Summer has finally arrived this year in Maine – after the torrential downpours of June and July, il sole ha retornato, grazie mille.  August is glorious, and with the return of the sun, the son, Taylor,  also returned after a month in Oxford studying Shakespeare.  His mother called this venture “summer camp” .  Taylor was not here long before he started working for Green Tree Coffee, a terrific company co-located here in Belfast (on the wharf no less) and New Orleans.  The company, among other things, roasts coffee — you cannot get a cup of java but shortly one may purchase roasted coffee over the internet.  The owner recently brought me a bag of newly roasted coffee calling the blend “Who Loves Ya, Baby?”  For those too young to know, this expression came from Kojak, a TV police show from way back when. (Don’t ask.)

PS   How do you like the new look of the blog?   Three cheers for the master web designer, photographer and general Renaissance man Jim Dugan who gently reminded me that my blog did not need to look so generic and, well,  boring.

You would think that innkeepers are the proveyors of information — aha, it also works the other way around!

Recently, guests from the “out west’” who are seasoned sailors stayed with us a few days at The White House Inn, then headed to sea.  Upon their return, they raved about the sailing in and around Penobscot Bay and highly recommended Twilight Charters.   The guests were very impressed with the crew/owners and the boat was, in their words, top-notch. 

And then there was the couple who wandered over to sweet little Union and discovered the Badger Cafe; Santiago and I made a beeline the following week — an enjoyable drive and terrific eats.

Here is the cat’s meow — another guest took a walk about Belfast; upon her return, she marvelled at the beach a mere three blocks from our Inn!!  I had never heard of the beach, let alone seen it!  Now, we are adding this jewel to our suggestions of things to do and places to go! 

For our indomitable readers, rest assured I shall pass on these tidbits as they come in.

ciao

Apologies to the annual Lobster Festival soon to be underway at Rockland — but Maine also means incredible and different activities to enrich the mind and also the stomach!  Last weekend, Santiago and I were invited to the Opening Party of Salt Water Farm, a lovely and unqiue escape in Lincolnville Beach where recreational cooking classes are offered by Annemarie Ahearn.   Now we are not just taking about lobster bisque; in August, for example, a bevy of New York chefs are on hand to demonstrate butchering, filleting and whatever else can be done with meat!  For me, I prefer the class on brick-oven pizza making – yum.  

These classes are a terrific addition to the more traditional activities along the mid-coast.   Take a cooking class, then drive on over to the nearby Cellar Door Winery for wine tasting.  Now that is a Maine vacation.

Sleep-away camp has changed since I sent my sons off for four weeks of uninterrupted parental bliss.  The guys got on the camp bus and, for a month, the only communication was a few postcards.  (When I was a child, my camping experience consisted of an over-night in the back yard. Do I have some fellow travelers here?). Let me explain.

Here at the White House Inn, the B&B that Santiago and I operate, we have welcomed several parents who have come for visiting days at Hidden Valley Camp. The parents collect their child, bring them back to the Inn for a day of bubble baths, DVDs, computers and chocolates.  Now this is camping!  And when the child is dutifully dropped off back at camp, the parents often spend another day or two in Belfast as a mini vacation.   Two for one.

Santiago and I took a 30 minute drive out to see Hidden Valley Camp, which is delightfully situated amidst wooded, rolling hills, complete with its own pond.   If you need a summer respite from your darling children, check it out.

BTW, the camp is located in Freedom, Maine, which is just a few miles from Liberty, Maine – this is America after all.

The Maine Celtic Celebration is almost upon us and being new to this mid-coast area, I must admit I had no clue what the fuss was all about.  So I did a little research which first involved checking out the information provided by the local Belfast Chamber of Commerce (of course to which we belong — being steadfast members of the business community).  I will share the fruits of this research: and I quote: “The Belfast Celtic Celebration is a three-day, family oriented celebration of the rich Celtic heritage, culture and hospitality found along the Coast of Maine.

