Maine Noel

There are some perks to being an Innkeeper in Camden Maine. Last night I was treated to a Maine Noel at Natalie's Restaurant in Camden Maine. The dinner was above and beyond what you would expect in Maine.
I had a similar experience to this about 10 years ago when I was in Ireland. I went to Ireland for my honeymoon and was not expecting to eat very well. Maybe some potatoes and hash everyday, didn't matter, I was on my honeymoon. Anyway, I have to tell you the places we did eat at in Ireland were excellent, from the little pubs to the nice restaurants we happen to come upon. In Ireland there was always fresh meat and dairy, wonderful vegetables. The dinner last night was similar - excellent meat, wonderful vegetables, all local fare.
Oscar and Raymond, the owners of Natalie's and Camden Harbor Inn are fine hosts. They make you feel welcome and like a friends daughter said, "like a movie star".
One of the neatest things I like about upscale dining is the attention to detail that most of us do not reward ourselves on a day to day basis. Natalie's Restaurant has a calming atmosphere with lovely comfortable chairs. They also encourage you to linger and enjoy the moment. Something as an Innkeeper I neglect.
I would not by any means call myself a foodie, but I have eaten in some fine restaurants. I went to Alain Ducasse's restaurant in Monte Carlo, I have eaten in many fine restaurants in Manhattan - Peter Luger's Steakhouse (more of a steakhouse than fine dining, but the best one in the world), The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia, just to name a few. The thing that all of these restaurants have in common is the excellent service and Natalie's is right in line with the best.
I wish Natalie's a bright future.
If you are coming to the Mid Coast of Maine - Natalie's Restaurant should be on your todo list. The Concierge at the Camden Windward House Bed and Brealfast would be delighted to make you a reservation.

It is cold outside

Winter has come to Camden Maine. The Camden Windward House is once again tested with the forces of nature. It is awesome to live in a house that is over 150 years old.

We had a man come to the Inn to look at the lack of insulation in the attic. The man said he had only 2 other times in his career seen a house with no insulation in the attic. I personally found it amazing to see the lack of insulation. The man came and went and left an estimate to change the situation. It was funny though, he said that this old house has lasted this long without the insulation, I should just leave it alone. Why go messing with something if it is not broke.

Past innkeepers have put new windows and some insulation in the walls, they have added new rugs and patch some holes. But really this house is the same it was in 1854. You can hear the wind and feel an occasional breeze on your neck. No wonder people believe these houses are haunted.

Windward House still proves itself to be a well built house and I am sure it will make another winter. Winter is a fun time to come to Camden, the town is open but quiet, the locals are all chatty with issues of past and future, the Inns are solid, some cold, but warm by their fireplaces. The Harbor has lots of boats wrapped in plastic and the trees are all bare. The Lake is starting to freeze and the snow is starting to fall.

Year Round Lodging

The 2008 Summer and Fall Season in Camden Maine was excellent. The weather was great and the hiking, swimming, sightseeing were perfect. Every summer the guests of the Camden Windward House Bed and breakfast ask if the Inn is open year round. The Inn is open year round, but people are confused as to what would bring people to Maine in the Winter. I asked myself this when I bought the Inn and to tell you the truth, 3 years ago couldn't figure it out. Now that we have been here for awhile, I know what the locals enjoy and can't understand why more people do not come to Maine in the Winter. It is a fun state in the winter. Camden Maine has a ski lodge that is perfect for families, priced right and the mountain is high enough to actually get a good day of skiing in. The crowds are minimal and the fine dining restaurants are open year round. It is like a hidden jewel in the winter. I personally enjoy ice skating. The Mid Coast Recreation center has open skate on the weekends. $4.00 for 2 hours of skating and great music. When I feel like ruffing it a little, or getting a little more scenery than the Skating Center offers, I go up to Lake Megunticook and shovel of the snow and make my own ice skating rink. This is really fun. You see the Ice fisherman and the cliffs covered in ice and snow. I will try to post a picture of it this winter. I posted a picture of an Ice Goose today because I think it captures the beauty of Winter in Camden Maine. The Winter fest is another asset to Camden in the Winter. January 31st 2009 the 7th annual community celebration of winter will happen at the Camden Public Library. The Camden Windward House Bed and Breakfast is across the street from the Library and a great place to start an Ice weekend. Well, we are open year round-Please come and enjoy Camden Maine in the Winter, you will not be disappointed.
Labels: Winter Fun and Maine year round lodging
Link: http://www.windwardhouse.com/

More Guests

I was telling Jesse about my last blog entry - I do not think he reads them, I mentioned to him that I wrote about some of the great guests we have had from all around the world. He reminded me that I did not brag about the English Mayor we hosted last month. This picture is of the Mayor of Doncaster, England. The Mayor and his wife are very nice people. Since then we ask any English person if they know were Doncaster is and if they know the mayor.

DONCASTER has a new non-Labour civic mayor for only the second time in 34 years.
Liberal Democrat Paul Coddington, who represents Bessacarr and Cantley, takes over as chair of Doncaster Council after being elected to the position at Friday's annual general meeting at the Mansion House.He was first elected to the local authority in 1999 and replaces Labour's Tony Sockett at the helm.After being sworn in last week, a slightly shocked Mr Coddington thanked his colleagues, family and local electorate for handing him the prestigious opportunity."I want to play my part in bringing people together and working for the common good," he said."One of the tasks of chair of council is to encourage fair debate. "I also want to do what I can to encourage people in the voluntary sector and continue working with the young people in the borough."I want to create better relationships and build bridges between communities."

