On the East Coast Photo Tour, we found ourselves in Edenton, NC, at the awesome Granville Queen!

On our many travels to photograph our clients' Inns, we've see some really amazing homes, and the Granville Queen is no exception! The minute we drove up, our jaws dropped! This place is immaculate, the grounds, the rooms, the entire place was just so intriguing and inviting.

Veteran Innkeepers, Dora and Dave, were happy to show us around, the great room, the plantation porch, dining areas, sitting areas and the guest rooms, you could feel their warmth and see the twinkle in their eyes as they presented their place to us. They put us in a very large room on the second floor with great beds and bedding and plenty of room for us to set up the gear and computers.

As always, mornings are special as we get to the dining area early to shoot the breakfasts. The aromas were incredibly captivating as we set up on the very large and sunny plantation porch. Dora and Dave run things a tad different than usual, quite hands on, they even make their reservations the old fashion way, over the phone, direct contact, it's no wonder they get so many return guests.

The house is a work of art and the town of Edenton is really charming with lots of great restaurants and a cool little harbor complete with a park on the water for families to enjoy. Here is the great room with lots of space to spread out and relax. We fell in love with what they did with the ceiling lighting, so nice in the evenings.

The Granville Queen, which sits on the corner of Granville and Queen in Edenton, North Carolina, was a great experience... and Dave and Dora made us feel right at home and were right there if we needed anything. This is one place we will return to one fine day, and so should you!

http://www.granvillequeen.com/

WowiZowi does an East Coast Photographic Tour, Prospect Place in Cambridge, Mass

Wow, what a great spot, Cambridge, Mass, which is just across the river from downtown Boston, and home to Harvard and MIT. It was a major experience to photograph this wonderful house, with enough character to last the decades and then some! Prospect Place exceeded our expectations, and Eric and Judy have put heart and soul into retaining the integrity and feel of days gone by... while bringing in modern day convieniences.

The entrance reveals the timely staircase looking the same as it did decades ago, and just beyond is the dining room. The large main parlor is to the right, just inside the door.
And what a main parlor it is! Eric, a concert pianist, has this 100 year old, completely refurbished into mint condition, German Steinway Grand Piano in there. Anyone that knows me could easily guess, I had to sit at it as often as I could, what a great sounding instrument! We were lucky enough to witness Eric playing it one afternoon... and we were in heaven! That boy sure can play, shear brilliance!

Mornings are great at Prospect Place, you wake to the smell of breakfast cooking and the great coffee and teas. Eric and Judy prepare a different dish daily and you don't want to miss it! We couldn't wait to get to the dining room, get the shots and have our way with the French Toast and eggs! They don't let you go away hungry, you won't likely need to stop for lunch.

Eric and Judy are gracious hosts who really care about their Inn and the guests that come there from all over the world. They are very helpful with any informatin you might need and their restaurant reccommendations were amazing. When in the Boston/Cambridge area, stay at the Prospect Place! http://www.prospectpl.com/

It's back to Placerville... in the Gardens of Eden Vale!

I wonder if Mark and Gail ever sleep, they just keep building onto this over-a-hundred-year-old barn! They've done an amazing job building a modern, contemporary, luxury inn inside the old barn they bought decades ago in the foothill of the Sierra Nevada's. Attention to details and a great eye for what people are looking for in a retreat is their prime motivation. Here is the gigantic main living room with fire ablaze.

They have just added 5 new rooms, three on the ground floor of the barn house and two more over by the lake they've created on the property. We went out to shoot these new rooms and were blown away by their sheer elegance! Each has a private outdoor soaking tub and deck area to enjoy the majesty of the western Sierra's.

The new Madrone Room is very large with custom lighting, top of the line beds and bedding and all the modern amenities you could ask for, including WiFi everywhere!

Mark and Gail are very articulate in everything they do and it sure reflects in their rooms and gardens. You feel you are far, far from the noise and commotion of the city but with all the modern convieniences of a very high-end hotel... and, you actually are!

