. |
|
 |
| Triangle Quick Links |
|
Cedars Links
Suggested Youtube Videos:
Travel referral sites:
Tripadvisor.com (#3 B&B)
Yahoo Travel (#1 Overall)
Bed and Breakfast.com
My Travel Guide.com
|
|
|
| The Historic Triangle Region's Economy is Hot! |
In 2004, Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee (WADMC) was created to represent and promote the Historic Triangle area as a premier tourism destination. WADMC's efforts are yielding high dividends to our tourism business by investing our collective tax dollars into new branding and marketing campaigns and promotional/event initiatives throughout the region. Each night's stay in Historic Triangle adds $2 to a marketing fund; totaling millions of dollars annually. The fund is managed by the Committee made up of representatives of each area jurisdiction as well as Anheiser Busch, Colonial Williamsburg and Virginia State Tourism Corporation. The impact of these investments are evidenced by the August 22nd Daily Press story citing a 15% increase in for June accommodations.
Tourism is not the only good news. The area is alive with growth, new business, interesting events and activities. Examples include:
- Williamsburg's New Town is nearing completion. It is a wonderfully designed mixed-use development with great shops and retail establishments on the first floor and apartments and condos on the second and third floors above them. Many new shops and retail outlets are now opened. The New Town 12 screen cinemaplex is the centerpiece and one of my favorites, the Corner Pocket. Our very own Virginia Gazette featured New Town's evolution in their August 22nd edition.
- The College of William & Mary has spent over $120M on new buildings, student living quarters, parking facilities and renovating their 1,800 seat Lake Matoka Amphitheater for summer concerts and plays. It is a 3 minute walk from the Cedars.
- The City of Williamsburg broke ground several months ago on our new High Street Project. When completed, it will offer three residential housing options: luxury apartment homes, townhomes and mid-rise condominiums. Williamsburg's High Street will be the place to live and shop.
- Money Magazine rated Williamsburg as one of the top five places to retire and many are heeding that advice. We've hosted at least 30 couples in the last two months who are considering moving to the area. The word is out. If you are considering Williamsburg as your retirement destination, we'd suggest looking into:
- The Williamsburg Landing - a wonderfully appointed continuing care community with spa and a variety of care options
- Kingsmill Resort - located on the James River with world-class golf, attractions and manicured gardens and landscaping
- Governor's Land at Two Rivers - offers richly appointed homes and select home sites each bordering water, tidal marshlands, golf fairways, meadowland, or mature forests
- Fords Colony - voted #1 master-planned community in America
- Colonial Heritage - the premier active adult golf community in Williamsburg
- Windsor Meade - you'll find a distinctive, new continuing care retirement community: location, programming and choice make this an ideal community for life-fulfilling retirement
For up-to-date economic development information, we suggest visiting:
If you have more questions, or would like to know more about the area, send Bob an email. |
| Tom Wharton - Salt Lake City Tribune |
 So there we were, 400 year anniversary upon us. The Cedars was full of happy and enthusiastic travelers and then, the call! Tom & Beverly Wharton are coming to town and they want to stay at the Cedars. Tom is a Reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune's Outdoors and Travel Desk. They were coming to town to experience first-hand all the special events and activities that is Jamestown's 400th anniversary.
He published a story of his Jamestown experience several weeks ago and decided to do a separate and very complimentary story about their Cedars visit. He is pictured here with his wife, Beverly, and their Williamsburg hostess, Kate Hoving from the Williamsburg Alliance. A good time was had by all. We look forward to their next visit. |
| The Ultimate Fish Story - Time for another contest! |
 Some of you may recall our vain search for Jimmy Hoffa last year when he didn't show up at that barn in Michigan. We shared with you a photo documentary of our efforts. Interestingly enough, yet another underground adventure has turned up a interesting piece of prehistoric history. During an escavation, we actually found what now appears to be a fossilized whale bone!
The first time we did was to contact authorities. When they arrived, I assured them that I checked our database and found to have no missing guests! I'm not sure they took comfort with that but they did file a report and take the bone. After a review, they forwarded the bone to the College of William & Mary.
The bone is approximately 18 inches in length, 3 inches wide and weights about 4-5 pounds. It appears to have turned completely to stone. According to experts at the College of William and Mary, the fossilization process combined with the whale's rib bone suggest this whale lived between 1,000,000 - 5,000,000 years ago.
The "Yorktown Formation" is part of one of the best areas in eastern North America to study fossil records - and the faunal, climate and changes evidenced by it - is the Coastal Plain of Virginia. For more information, see the Virginia Explorer's Spring 1998 story, Virginia's Prehistoric Sea Creatures written by Lauch Ward (3MB pdf.)
