Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend is here and what I think of as the official kickoff to the Summer Season. The area motels are open along with the ice cream shops, art galleries, restaurants and my favorite Yard Sales. Now you know it is me, Alicia and not Sue with the Yard Sale comment. Speaking of Restaurants.. after several years of suffering the bridge construction we finally have a new Restaurant open on the Island right at the Bridge. It opens today and it is called " Morse's Cribstone Grill." The Morse family ran Estes Restaurant last year and they also have a Drive In Diner in Brunswick. I look forward to trying out the new place, can't beat that view. Also did you know that is the Restaurant Sue used to own before she bought this building? It was then called Rock Ovens.

Memorial Day Weekend also is a sign of Bowdoin College Graduation. It is so nice to see the parents start staying with us Freshman Year and up here on Graduation Day. We even have many parents who continue to stay after the kids graduate. I don't think they tell the kids they still come.
The pool is open and I am still waiting for the first one in. I think I will give the first one in the pool a Log Cabin Coffee Mug ( sorry Sue).
Sad about the Navy Base decommissioning on Tuesday. I am confident that the Town will put the space to good use. The Golf Course has been bought and they have reworked all the greens and T Boxes. The Teaching Pro has taken over as General Manager and is redoing the ClubHouse as well. You can't beat the price and close location for a 9 Hole Course.

The " Garden Fairies" have been here all week and the place is blooming all around us. The lilacs are about to burst, a little late, but to me is a sure sign of Memorial Day. So Thank You to all who have served our Country as this weekend is a sure sign of Beautiful things to come.

Alicia

Fiddleheads and ramps

I love spring! The flowers, the food, the temperature, all of it. We bought fiddleheads and ramps this week. For those of you who are not familiar (many of our present guests were not), a fiddlehead is a young fern which is harvested for only 2 weeks. In the picture beside the fiddleheads is a few ramps. Ramps are a wild onion, or a wild leek. We sauteed some fiddleheads and ramps together, and they were quite nice. Also in the picture is strawberry rhubarb pie.....with rhubarb grown right here at the Inn. We also made a potato and ramp soup which was tasty.

The other picture is the beginning of my garden shopping. We have had a long spell or rain, mist and fog. Usually, I have most of the gardens planted by now. The sun is just beginning to burn through the fog right now, and the forecast is for a warm week, so I will begin to plant this afternoon.

We have a full house this weekend, and remarkably, the guests are not complaining about the weather. We always have a good natured group here at the Log Cabin.

So, here is to spring! Off to get my garden trowel, Sue

Pool is Open

That time of year again and the pool is open. Which might be nice if you were in Florida or North Carolina but here in Maine we still don't have all the screens on the windows.
The tulips are in full bloom and they are so pretty, several different colors and patterns. As you know I complain often about Sue and her flowers but they sure look pretty right now. Matt has made great progress with the raised beds and has one more to complete. Another reason I know it is approaching Summer Season is that I made the first Strawberry Rhubarb Pie of the Season. Matt was patiently waiting for the first piece. The Candy Store on Orrs Island is now open and we have a new Ice Cream Shop on Bailey Island near Lands End.

Another update on my Navy Base Project. Southern Maine Community College has held its first class this week on the Base. It is called "Intro to Composites" provided by Resilent Communication which also is operating from the Base property. The composite industry is very important to Maine because it supports so much of our lobster and Marine Business. Resilent will actually manufacture composite boxes which will transport sensitive communications equipment.
If you are an airplane buff we still have 3 rooms left for the June 4th weekend when there will be a "Fly In" open to the public on Base.

We have No Vacancy tonight which is very thrilling. It has also been a very busy weekend for Dinners. If you have never eaten here, you don't know what you are missing, especially if you are lucky enough to catch a Sunset like the one above.

Fondly.... Alicia

Cobblestones and spring bulbs

Matt is hard at work installing the cobblestones. The weather this week has not cooperated, but the bulbs sure liked the rain! Now that it is sunny, they are all opening. As you can see in the pictures, Daisy is assisting Matt with the job.

It is a beautiful sunny and warm day here today. Mothers Day weekend.....I cannot believe it--seems we just opened! Time flies.

The farmers market is open in Brunswick for the season. It is such a great market....plants, Maine made cheeses, Maine beef, all sorts of vegetables, jellies, baked goods. It is downtown on the Mall on Tuesdays and Fridays and at Crystal Spring Farm on Saturdays. It is so nice to have locally grown products. We are blessed with many excellent farms in this area.