No admission to the shows or workshops will be charged and visitors are free to donate what they feel the event is worth.

 Even though this is a celebration of Celtic culture, the town welcomes all people of all backgrounds to attend. Belfast, ME and the surrounding area was founded and built by the Celtic people of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany.  John Miller named Belfast after his hometown after he won a flip of the coin.”   I heard that had the toss gone the other way, Belfast would today be known as Londonderry.  (But don’t quote me on that one).

Now, we are left with what is Celtic?  Anyone can search Google, but if you just want to read the following you can skip the search.

The historical Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age Europe. By the later Iron Age , Celts had expanded over a wide range of lands: as far west as Ireland and Spain, as far east as Turkey, and as far north as Scotland.  My impression is that present day Celts seem to be mostly into Irish stuff.

From Wikipedia (sidebar: as a political science professor, I forbid my students to use this site, bad karma), we find that the Celtic Revival, of which the Belfast Celtic Celebration is a part, “covers a variety of movements and trends in the 19th and 20th centuries and continuing on in the 21st, which drew on Celtic art and traditions. Although the revival was complex and multifaceted, its best known incarnation is probably the Irish Literary Revival where Irish writers including William Butler Yeats and others stimulated a new appreciation of traditional irish literature and poetry.”

I hope this bit of “erudition” entices you to visit Belfast and the Celtic Celebration.  As for me, I am going to see our Chamber President Jim O’Connor wearing a skirt!

cheers, Diana

I had the great good fortune of seeing a performance of King Lear twice in one week.  (All right, some of you would say this happenstance is a misfortune  - you need read no further!)  One performance was staged in Washington DC at the Shakespeare Theatre with a professional troupe and Stacy Keach in the lead role; the other was produced by the Camden Civic Theatre with its cast drawn from the community.

And let me not keep you in anticipation any longer — the Camden show was by far the better; let me give you several examples of why I came to this conclusion.

On June 30, with great anticipation my son Taylor (bound for Oxford and a week of Shakespearian acting) and I took our seats in DC; when the lights dimmed I let out a silent groan as I witnessed all actors in modern dress — really this Theatre needs to move on with the concept that contemporary clothes dennote a timeless Shakespeare.   And then Gloucester and Kent were having their initial dialogue while they relieved themselves at a urinal connected to some sort of disco.  In counterpoise, Camden staged the tragedy in Elizabethan garb ( praise the Lord), – with Gloucester and Kent conversing over a game of chess.   At the Washington show, Poor Tom disrobes all the way down to his birthday suit; when Stacy Keach prepared to do the same, the lady sitting next to me proclaimed quite audibly, “On Lord, spare me!!”  But He did not hear this plea in time, I am afraid.  Meanwhile, Camden did not drop its drawers.

Now I ask you, what would the Bard prefer?

Three cheers for the Camden Civic Theatre for their production of King Lear which was staged over the 4th of July weekend.  The cast was excellent, one and all, but I would like to make three special mentions.  James Perry who played King Lear was really extraordinary; and Ivan Zizek as Edmund had superb stage presence.  Jim Dugan as Gloucester is of course my personal favorite — “in real life” he is a web designer and more importantly he is our web designer for the White House Inn!!  Bravo to all!

later, Diana

We are not alone — and I am not talking about extraterrestrials!   The entire eastern seaboard is experiencing a monsoon.  A glimmer of a smile creeped across my face as I read a recent New York Times article entitled, “New Yorkers Near a Saturation Point”  by Michael Wilson,  June 19, 2009, in the New York Region section.   What can I say, misery loves company!