So far this year, knock on wood, we have had some wonderful guests. One day we had a couple from Israel, a couple from Madrid, a couple from Spain, and a couple from Germany all at one time in the dining room. No one could talk to each other. I told Jesse it was like being at the Tower of Babel. It was funny they all ordered the pancakes. Must be an international like of pancakes (Jesse makes exceptional pancakes, blueberry and orange yogurt). In addition to all the international guests, one day we had the Mayor of a town in England. It was a pleasure to speak to him. Today at the Inn we have our first guest from Singapore.

We do get guests from the US and some even from right here in Maine. The state of Maine is launching an ad campaign for Mainers to vacation in Maine (stay cations they call it). One interesting thing I learned from one of our guests last week, they were from New Jersey not Maine, I learned what the brass knob in the middle of the dining room floor was. Let me give you a little background information on the brass knob first. When Jes and I bought the house 3 years ago, there was lots of furniture and rugs that I just did not like. We did not have enough money to refurnish the house, and as Jes says "if its not broke - don't fix it". Well I have lived with alot of stuff, slowly changing things, making the Inn more the way we like it, more our style and reflecting us. There was an old rug in the dining room, covering a beautiful maple strip hardwood floor. I couldn't understand why anyone would cover up a beautiful wood floor. I finally took up the rug and reveled the floor. The floor is in good shape and there is a brass knob in the middle of the room. I could not for the life of me figure out what that knob was for, until the man from NJ, leaned over and said, hey I have one of those in my summer cottage out on LBI. I said, "well, what is it?" I was expecting him to say it was a historic reminant of a slave door that the nice family in the house hid the slaves from the slave hunters and saved them and helped them to freedom. But his story was not as fantastic as the one I conceived in my head. He said there is a key to it and it is where you can turn on and off a gas valve that is under the floor. SO I said to him , so this is not a 1854 historic find, but probably a 1960 thinga ma gig. He said yes, it is not a historic feature. Oh well, I was hoping to have some interesting thing to talk about in the dining room during breakfast. I guess I could still fabricate some little story about my little brass knob, most of guests don't speak English and its all babel anyway.

Flowers Flowers and More Flowers

My husband decided one day to give the children cameras and walk around town with the mission of photographing the flowers of Camden. I recently looked at the pictures and they are beautiful. Finally it is spring in Maine. The winter was very harsh and I can't tell you how much I appreciate seeing flowers. There is this nice picture of a bumble bee and a flower that my daughter took. She is 7 years old.

The gardens at Windward House are starting to fill in. My husband is responsible for the gardens. He loves to garden and learned everything from his father. My father in -law, Jesse's dad, grew up on a farm in Staten Island. My father In law tells stories of how his father preferred him to work on the farm instead of going to school. Jesse learned how to grow all kinds of flowers and vegetables. In addition to our flowers we have a small vegetable garden in the yard. Last year we grew corn, that was pretty neat. This year we have string beans, heirloom tomatoes, banana peppers, eggplants, lettuce, basil, parsley.

The flowers that we have seen so far at Windward House are : early May: Forsythia, late May: Lilacs, Early June: Peonies.

Teaching an old dog new tricks?

When odd things happen in your life, you may need a little time to digest it before you truly understand what happened. Then like a light bulb, you get it and it all makes sense.
I recently joined a women's networking group here in Camden. We meet once a month at a bakery for coffee and discuss women related business topics. The group is fun and a great networking opportunity. Towards the end of the meeting, each member gets about 2 minutes to promote themselves and tell about their services. There was this one lady that was very familiar to me and I could not remember how, until one day I was able to put it all together.
My dad is your traditional jolly, fun going, beer drinking, football watching type of guy. He enjoys going out, being with friends and celebrating life. When out or celebrating my dad's choice beverage is always a beer. In my 34 years, I have never seen my dad drink wine. This is an important part of my story so bare with me.
My parents came up from New Jersey in 2007 and as a fun day trip I invited them to go to the local winery with me. My mom, unlike my dad, loves to drink wine. The winery had just been renovated and under new management. We drove up to the winery and when we got their we enjoyed the atmosphere, my kids loved running around the place, my mom and I were enjoyed the wine tastings and my dad just seemed out of place. He did not want to taste the wine nor was he comfortable with my kids running a muck. The women behind the bar noticed my dad was a little obtuse and invited him to join in the tasting. My father was reluctant but he was flattered that the pretty, well built women had asked him to join us. I say well built in the kindest sense, she was very shapely and womanly if you get what I mean. This part is also important because this is the magic power that I thought was at play. The women asked my father again to taste and he declined, she somehow, without him tasting, got him to actually purchase a bottle of wine. She convinced him that it tasted like beer and he fell for it. My mother and I did not understand his impulse to buy, but were convinced that the women's fine looks were the reason for the purchase. We teased him in the car all the way home.
Back to the networking group. One of the members of the group called out to my familiar women, "hey didn't you used to work at the winery?" She said yes, "yes I created the wine speel and was their best selling agent." I was shocked and remembered her to be the women that sold my father the wine. I asked her what her profession was and - you are not going to believe this - but, she is a clinical hypnotist. She hypnotises people before surgery, if they are fighting with an addiction, or need a new direction in their life. I couldn't stop laughing when I realized that all this time - perhaps my father was hypnotized into buying that bottle of wine. Case solved. Now whether or not the wine tasted like beer, I will never know. But the fact that he broke out of his comfort zone and tried something new was impressive to me. The shapely women no longer works at the winery but I highly encourage all to go and see the winery and experience the wines. Cellardoor winery. A Great Camden Maine Lodging : Camden Windward House is 5 miles from the vineyard and is offering a lodging discount when you sign up for the cooking classes.