I must go to town before they close up for the day!

Hope you all are well! Come visit us! Sue

Royal Wedding

What a week for Royalty. Can you believe Billions of people were glued to the TV watching Prince William and Princess Kate. Well I had my own bit of Royalty here on Bailey Island. I performed a Wedding Ceremony ( notaries can do this in Maine) for some room guests at the Giant Stair Case this week. Not much for media there but I am sure our bride and groom are just as happy in the picture above.

Here is my Bi Weekly Navy Base update. The closure is set for May 30th. It will be renamed Brunswick Landing and scored a Major deal this week. The American Bureau of Shipping has signed on. They establish qualifications for ship officers, classify and register merchant vessels and applies safety standards to proposed ship designs through computer modeling. They are based in Houston and have 200 offices in over 70 Countries. What better company to set their roots in Brunswick.

Sue has purchased 9,000lbs of granite pavers. Matt can attest to this as he and his friend Justin had to unload them. We are going to replace the old railroad ties that are around the front flower beds. What a great look this will be approaching the building. The Bridge crew finished up this week, laying seed and hay and finishing a beautiful looking fence that leads to the Ocean on the South Side. Today is the nicest, warmest day this Spring and we have No Vacancy, a great thing for the last day in April.

In the Kitchen I am making Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream. With wonderful dark Mexican Chocolate given to us by a room guest. I can handle chocolate once again as I had given it up for lent and the tempting was just to much. Now I am heading in to cook some Filets and Lobster Tails for our very wonderful guests the Delany's who are celebrating their 23rd Wedding Anniversary.

Happy May..... Alicia

Bailey Island Bridge

Here are some pictures I took this morning of the newly renovated Bailey Island bridge. The top one was taken from Garrison Cove (which by the way was where I learned to swim when I was six.....and where my Aunt ran the Square Deal restaurant for 40 years.....but that is another story). For those of you who do not know, the bridge has been under renovation for the past 2 years. They built a temporary bridge beside it, and are finally taking away the last of the temporary bridge now. The second picture is of the new steps that were constructed on the south end of the bridge (by the old Rock Ovens restaurant which was also in my family for decades). The last picture is standing on the south end looking out at sunrise.

I will be so glad when all of the construction trailers and equipment are gone. I ran the above mentioned Rock Ovens for several years, and have not enjoyed seeing what is such a beautiful spot all a mess.....which, I realize is inevitable with construction. I just have trouble looking at "mess", and will be glad to see it all gone. The "Rock Ovens" is suppose to reopen this year. It is no longer in my family, and I am not sure what is will be called, or exactly when it will open. It will be nice to have another restaurant on the island.

Well, it is Easter weekend. We have been open for 3 weeks now. The yard is looking great....green grass, daffodils blooming, almost time to go flower shopping! Must go do some Inn tasks.

Hope you are all well! Sue

Back for the Season

Hi all it is Alicia and after a Very enjoyable Winter I am back to the Log Cabin. The funny thing about this place it is like you never left. We have a full house tonight, not bad for the middle of April and only 42 deg out. The nice thing is that 7 out of the 9 rooms are return guests and we warmly welcome our new guests. Above I added a photo taken yesterday of the snow on the top of Mt. Washington in N.H. from the Inn.

The reservations have been steadily coming in this week. The amazing thing is that we have already booked 80 room nights for next year. Sue didn't even have a 2012 book started yet. If the Merriconeag Room is your choice for next Summer you should call now because it is taken July 22- August 13th of next year.

Returning after the Winter it can be what some people may think as a small thing that really excites me. Like after many many years with the same white Restaurant plates Sue got some jazzy new plates along with placemats and napkins. We also changed to a local organic coffee called Wicked Joe's it is surely a big hit. We are also sporting some fancy new aprons Sue got, see I told you it was the little things. The Inn just became Re Certified as an "Environmental Leader."
I will be whipping up some specials on the weekend like tonights Wild Salmon with Key Lime Butter Sauce.

Locally I am sad to have the Navy Base be decommissioned this May but am excited about all the new activity at the Base. The Base is now open to the public so you can drive right on and check it out. The 9 Hole Golf Course is still open and if you are so lucky to have your own plane you can now fly in to Brunswick and stay at the Log Cabin. The Runway is officially open for private planes, has fuel and rents hanger space. Stayed tuned for more activity.

Hope everyone has a great week.
Regards, Alicia