Winery Cooking Classes

The local winery has these great cooking classes. The winery itself has been remodeled and the new owners are just fantastic. The new owners put in a test kitchen where local chefs can come in and teach their craft to those of us that like cooking and wine. Bettina is always looking for food to pair with the wines and with the price of the class you are offered several different wines to try with all the foods. The class started at 11:00am and went to 2:00pm. I was not quite ready to start drinking wine at 11:00am, but by the end of the class, I had tried all the samples that were there.The class was full of interesting people and the discussions were fun. My Inn, Camden Windward House would really like to support this winter time activity. We offer our guests, when coming to town for this class, a 5% discount on room rate along with a complimentary bottle of the Local wine upon arrival. The class ticket is $50.o0 and is an additional fee. The next class is at the end of March - check our site for details and reserve a room. It is a nice weekend getaway.

Spring Is Coming

The snow is starting to melt here in Camden Maine. The birds are starting to come out and the sun is rising a lot earlier. Camden Maine is almost the eastern most point of the US and the sun comes up very early. Here at the Inn, we are preparing for another busy summer. We purchased new washers and dryers (LG), put new floors into some of the bathrooms and painted some walls. But much more is needed before you can host over 1,900 people for the summer. Basically a strategic plan is needed to make all go well. Jesse and I have owned the Inn now for 3 years and just starting to understand how this place works. We are evaluating our vendors, considering going "green" for the summer and updating our website so that our guests can use it as a useful tool in planning their trip to Camden.
One of the things that I very excited about to be able to offer our guests this season is an upgrade on our sheets. We have always had nice sheets on beds but now we have upgraded some of our sheets to 500 thread count. I was reading a trip advisor posting about our Inn and they labeled it "I think they iron their sheets". She is right we do iron the sheets. Does anyone do that at home? In fact I complain to the other Innkeepers about how much time we spend ironing sheets - and most just laugh at me and say "you do what? I just hand iron them when they come out of the dryer". Which might be ok for some, but to have a nice ironed sheet is luxury. I can't really complain about the ironing because my husband actually does the ironing. He plugs in his computer, puts a movie in - in front of him, and watches while he irons. He also sometimes puts in a book on CD to help get him through this tedious task. He never complains, I think he finds it meditative. Hope all of you are starting to enjoy the thaw. Get those chores done!

Skowhegan: Maine's maple syrup season begins

One of the things we anxiously wait for here in Camden is the Maple Syrup to start flowing and this morning - we got the news. Stay posted for local events that celebrate March Maple Sunday!

Windward House Bed and Breakfast uses only Maine Maple syrup for breakfast. We also have a great package March in the Mud

The best way to deal with the Mud is to get out and enjoy it. Better yet, hiking in the mud provides that little extra exercise one might need to get that winter weight off. Package includes:

2 night stay in a warm and dry fireplace suite, Mid Coast Maine Hiking book, local hiking trail maps and bubble bath for that bath you will need when you come in from your muddy adventure.

-prices start at 325.00 Package is available the months of March, April and May.

Quoted from http://bangornews.com:

Skowhegan: Maine's maple syrup season begins

SKOWHEGAN, Maine— When conditions are just right — mild days, cool nights — the sap flows and Maine’s maple syrup season begins.

The season can start anytime between mid-February and late March, but whenever the sap is ready this year, producers are hoping for one thing: a season that will break the three-year trend of a downturn in production.

The USDA reported that New England temperatures last year were 60 percent too cool, 21 percent too warm and 19 percent favorable during the season.

Bob Moore of Bob’s Sugar House in Dover-Foxcroft is looking forward to a more productive season this year.

"Last year was bad," he said. "But there is no way to know what will happen this spring. It all depends on Mother Nature."

Moore said many producers, including himself, have already started tapping their trees even though the flow has not started yet.

The good thing about the marketplace is that supply and demand balance each other. Because syrup supplies were down last season, producers got a higher price for their product.

