NEW YEAR'S EVE, 2010-11 at the Channel Bass Inn on Chincoteague Island, VA.

We intend to stay on the Island for Christmas and New Year so would be very happy to see you! We thank you so much for another successful year and for the opportunity to be your hosts, and we look forward to our next season, our 20th!


New Photo of the Garden

The Inn will be open for New Years Celebrations on December 30th, 31st, January 1st and 2nd. (We would prefer a 3-night stay, if possible.) If you think you’d like to celebrate New Year’s with us at the Channel Bass Inn, we’d love to hear from you! We are offering a delicious buffet supper, including wine and champagne, at $50.00 per person.

View of The Gardens From The Front Porch Window

We send you our very best wishes for a wonderful Holiday Season, and a healthy, safe and prosperous 2011.

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

Call 1-757-336-6148 to check availability and reserve your room, we’d love to hear from you!

Barbara's Recipe Corner December 2010 - World Famous Chile Cheese Egg Bake

WORLD FAMOUS CHILE CHEESE EGG BAKE

This will feed 15 people:

I use a large Pyrex dish - probably 13 x 9 inches.

Mix the following ingredients together:

16 eggs
1 x 1lb tub of non-fat sour cream (or you can use light, if you prefer)
** 13 oz chopped chilies (I buy the large cans from the wholesalers)
but you may only find small ones in the grocery store!)
6 - 8 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I use Monterey Jack and Cheddar blend)
Approx.25 good shakes of Louisiana Hot Sauce
Salt and black pepper to taste
(I also add crushed red pepper for extra zip!!)
** lately I have been using the whole can, i.e. 1 lb 12 oz

(I have increased the cheese and probably everything else 'cos I think it's better this way)!!

You prepare the Pyrex dish by splitting approx. 5 English muffins and buttering them well. Place them upside down in the dish and pour the mixture over them. (You may want to fill in the gaps with bits and pieces of English muffins, but you won't need more than 6).

You don't need to pre-heat the oven. Bake at approx. 350 Fahrenheit for about 1 hour (might take longer if the dish is smaller, and the egg bake is deeper). Watch out for the middle - it always takes a little longer than the edges. I turn the egg-bake around half-way through baking so that it's browned evenly.

ENJOY!

January in Toronto, Wisconsin, New York, and Getting Practical Back on Chincoteague

In January, we visited our oldest friends Angie and Jeff in Toronto, and absolutely froze. Apparently we “enjoyed” some of the coldest weather they had had in a long time. But, hey, we love that city. We were delighted to be able to see the exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Royal Ontario Museum. Just in time since the exhibit moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin the very next day.

New Croton Dam in Croton-on-Hudson, Westchester County NY.

On the drive back to Chincoteague we made our usual stopovers with friends and family in Croton-on-the-Hudson, NY and Falls, PA (with the additional treat of a lunch in New Jersey with friends from Manhattan, NY.)

Instead of our usual flight to warmer climes, namely Florida, we decided to be practical! Our little house on Clark Street had just been painted on the outside, but the inside of the house was in great need of a spruce-up. We knew our British friend Corinne was very handy with a paint-pot and brush and she agreed to help. Six weeks later we had painted the house from top to bottom, (actually from bottom to top!) and had replaced all the carpets. Barbara even painted furniture!

All our very best,

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

March in Virginia, Phoenix and California!

In March we visited daughter Nina and her husband Michael in Blacksburg, VA and from there drove to BWI to fly SouthWest to Phoenix. AZ. David’s sister Jean and her husband Burt live in Gold Canyon, just east of there. We made a quick road trip to Southern California to visit Barbara’s cousin Ruby in Indian Wells, and then on to Irvine to meet up with our San Franciscan friend Debbie who traveled south to meet us. (Debbie is Barbara’s traveling companion when David doesn’t want to leave home!) David’s cousin Peg and her husband Bob live in Rancho Palos Verdes, so we managed to squeeze in an overnight stay with them in their gorgeous home with terrific views of the Pacific.

Fondly,

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

New Colours!

April brought us back to reality, and back to work!

Showing Off The New Colours!

If you have looked at our website lately, you’ll probably notice that the Channel Bass Inn is looking very lovely. She is now painted in four colours ~ the body is a light(ish) green, with paler green shutters, white windows and a “sweet rosy brown” trim.

Barbara on Assateague Island with 'arry the Londoner wot painted the Channel Bass Inn (Barbara on Assateague Island with Harry The Londoner Who Painted The Channel Bass Inn;)

The Front Porch - Showing Off The New Colours

The colours were chosen by our dear friend, Cathy, a long-time guest at the Channel Bass, and we think they are just absolutely perfect. Harry, the painter, originally from the London area, spent almost 3 months on this project, from May 11th through August 2nd, removing all the ivy, repairing every piece of wood, (including the two fire escapes,) doing everything that was needed to be done before starting on the painting. During that time he took only 3 days off, worked through the sweltering heat of the summer, maintaining his body fluids with enormous mugs of tea, jugs of water, and numerous cans of Coors Light. Thank you so much, Harry. You did a wonderful job!

Many Thanks,

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

Friends Carol and Chuck to the Rescue!

Newlyweds - Diana and Jan

When we needed to be in Chicago at the end of August for our niece Diana Wiedenheft’s marriage to Jan Kuebler, our friends Carol and Chuck Kalmykow, formerly Chincoteague innkeepers, came to our rescue. They flew from Sarasota, FL into Norfolk, VA where we picked them up (at the same time seeing our friend Debbie off, back to San Francisco) and drove them up to Chincoteague.