We love to return to Eden Vale and spend time with Mark and Gail, we do work hard to get the great shots, but it is so easy to relax in the Gardens of Eden Vale. Look for their new rooms when their new WowiZowi website goes live soon. www.edenvale.com

Aloha, WowiZowi gets back to Hawaii, to the Hawaiian Oasis!

The Hawaiian Oasis, let me say, the name fits perfectly! On the big Island on the Kona Coast, this oasis sits above Kailua and the great pacific... in a little slice of heaven in the jungle! A prefect location as you're a bit out of town, a 5 min drive away, but up here it's cooler and the views are exspansive and beautiful.
Peter and Darla have put their heart and soul into this special place, bringing in the modern but not leaving behind all the traditional hawaiiana that surrounds you. Darla put us in the Waterfall room, a huge room on the ground floor steps from the pool and amazing gardens.

The main room, on the second floor, is well equiped and with the great views. The dining area is large with an outside seating area to enjoy their awesome breakfasts and that good old Kona Coffee in the mornings.

We were sorry that we didn't get to meet Peter this trip, but we know we will in the near future when we return to photograph their other beautiful property down on the beach, just south of Kailua. Yeah, as you can guess, it was really difficut to hang out with these two beautiful blondes on the island of Hawaii, I'm sure you feel sorry for me, no?

We had an amazing experience at the Hawaiian Oasis, Darla was so much fun and had great ideas for some of the pictures we took. And what a great cook, as well, not only the breakfasts, but she treated us to some Hawaiian home cooking for dinners, too. Who could ask for more? Talk about a little slice of heaven... oh, yeah!

Visit the website at http://www.hawaiianoasis.com/ and if you're ever on the big island, go stay there, you'll be happy you did!

It's definitely posh... at Posh Palm Springs!

Back in Palm Springs again to shoot the Posh-y-est! Mike and Susan are constantly doing improvements to this place which they've already improved 500% since they first took over the building in north Palm Springs.
One great item we observed is an improvement to their breakfasts, they were always great, but this here one was extremely delicious!

They've also been working hard on a couple of their suites, wishing to accomadate requests from couples and families traveling together, putting two queen beds in two of the suites.

Always fun to hang out at Posh Palm Springs with Sue and Mike, they kept our energy level up with some major treats like this one!

Mike and Sue are still at it and we're looking forward to returning to the sunshine at Posh! Check out their site at http://www.poshpalmsprings.com/

Off WowiZowi goes again, back to the Napa Valley!

It's back to visit Dan and Candy at their Arbor Guest House as these guys are at it again, doing what they do so well, revitalizing this classic Napa home with contemporary styling. Always great to see them, they're such cheery innkeepers! .

We stood out in the street for an hour to get this night shot of the house just after dark.

As always, breakfast at the Arbor house was a major treat, they do do it right! I ate that egg souffle seconds after this shot! MmmmmMmmm!

We had absolutly beautiful days at the Arbor, and caught this one of the arbor itself. Great spot to sit and enjoy some of the famous Napa Valley wine in the afternoon sunshine!

The photos came out great and Dan, Candy and the whole staff were right there with anything we may have needed. And, you always get a great night sleep at the Arbor Guest House, their beds are amazingly comfortable! Check out their WowiZowi website at www.arborguesthouse.com

WowiZowi returns to Cape May, NJ for new Photos

Getting to hang out with Robyn and Wolfgang at the Rhythm of the Sea Inn is always an experience in itself, way too fun! They've been busy upgrading some of their rooms so we needed to get out there and update their room images. The weather was perfect and the views of the Atlantic were awesome, here's a shot from a second floor deck.

Here's the main room, looking through past the pool table and the enclosed front patio to the water beyond.

A secial treat is getting to eat one of Wolfgang's delicious breakfasts in their dining room. Always plenty of food on your plate and great conversation with the guests.


Here's one of the room shots, doing our best to feature the fact your steps away from the beach, and the sweet aroma of the breaking surf outside the window!


We had a great time, as we always do at Rhythm of the Sea, and their newly remodeled WowiZowi website is doing them quite well with the new pictures. Check them out at www.rhythmofthesea.com and watch for the sandpiper!