To herald the syrup season and celebrate the millions of dollars it brings to the state’s economy, Maine Maple Sunday is celebrated this year on March 23, with many sugarhouses opening for business and providing entertainment and samples for visitors.

In central Maine, the town of Skowhegan has adopted the maple syrup season as cause for a week full of fun.

Innkeeper Launches Destination Wedding Site

 

Innkeeper Launches Destination Wedding Site

nnkeeper Launches Destination Wedding Site Camden Maine Newest Wedding DestinationContributed by Kristen Bifulco 2008-02-24

Camden — Camden, ME February 24, 2008 -- Kristen Bifulco, owner and innkeeper of the Camden Windward House B&B in mid-coast Maine, has launched a destination wedding website, Mycamdenwedding.com.

The new website assists brides in planning a wedding in Camden, one the most photographed coastal villages in Maine-popularly known as the Jewel of the Maine Coast.

The site features four signature, wedding packages unique to the natural surroundings of Camden: Ocean View Weddings, Mountain Top Weddings, Coastal Garden Weddings and B&B Weddings.

Ocean View Weddings feature ceremonies aboard a schooner, in front of a lighthouse, on the beach or at the yacht club. Bridal parties can choose to dine aboard ship or picnic on an island with a Maine lobster bake.

For a Mountain Top Wedding, couples exchange vows atop 1300 foot, Mt. Battie with views of the harbor and downeast to Cadillac Mountain. The summit is home to the famous "kissing rock" from the classic movie, "Payton Place" and a verse from Camden's romantic poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay, carved in the granite. An elopement mountain venue includes Maiden's Cliff overlooking Lake Megunticook or the summit of Ragged Mountain with vistas to Penobscot Bay.

The Coastal Garden Wedding packages feature private gardens, Harbor Park and the Bok Amphitheater at the head of the harbor, and the Vesper Children's Chapel in Rockport overlooking Penobscot Bay. The village foot bridge at Tannery Lane with its cascading waterfall and flowering shrubs is a favorite spot for wedding photos.

A B&B Wedding is for bridal parties desiring privacy after a ceremony at a white-steepled church or backyard garden. Camden is home to twelve premier inns, most of which are listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. The Bifulco's Camden Windward House Inn is an 1854 Victorian home with Greek Revival features. It is nearby the Bok Amphitheater and the trailhead to Mount Battie. A July 7, 2007 wedding at the Windward House was recently mentioned in a New York Times vacation escape article. The bride had reserved the Windward House B&B sight unseen.

. Mycamdenwedding.com offers wedding planning tools and advice, access to local wedding services, wedettiquette, honeymoon and mini-moon packages.

Says mycamdenwedding.com developer, Gen X-er Kristen Bifulco, "When my husband and I got married, this is what we were looking for. We were turned off by big halls. We ended up celebrating our wedding with a tent in my brother-in-law's backyard garden. It would have been great if it were a weekend affair in a charming coastal New England town."

The wedding destination site is on-line at www.mycamdenwedding.com or Kristi at bnb@windwardhouse.com or 1-877-492-9656.

