It’s a glorious September evening as my wife, Sonya, and I arrive at Easton’s Promise. The sun is setting and a cool breeze rustles the oaks and zelkova trees in front of the house along Goldsborough Street. Innkeeper Carla Cronin and her English springer spaniel, Lucky—all floppy ears and big brown eyes—meet us at the door. Carla invites us into the house’s parlor, with its comfortable chairs and couch, perfect for relaxing in front of the fireplace or watching a movie on the TV—the only television in the house.
Carla used to travel the globe planning meetings between the world’s most powerful bankers. Now she deals with the logistics of running a five-bedroom inn. “Traveling the world gave me good insight as to what a traveler looks for as far as comfort,” she says. “I also understand how to juggle the needs of ten people at once.”
The Victorian-style house was built in 1890 and first owned by John Jump, who ran the largest dry- goods store on the Eastern Shore at the time. (“I didn’t want to call it the “Jump In,” our hostess quips.)
It stayed in the Jump family until the 1950s, when Henry Purdy, the longtime Easton mayor, bought it. After Purdy sold it, it changed hands a number of times and then housed offices until Carla purchased it in June 2002. Renovations were complete by last spring. She opened Easton’s Promise in May.
Her bed and breakfast is a welcome addition to the town. Located in the heart of the historic district, the inn makes a good base from which to explore nearby shops and restaurants.
Carla alerts us that our night in Easton coincides with First Fridays, when all the town’s galleries stay open late and serve wine and cheese. After a brief tour of our room, we hit Harrison Street, popping into galleries and then over to South Washington Street where a bluegrass band is playing in the park behind the Historical Society of Talbot County’s museum. We end up eating wood-fired pizza at Out of the Fire, which is abuzz with as much activity as any restaurant in Washington or Baltimore. (The restaurant is an appropriate choice, as Carla later informs us as it was once the site of Jump’s dry-goods store.)
Back at the inn, we creep upstairs to our room, the Governor’s Retreat, named for Governor Phillips Lee Goldsborough, who held office between 1912 and 1916. The room is large enough to have its own sitting area and a plush queen-size, four-poster bed so tall we both need to use a footstool to climb on top. Its walls are a soothing celery green that go well with the light yellow bedspread and chintz curtains,
handsewn by Carla.
It’s these little touches that make Easton’s Promise hold so much, well, promise: a small vase of fresh yellow mums on the desk, bottled water, Q-Tips and cotton balls in the spacious bathroom, and an in-room refrigerator. The only downside to our evening is the noise of traffic along Goldsborough Street. Light sleepers might want to choose another room.
The breakfast room is the most formal in the house, with its crimson walls and silver tea service on a mahogany sideboard. After a three-course breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs Benedict Florentine (eggs Benedict on a bed of spinach), and a delicious cream puff, Carla gives us the grand tour.
Each room has its own name and theme. The Ellen Showell Room, named for Gov. Goldsborough’s wife, is the most feminine of the bunch with its flowery pictures and taupe walls. The Thaddeus Lowe Room, named after the Yankee spy who used a balloon to spy on enemy troops, has walls painted a sky blue with clouds, crowned by a wood slat ceiling. (It was once a screened-in porch.) The Garden Room, which overlooks the backyard garden, has a playful jungle theme: mounted walrus tusks, monkey-pattern curtains, and a special surprise—a murphy bed. “I’m not a Victorian B&B,” Carla makes clear on the tour. “I didn’t want to be stuffy. I wanted to be fun.”
Carla, who speaks often of her nephew, reminds me of a favorite aunt. Her easygoing style and good humor clearly come across in her new B&B. “I’ve always loved to entertain,” she says. “But now I’m having breakfast parties, not dinner parties.”
Easton’s Promise
107 Goldsborough St.
410-820-9159
http://www.eastonspromise.com
Rates: $150 to $165. Two-night minimum for some rooms.
Reduced rates available weekdays during winter.