Looking North from the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building, Chicago, IL. (8/27/2010)

Two days later we drove back down to Norfolk to take our flight to Chicago. Diana and Jan were married on Friday, August 27th.The reception was held on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building and they now live happily ever after in Zurich, Switzerland.

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

Congratulations Lt. Michael! Many Thanks to Chuck, Carol, Maggie and Gunnar!

The day after the wedding in Chicago we found ourselves back on the island, and we were happy to learn that our experienced innsitters had been taking care of our guests in a most commendable manner. On the following Wednesday, September 1st, we took Chuck and Carol back to the airport, at the same time getting on a flight ourselves to Columbus, Georgia. You may be wondering why. Well, our son-in-law Michael was graduating OCS (Officer Candidate School) from Fort Benning the next day, September 2nd (Barbara’s birthday actually!). That was an event to be remembered, and we were so glad we could be there for Michael.


2nd Lt. pinning ceremony. , Fort Benning, Columbus, GA. September 2nd, 2010. From left to right: Jimmy Hickman (father), 2nd Lt. Michael Hickman and daughter Nina Hickman

You may be wondering who was taking care of the Inn at that time, since you know that Carol and Chuck were back in Sarasota. Well, Barbara’s twin sister Maggie and her husband Gunnar took over for us. (Everyone in this business should have a clone!) This was the beginning of Labor Day weekend, so we couldn’t stay away too long. Hurricane Earl decided to get to Chincoteague just before we did, but luckily didn’t interfere either with our flight home on September 3rd, or with our guests’ desire to get away for the long weekend.

Fondly,

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

Southern Living Magazine September 2010

In September we were very fortunate to be written up in that month’s edition of “Southern Living”(see our website to read the article). Both September and October proved to be record-setting months for the Channel Bass Inn and we are very grateful to the writer of that article, Christie Findlay.

Thank you,

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

October with Pamela, David and Nina

In October our UK cousins Pamela and David Mason visited us ~ always a treat! They were not able to be with us for our daughter Nina’s wedding last year, so we drove out to Blacksburg, VA to visit her. Unfortunately hubbie 2nd Lt. Michael was at Fort Benning, so we didn’t get to see him, but had a lot of fun with Nina and her black lab, Lane (named for the Hokie Stadium, of course!)

Fondly,

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

Reunion and Auntie Betty’s 90th Birthday in the UK

Reunion in Aberford, Yorkshire 11-13-10. You can find Barbara 3rd on the left, and David 3rd on the right!

In November, we flew to the UK for Barbara’s Auntie Betty’s 90th birthday party and for a reunion of “kids” who used to hang out at Auntie Betty’s home in Leeds so many years ago. It’s like this: Auntie Betty has 2 children, Linda and Franklin. Linda and Barbara were best friends, Franklin and Barbara’s brother Anthony were best friends, and Franklin was Barbara’s boyfriend from the age of 11 to 15! And there was Leon who was Franklin and Anthony’s best friend also. Maggie, Barbara’s twin sister, was always around. And let’s not forget Judy, Anthony’s girlfriend at the time. So we were friends then, and we are still friends. Fourteen of us (original players plus spouses) had an unforgettably memorable reunion in the White Swan Hotel in Aberford, Yorkshire, a beautiful little village just outside Leeds.

Leon and Judy meet up again after more than 40 years!

Betty’s 90th birthday was celebrated the next day ~ she had no idea that Barbara and David, and Maggie and Gunnar would be able to make it from the States, and she was surprised, and delighted!

Barbara and David with a Bagpiper in Edinburgh Scotland

While in the UK we visited with friends and family in Hertfordshire, West Sussex, Surrey, Cheshire, Lancashire, Leeds, Edinburgh (by train) and West London, with a two-day trip to the Netherlands in-between to visit friends in Zeist and Driebergen. (If you read our previous Newsletter, you may remember that we visited with our dear friend Mech last November. Unfortunately Mech passed away in March at the age of 92, and we miss her so very much.)

Goose Bay, Newfoundland Through The Plane Window

To make our return flight to Chicago and Norfolk really interesting, three passengers had checked in, but didn’t show for the flight. Their luggage had to be removed before we could take off, causing an hour’s delay. Two hours later there was a medical emergency on board. Unfortunately, a passenger was having seizures and needed urgent hospital treatment. So now we know what Goose Bay, Newfoundland, looks like! Our landing at Chicago was further delayed by storms, causing us to circle around Wisconsin for a while, before eventually landing at our destination ~ 3 hours late for our connecting flight though! We arrived at midnight at our hotel in Norfolk, after a 17 hour journey!

Fondly,

Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room

On the way home from Norfolk, we stopped by the Eastern Shore Animal Hospital to pick up our sweet cat, Betty (no relation to Auntie Betty by the way) who had managed somehow to break a leg just as we were putting our bags in the car to leave on our UK/Holland trip! Betty had spent 14 days at the hospital, recovering from having a pin put in her leg. The lovely Portuguese veterinarian, Dr Nuno, actually sent me an email, plus photo, while we were in the UK, to assure me that she was doing well. In fact, Betty now has a “CERTIFICATE OF BRAVERY” pinned on the wall, above her bed, which she received from the hospital. She knows that she is confined to the indoors for the next 5 weeks, and is a marvelous patient.

Betty after the op! Get me out of here!

Fondly,
Barbara and David
The Channel Bass Inn Bed and Breakfast & Tea Room