HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE TED!

Hi everyone,

Uncle Ted was suprised at his birthday weekend get-a-way to Capy May. We had a really nice weekend with some great meals and a quick trip up to Atlantic City. We both won a little money playing the slot machines!! Enough to pay for lunch and dinner.

We stayed in a restored hotel in Cape May called Congress Hall. It originally opened in 1816 but was destroyed by fire in 1878. Within a year, the owners rebuilt the hotel, this time in brick rather than wood. The hotel and Cape May proved so popular that they became a summer vacation spot for the nation's presidents including Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan. President Benjamin Harrison made Congress Hall his "summer White House" and conducted the affairs of state from the hotel.

The famous 19th Century composer John Philip Sousa also loved Congress Hall. After conducting concerts on Congress Hall's lawn with his Marine Corps band throughout the season in 1882 he composed a march in honor of the hotel, the "Congress Hall March". The hotel then became a Bible College and eventually turned back into a hotel during the early 1900's. In 1995 it got a huge face lift and has been thriving ever since. We were so excited to stay there. It is home of the Blue Pig Tavern for which this website is named. It's our favorite place to eat in Cape May.

Happy Birthday Ted!!

Love ya,

Uncle Shawn