Open for the Season--31st year

Well, here we are.....first day of the Log Cabins 31st year......and another big snow storm. I say another, as we frequently have a storm the day we open the Log Cabin. It is kind of an island joke. Matt didn't find it a joke as he is driving the snow plow in the picture, and had to shovel all of the walks and decks. And it is a very heavy, wet snow. The good news is, it is letting up and turning to rain. The weather forecast for the next few days is in the 40's, so it should melt quickly. I wonder how my many little crocus are doing under there?

I have yet to walk through all the rooms as my niece, Dawn, is still doing her magic and last minute finishing touches. She has been quite busy with the redecorating. I am sure it looks great!

Our room rates have changed a bit for the first time in several years starting today. Each room will be an extra $10/night. With all expenses increasing each year, we needed to make a modest increase in prices. The price increase begins today (not on existing reservations).

Well, I must do some confirmations.....have taken many reservations this week.

Here's to a great 2011 season! Sue

Final week til we open!

Sorry for the late blog......you must have thought I fell off the earth! Well, I went to the "Southernmost Point" for 10 days. When I left there was a ton of snow at the Inn, so I had to import a last years picture for the blog. But, this morning I found our first crocus starting to bloom. Then I had to run around the yard to see what else was starting to grow. I just LOVE this time of year!! New growth, new start, new season.

So, after the yard inspection, I went inside to see all of Matt and Aimee's magic. The place looks super. I know, it always looks super when we are open. But, if you could see the work it takes when we are closed, you would appreciate it more. They are both perfectionists, and it shows. Thanks guys!

I spent several hours answering emails and phone messages and entering new reservations in the computer.

Our big news of the week, is our long awaited new web cam is up and running. Go to our home page, and click on web cam. It takes a second to load, and you only get to watch for 90 seconds at a time. We may adjust that, just have to see how it goes. We are streaming it on an outside server so it is a better picture. Very exciting!

So, this was a very happy day for me. New web cam, flowers coming out, Inn looks super.

Hope to see all of you this year! Sue

Spring is on the way!

I just could not help myself. The winter seems endless this year. So, I had to dig out a picture from last year. I cannot wait to start gardening! The flower catalogs are coming in, and these companies know that I cannot resist when it comes to plants!

I was just at the Inn cleaning up the office. Aimee has the gift shop all set up--it looks great. The gift show is this weekend, so I will go find some new items for the shop. I just love this time of year, when we put the Log Cabin back together, and it is all fresh and clean. Not sure how much of the yard we will be able to clean up. There are still snowbanks in places.

We are approaching 40% full for the season. Not bad for not even being open yet! So, if you have not reserved, give us a call!

All for now, Sue

Signs of Spring on Bailey Island

I decided to find some sign of Spring to post on the blog. Trust me, I had to look hard. Yesterday, I noticed buds on my brothers lilacs. I could not quite believe it. So, today, I went to the Inn to see if the bush there had buds as well. I had to climb a huge snow bank to get to the bush, and lo and behold, BUDS!!!! I guess that is what it means to be under a "blanket of snow". I am going to take this as a good sign that Spring will indeed be here soon. As I am writing this, the clouds are rolling in and a winter storm is on the way. There is question as to how much precipitation and if we will get rain or snow. I am hoping for rain!

The sparrows are nesting in the bird houses on the Inn as well.

The bottom picture is taken from the Harpswell Town House. As you can see, there is a lot of ice in bay still.

Funny how exciting a simple bud can be. Hope all is well with all of you. Sue

Progress on the Bailey Island bridge

I have been anxious to see how the temporary bridge was actually going to disappear. Boy, are they busy doing just that today! The top two pictures are of the bridge workers taking apart both sides. They are even taking the huge cement bases out. And a local contractor is lugging the huge boulders away at the same time. I would say at this rate, there will be little left when we open the Inn on April 1st.

Then they will have to clean up the site where all of their trailers and equipment has been for the past 2 years. There is rumor that the former "Rock Ovens" restaurant is suppose to open too. But, you never can trust rumor on Bailey Island. When I hear for sure, I will let you know. It would be nice to have another restaurant on the island. For those of you who do not know, that restaurant was in my family for decades. I even ran it for 7 years before opening the Log Cabin in 1980.

The third picture was taken from Cooks Point of the newly renovated bridge. And finally, the last picture is of Matt, busy at work painting and caulking one of the bathrooms. All 9 rooms will have a fresh paint job when we open (which is in 43 days).

We are ordering a new web cam for the Inn this week. The existing one is acting up, so we are upgrading. Hopefully it will be up and running soon. And, it is a much better quality, so we are hoping the picture will be much nicer.

Hope all is well with all of you, Sue

February snow

Hard to believe that Josh plowed that huge snow bank with his little truck, eh? Don't tell the Labor Dept. that we have him working at age 5!

Of course, Daisy helped him too. Actually, Aimee was doing her part, and Matt was headed to the Inn also.

The bottom picture is of Mackeral Cove in the fresh snow. I know it was a very large storm for most of the country. We got lots of fluff fortunately, not ice. The drifts are really magnificent. The island is very pretty today. I may go take a few more shots.

Beginning to wonder if all of this will melt before April. Another storm is predicted for Saturday. We open in 56 days! The reservations are coming in at a rapid pace....going to be a busy year. Matt and Aimee are painting the rooms, so they should be ship shape!

I will head out with camera in hand.....'til next time, Sue

Bailey Island Winter

These chairs are not looking so inviting at the moment. We have had several snowstorms so far this winter. This last one was all powder, and the drifts are spectacular, especially with the sun shining on them. The colors are the thing I love about this time of year. The ocean is so blue in contrast to the snow.

Matt is home from his ski trip to Colorado. He, Danny and Josh plowed me out yesterday in the plow truck. Then Matt and Danny shovelled our porch. Josh dug his toy plow truck out from the sandbox and did his part plowing the deck. It was priceless.

They are predicting another large storm for Wednesday, but are not sure of the track yet. I am suppose to go to a seminar on marketing online. We will see if it gets cancelled.

Hope you all are surviving winter. Spring is 57 days away! We open in 68! Sue