We as humans may not be rejoicing in all this rain, but the flowers surely are.  Our gardens could not be more lush; rather than paragraphs of  words this week, how about a montage of photos from the grounds of  The White House Inn?

later, Diana

PS Here is the NYT article:

My best  girlfriend Mary Jo (aka JoJo) came for a  visit on Tuesday for three days; she came to “help” us with the Bed and Breakfast particularly to shape up the gardens.  On our way to check out various nurseries and greenhouses, we popped into several antique stores along Route 1 between Belfast and Camden.  Of all the antique emporiums, the Blue Dolphin has the best and most stuff.  (If you are flummoxed by the need to acquire more stuff, please watch the skit by George Carlin entitled, “STUFF!”.)   Steamers at the Lobster Pound, Lincolnville, followed.  And since we were near the Cellardoor Winery, well, we just stopped in for a wine tasting which occurs each and every day!  The hours raced by and we barely returned in time for a lovely cocktail party hosted by our neighbor.  We intended to head over to Young’s Lobster Pound for two pound lobsters to take home — that did not happen and I will give you three guesses why … .

So what did we do the second day?  We strolled through Belfast being self-guided by the tour Museum in the Streets — and, hey, our White House Inn is the seventh stop!  This little town of 6,000 boasts 30 notable historical sites on the tour including the Opera House, civil war memorials, churches dating from the 1600s and its own history museum – all within beautiful vistas of the Belfast Bay and Passy River.   

Okay, so you are wondering what happened to the garden work?  We did stop to buy two potted plants from Holmes Greenery in Belfast but JoJo promised to return in August for another try!

later, Diana

Remember a few weeks back, I talked about finding a good cappuccino in Belfast? Well, Santiago, my husband, is a burger man and we have been searchin’ for that juicy, char-broiled, manly-man burger with a grilled bun ever since we started our innkeeping duties in March.  We have driven north to Bar Harbor, and south to Camden and Rockland in this seemingly Don Quixote quest.  We even drove to Kennebunkport and almost found the answer there — but I protested that driving two hours for a hunk a hamburger was a bit much.  All the while, mind you, I had been recommending Rollies Bar and Grill, right on Main Street in Belfast.  Finally, Santiago agreed to try Rollies — and there it was in our own back yard, the best burger in the mid-coast area. And served with the terrific onion rings and even blue cheese. 

Rollies is reputed to have its start as a biker bar, and indeed on our first visit ten bikers and their mates who straddle the seat behind the driver (why this is considered fun is beyond me!) were having a grand old time, and later they rolled away on their very large Harley-Davidsons.  Subsequent times have featured blue-haired couples and families with young children.   It is just a load of fun – and with great burgers!  

Tonight some friends from Camden joined us for dinner — and we headed straight for Rollies.

ciao, Diana

My younger son, Taylor, just finished his second year of college — glory hallelujah.  He brought his girlfriend, Lauren, up to Belfast for a week of hiking and outdoor activity –however,  the weather deities conspired to upset this plan.  Most of the time was spent playing Scrabble (did you know the English word “bot”?  I challenged and was wrong.  Note: this is not the normal outcome for my challenges!), watching movies and other rainy day activities.  Sidebar: Lauren recommended that I read Middlesex; I asked if she meant Middlemarch (one of my favorite books of all time). I heard correctly the first time: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and a very good book. 

On Saturday, 30 May, the sun burst forth in all its glory; my husband, Santiago, Taylor, Lauren and I headed for the door and an invigorating walk into downtown Belfast and the harbor.

Belfast has many inviting attributes but one of the most endearing is the pedestrian bridge across the Passy River, which runs parallel to the US Route 1 bridge.  (Passy stands for Passagassawakeag – but who can say or spell that one?)  Actually, the pedestrian bridge at one time was the only bridge connecting Belfast with North Belfast and Searsport.  When the  larger, more modern bridge,was constructed in 1962,  the original bridge lost its raison d’etre — but the townspeople raised enough funds to convert the bridge into a lovely pedestrian walkway which has been dedicated to the the local heroes who fought in World War I.  The vistas of Belfast, its harbor cannot be beaten from this gem of a walkway — don’t miss it.    

Below are two snapshots — the first is Taylor and Lauren enjoying the view and the sun!  The second is Stop 21 on the Museum in the Streets: :the Biggest Little City.”

Later, Diana