Bare Foot in the Snow

The Windward House is surviving another Maine winter. The 2007- 2008 winter season is intense. We have seen several feet of snow, below freezing temperatures and lots of ice. I am always surprised that not everything in this house does not freeze. The house was built in 1854 and was originally a private residence but then was made a rooming house for lobster men in the area. About 25 years ago the Windward House was finally made into a Bed and breakfast, of course still welcoming lobster man - when they are in the neighborhood. One special boat man comes from Australia every year and stays at Windward House with us for sometimes months on end (mind you never in the winter!!). The past owners have really put a lot of love into this house. The original clap board on the front of the house was taken off and insulated and double windows were put on. The insulation, which I find rather funny, was not for heating purposes, but to soundproof the front of the house from the noise of the street. Jesse and I are sometimes hesitant to tell people this because it may imply that Rt 1 is noisy, which to us, coming from NY, it is far from noisy. But, some might notice the occasional truck or traffic in the front. There is no other Inn on Rt1 that can offer this amenity - that of a quite in-town room.
Anyway, being an Innkeeper in the winter is a job and a half, and has a very high stress level. It is our constant job to clean away snow, make sure ice is not unbearable and unsafe, pray that pipes do not freeze and oh yah, always make sure the 100 year old furnace is working.
Couples have been coming to Windward this winter, some to look for a summer house, some for a private getaway, some for toboggan weekend, some to ski and others looking for the perfect wedding venue. Windward House has stayed warm, thank goodness, for all the great winter guests. I think it is only technically half way through the winter. The Windward House is now offering a great Bare foot in the Winter package - so if you want to come and see how the old house is holding up in the winter, please call and make a reservation. The package is $99.00 room rate and a bottle of Bare foot champagne upon arrival. The package is good for any of the fireplaces rooms, excluding Quarterdeck Room.

Thank you to our guests

I once went to an "Innkeeper Course" and learned little things here and there about Innkeeping. There is a lot to this job, much more than baking cookies and decorating (which I have to say are the fun things). At this course they discussed marketing, networking and the talent of book keeping and reservation organization. There was also a discussion on how to know if you are doing all these things, including the baking and decorating, correct. The woman at the seminar said, if after you give your guest a bill and they say "thank you", then you know you did all things right. Since then I anxiously waited to hear thank you from my guests, kind of a validation to my efforts. Well, everyone has said thank you and I think they always did say thank you. Bed and Breakfasts guests are generally really cool and polite people. But just a couple of weeks ago, I received this really neat thank you in an email. A really nice couple in the state of Washington, whom came back to the Windward House to celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary (they honeymooned here in 1997) wrote a blog entry about us http://creaturebug.typepad.com/creature_bug/2008/01/a-love-project.html .
I was so happy to read this blog that has been put out into cyberspace. It even has sent us some business. So many of our guests have written nice things about us on Trip Advisor and similar sites. We even enjoy when guests call us to say hello, or ask about the leaky roof problem we had (which by the way Chris with the peacokes, is finally fixed, carpenter put nail through floors radian heat) , or just to check in to see how things are. We also receive a lot of hand written letters from our guests that are always a welcomed surprise. Jesse and I really appreciate all our guests kind words. We have the best job. To our guests, I wish there was a website that I could go and proclaim what great people you are, but to date there isn't, so here it goes - Thank you, Thank you , Thank you, Thank you for making my business a home and happy place - you all are the best.

The Last Leaf Fell

I didn't realize how much I would dread the end of fall before I moved to Maine. The Camden Windward House Bed and Breakfast is an acre in- town property that has lots of trees. I kept asking my husband to go out and rake the leaves but he said - "I'm not doing anything until the last leaf falls." Yesterday November 20th 2007 - the last leaf fell and my husband spent the whole day cleaning up the yard. The yard looks awesome now, everything is dead but it looks so clean.
Now that the leaves are cleaned up it is time to decorate for Christmas. Oddly enough, the town of Camden noticed the last leaf fell yesterday also. The town trucks were out and the work men were busy hanging the Christmas wreaths on the light posts and decorating with twinkle lights. The coastal village looks so quaint this time of year. Almost like a Norman Rockwell picture. The Festival of Lights Celebration is this weekend in Rockland Maine and Christmas By The Sea is the weekend after that, November 30th , December 1st and 2nd. The Inns in Camden have a wonderful Christmas Tea and Inn Tour that weekend here in Camden. The Opera House has a great performance of The Nutcracker and Santa arrives by Lobster Boat.
I wonder if my husband will have a cute answer when I ask my him to clean up all the Christmas and Holiday lights and decorations. I can hear it now, "I'm not going out there until the last snow flake falls. "