Post #19137 by Sabina on Sun, Jan 12, 2003 11:57 AM

Thought I'd pull a few bits about Vera's from "Maryland's Vanishing Lives". There's a wonderful black and white picture of Vera and two pages of text- I'll pull out just a couple small parts-

"Aloha and welcome to a Polynesian fantasy in a South Seas setting, where frozen cocktails are served with swizzle sticks that pop open to form paper umbrellas. Unsuspecting boaters navigating historic St. Leonard Creek, off the Patuxent River, come upon a hillside of banana trees and feel as if they've slipped into some kind of Bermuda Triangle.

The restaurant's thatched rood has been replaced, but the interior still has a reed ceiling held up by bamboo poles and is crowed with ornate chairs and tables, marble statuary, carved Polynesian figures, ponderous antiques, Oriental umbrellas hanging from the ceiling, curiosities, bric-a-brac, peacock feathers- and cozy nooks from romantic dining.

Vera Freeman, who does not discuss her age ("What's the point?" she asks), lives next door to her restaurant and marina in "Vera's Villa", her own version of an all white Taj Mahal with a swimming pool in the middle of her marble-floored living room."

and

""I love being surrounded by all these beautiful objects," she says pointing out the object's d'art (labeled "The Freeman Collection") that she has assembled during decades of compulsive shopping trips to exotic ports on formal cruise ships such as Cunard's QE2, on which she is a regular.

This trip to Never-Never Veraland started when she left her native Montana for Hollywood sometime before World War II. But instead of finding fame and stardom as a chorus girl, she fell in love with the wealthy "Doc" Freeman, known then as the "Optometrist to the stars." Eventually, they left Hollywood for the cruising life aboard large, crewed motor yachts- all of them named the "White Sands". During one of these cruises in the early 1950's they discovered, and fell in love with, beautiful St. Leonard Creek. They bought hundreds of acres, filled in a shoreline with tons of white sand (all long since washed away), opened a private marina and clubhouse, and called it the White Sands Yacht Club."

The full length article, is well worth the read- lots more detail, (particularly about her magical evening appearances to the sound of a gong!) but the above is sort of a feel for the place and a little of the history. Apparently Vera's was once a serious destination for the Yachting set.

Finally, here's another set of pictures of her marina dock and home- http://www.his.com/~vann/KrgStuff/Summer01/summer01-3.htm from the Creek.