Our garden is blooming. Look at our growing flowers! 21 May 2012, 3:33 pm

At last the Spring has arrived! The trees are finally filled with leaves and our garden is showing lots of flowers and colors. Come and check it out!

Are you a DIY guy? We have the right place for you! 8 May 2012, 12:17 pm

If you like to work in your shop, build your own things, fix what doesn’t work or just expand your creativity, or if you are just a lover of old tools you should definitely go to Liberty, ME.

The Liberty Tool Company www.libertytoolco.com is the real mecca for all those who love all what is related to “Do It Yourself”. There is an incredible choice of tools of any age, you can easily find what your grandfather used in his shop.

There’s not much else in Liberty, so you won’t have any difficulty finding it. We have no problem with telling you where the store is, we really don’t even need to tell you that it is on the west side of the road – you’ll see it.

The problem is in adequately describing what they sell. They don’t sell new tools, they don’t sell antique tools, they don’t sell junk – they sell old tools. They also sell old books and some other old stuff, but the focus is definitely tools. You will love it!

What brought us here 28 Apr 2012, 9:32 am

When our guests check-in and know that we moved from Italy a little more than 3 years ago, many of them ask us the same question “What brought you here?”.

If we feel on the funny side we answer “the plane!”, but of course soon after comes the real answer. If we feel  a little more serious (which doesn’t happen so often!) we go directly to the serious answer.

We started travelling in this wonderful country in 1996. Our first trip was to Arizona and California. After that experience we came as tourist almost every summer to explore a different part of the States. Every time the love for this country and its people grew more and more. We always felt at home. And while we were discovering the majesty of the Grand Canyon, the beauty of Louisiana’s bayous and plantation, the incredible Yellowstone NP, the wonders of Arches NP and Bryce Canyon NP, the surprising beauties of the south-western deserts, amazing towns like San Antonio, San Francisco, New Orleans, San Diego etc. we felt the wish to make a change in our life.

Then our vacations brought us to New England, where we really discovered the life we wanted to live. We loved New England at once, its freshness, its relaxed way, the amazing four seasons, the beauty of its landscapes, the smell of its air and… no traffic at all. So we found the place where the dream which grew in Roberta and moved to Claudio could be realized: Maine. It’s impossible to describe the beauty of its coasts, its little towns, its woods, its islands and the splendor of thousands of lakes. And what about the gorgeous summers and the unbelievable Autumn’s colors? You have to experience them to believe them.

So briefly (but probably not so much!) this is why we’re here. And if you want to know more we are here waiting for you!

Pumpkin season 30 Sep 2011, 3:07 pm

The pumpkin season is here!

It’s that time of the year again, when the trees bring out those wonderful colors, the skies are bright and the air is crisp. Those are probably the most beautiful days here in Maine.

Of course it’s pumpkin season here too, and Roberta just went to the Beth’s Market to pick up some nice ones to decorate the Inn.

Come and enjoy them, you will discover that the Autumn has filled the rooms of our Inn with its beautiful colors.

In Beth’s Market there were also some wonderful mums, and Roberta couldn’t resist to pick up a few of them. The choice was wonderful, as you can see here.

Apple orchards 30 Sep 2011, 2:44 pm

Pick up your apples directly from the tree!

You can do it a few miles from the Maine Stay Inn!

In Hope, 6.5 miles form Camden, there are the Apple Orchards http://www.hopeorchards.com/. It’s a very beautiful place where you can go and pick up your apples fresh to take home. There are several qualities and they’re all very good. While you’re walking in their beautiful fields you can also eat them, and these are free!

So come and enjoy the country side of Maine, it will remain in your heart!

Lighthouses near Camden 2 May 2011, 12:04 pm

Maine is famous for its lighthouses. Actually more than 60 dot its picturesque coast.
Their importance, in the time of Radar, Loran and GPS is not anymore what it used to be.
But the fashion remains the same. They have always attracted and will always attract people willing to visit them and to see the usually beautiful location.

Camden has at least 4 of them in the near.

1. The first one is right at the entrance of the harbor, on, which is only accessible by boat. It’s a beautiful view, from a boat or just from the coast.
2. The second one is the Breakwater Lighthouse, 8 miles south from Camden, in Rockland. There is an amazing walk in the middle of the water on a 7/8-mile-long breakwater. The lighthouse is at the end of it.
3. The third is the Owl’s Head Lighthouse, 14 miles south of Camden, in Owl’s Head. A beautiful short walk on the edge of the ocean from the parking lot brings you to the wonderful location where the lighthouse is. The view from the top of the little hill where the lighthouse is located is breathtaking.
4. The fourth is the Marshall Point Lighthouse, 26 miles south of Camden, in Port Clyde. It became recently very well known with the movie Forrest Gump, as this is the location where Tom Hank’s non-ending run finally ends. Apart from this the beauty of the location and the originality of the lighthouse are really unique. There is also a small, but very interesting museum.