Want to have a Whale of a time in Williamsburg...for free! See our Whale of a promotion below. |
| Bob Finishes 11th in Virginia State 9-ball Tourney |
 After 30 years, Bob dusted off his billiard cue (actually one he borrowed) to compete in the state's 9-ball tournament in Richmond. The event was held July 28th and 29th and had a field of 128. Bob went undefeated the first day, winning all three of his matches. The format was a double-elimination, race to 9 games.
He returned Sunday to play for the title but was knocked out after two rounds of play by opponents who finished in first and third. He had won a slot to play in the Richmond tournament by winning a tournament sponsored by Williamsburg's own Corner Pocket three weeks prior to the event. 11th place paid $50 and everyone enjoyed the competition. |
| Help Wanted - Part Time Innkeeper |
| Do you like people? Do you live in the Williamsburg area? Are you looking for something part time where you can make money and meet interesting people from around the world and host them during their visit to our area? If the answers to these questions are yes, contact the Cedars so we can discuss your interests.
Innkeeper duties include making room reservations, meet & greet guests, assist guests with reservations, activities, etc., exceed guest expections. Minimum qualifications include HS diploma or GED, some front desk or guest relations experience, ability to handle cash and credit card transactions, scheduling flexibility, excellent public and interpersonal skills, ability to handle guest interactions effectively with tact and diplomacy, works well with others, average or above-average computer skills...Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, Access, Outlook. Dependable, flexible hours with reliable transportation.
Starting rate: $8.00 to $9.00/hour. Working hours 7a - 2p or 2p - 10p on weekdays, weekends and holidays.
Contact Bob or Grace for more information. |
| New Photo Tours - Shirley Plantation & Virginia Living Museum |
| Our collection of photo tours include:
Our newest collections are:
- Virginia Living Museum Photo Tour - featuring native animals and plants, an aviary, a nature trail, a planetarium and observatory, and a discovery center; focused on the life and earth sciences. See more about the museum at their website - http://www.thevlm.org/
- Shirley Plantation Photo Tour - is Virginia's first plantation (1613) and one of the first economic engines of the new world. Only six years after John Smith's settlement at Jamestown, the crown grant carving Shirley Plantation out of the Virginia frontier was established. See more about the plantation at their website - http://www.shirleyplantation.com/
You can travel to and from Williamsburg back to Route 95 via Route 5. Route 5 runs parallel to Route 64 and much more scenic. You can pick up Route 5 about 5 miles south of the Route 64 exit and enjoy a plantation or two on the way.
We also have a map to enjoy a day that combines Jamestown and one or two of the James River Plantations, ending the day with a free car-ferry ride across the James River and back to the Cedars. See our map for details. |
| Cedars Hosted Event & Wedding Photo Albums |
 As is our tradition, we want to share photos of the many special events hosted at the Cedars. We have linked to photo tours of all of the events we've hosted since our last newsletter. Be sure to see the many memories of Cedars gatherings. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
|
| Whale of a Cedars Promotion - Free two night stay |
A prehistoric whale bone on the property! I'll bet we'll find more whales on the Cedars website and in doing so you would win a free two night stay. We have placed these four different whale pictures (shown left and below) on our website. The pictures may be in the text or photos areas of the site. One copy of these four pictures are in each of the five sections of our website. If you find all four photos in any one of the five sections ( Cedars, Our Rooms, Guest Events, The Area, or Packages,) send us an email with the full web address of each photo's location. If you get them correct, you will have a chance to win a free, two-night stay at the Cedars. We promise that you will not have to sleep with the fishes. The contest runs until October 15th. We will take the names of everyone who correctly identified the four correct web pages via email ( reservations@cedarsbandb.com Subj: Whale of a Contest) and place them into a hat. The winner will be announced in our holiday newsletter. Two runners-up will each receive $50 Cedars gift certificates. Good luck and enjoy your virtual whale watch. Contest rules:
- One entry per family
- Reservations subject to availability
- Prizes redeemable for a period of one year
- Prize redemption subject to black-out periods for holidays and three-day weekends
- Contest ends 15 October 2007.
Individual photos to find -
| |
|
|
Grace & I and the staff really enjoy bringing you all the latest at the Cedars. We hope we get to see you again at our front door very soon. As always, we wish you the very best and sincerely thank you for your referrals, support and patronage.
Sincerely,
|
Grace & Bob Tubbs and the Cedars Staff
Cedars of Williamsburg Bed & Breakfast |
|
|