Lobster shacks, a great Maine attraction 30 Apr 2011, 4:03 pm

Have you ever tried a lobster shack? if not please do it.
You don’t know what is a lobster shack? Well, it’s definitely an experience.

A lobster shack is a very simple place, usually on a beautiful location, where you can enjoy some of the best food available in Maine. They are very often located on the edge of the ocean, they usually have outside wooden tables and chairs where you can enjoy the fresh seafood (usually lobster) .
To sit outside one of this shacks in a warm and sunny day is something you won’t easily forget.
There are three of them near us. They’re all worth a visit.

Waterman’s Beach Lobster www.watermansbeachlobster.com, in South Thomaston.
It’s located in the wonderful  Saint George Peninsula, south of Rockland (where the Maine Lobster Festival is held every August). You can reach it with a beautiful drive between trees and with great ocean views. This shack is near a rocky beach and has about ten picnic tables scattered around a lawn.

Miller Lobster Co. www.millerslobster.com, in Spruce Head.
It’s also located in the Saint George Peninsula. The drive is beautiful as the previous one, and the place is absolutely gorgeous, as it is on a lonesome bay with a small dock where the lobster boats unload their catch. Right on this dock it’s Miller, with nice tables, some shaded.

Young’s Lobster Pound, in Belfast.
Another wonderful place, located right on the water where the Passagassawakeag river meets the ocean. The tables outside are a great place to enjoy your meal with a great view all around.

To eat a lobster roll in a real Maine lobster shack it’s a true, unforgettable experience.

Rome became American! 29 Apr 2011, 2:36 pm

Yes, Rome became American!
That doesn’t mean that the Americans invaded Italy! They only bought A.S. Roma Soccer Club, one of the most important soccer club in Italy.
Thomas Di Benedetto (one of the partners of the Boston Red Sox), Jim Pallotta (co-owner of the Boston Celtics), Michael Ruane and Richard D’Amore are four Bostonians, clearly of Italian origins.
They invested a good amount of money to buy the team which is in the heart of 70% of the Roman soccer fans (me included!).

A.S. Roma Soccer Club was founded in 1927 when three of the four soccer teams of Rome merged to create the capital’s soccer club. The teams were called Alba, Fortitudo and Roman. The forth team, Lazio, preferred to remain out, and since then Lazio has become the most bitter opponent of Roma. As one English friend who lives in the States once said “the intensity of the passion that you see in the Superbowl is nothing compared to the derbies between Roma and Lazio”.

Good luck Thomas, Jim, Michael and Richard, but most of all… good luck Roma!

Claudio

Happy Birthday, Italy! 17 Mar 2011, 1:55 pm

1861. Italy is finally just one country. Two war of independence and a long work of the people who strongly believed in this project, like Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour finally came to a conclusion. The eight previous states, often in the hands of foreign countries, merged into one, under the kingdom of Vittorio Emanuele II di  Savoia.

Still more had to come in order to call Italy also the remaining parts. One more war of independence, battles to free also the region of Veneto and, finally, Rome and what was the powerful Papal State.

Then, with the first world war, the unification was completed with the region of Trentino, Alto Adige and Venezia Giulia.

So, 85 years after the American Independence, Italy could at last try the wonderful taste of freedom.

Did you know that in the same year, 1861, many Italians participated in the American civil war on both sides? Both took inspiration from Garibaldi. The “Italian Legion” had a tricolor Ribbon on the American Flag with the writing “Vincere o morire” (to win or to die).

With this little note we mean to express our love for our country, but also the love for the country we are in now. A country that came to freedom before us, which showed us the way, and which has made freedom part of its blood.

Tanti auguri to Italy and USA!

Roberta & Claudio

Our National Anthem? Here it is    Brothers of Italy – Italy’s National Anthem

The Island of Islesboro 27 Sep 2010, 1:32 pm

Islesboro is a long, narrow island in Penobscot Bay directly across from the town of Lincolnville. The location of the famous summer colony and yachting center of Dark Harbor, the island hosts a year-round population of lobstermen, carpenters, caretakers, and other professionals.

Penobscot Indians called Islesboro  Pitaubegwimenahanuk, meaning “the island that lies between two channels.” Situated in upper Penobscot Bay, the narrow, 14-mile island is the marker between East and West Penobscot Bay. It was part of the Waldo Patent. First called Long Island Plantation, and was settled in 1769. It would be incorporated as Islesborough on January 28, 1789, although over time the spelling was contracted to Islesboro.

With many harbors and coves, the island was home to the largest commercial shipping fleet in the bay during the 19th century. Following the Civil War, however, Islesboro developed as a Gilded Age resort community, and many large summer homes were built by the wealthy. Their large yachts cruised and raced throughout the Gulf of Maine. The town remains a seasonal enclave to many notable residents.

What to see?

• Sailors’ Memorial Museum, located in the former keepers’ house at Grindle Point Lighthouse.
• Grindle Point Lighthouse
• Sprague’s Beach located near Turtle Head
• Warren Island State Park

For more information please visit the Island Institute page on www.islandinstitute.org/islesboro.php