Hot Fun in the Summertime! Freeport's Summer in the Park

Every year visitors at our Freeport Maine Bed & Breakfast enjoy the concerts and other offerings provided by what was once known as the L.L. Bean Summer Concert Series, and is now known as Summer in the Park.

Why the name change? A year or so ago L.L. Bean decided to mix it up a bit and include other summer events along with their concerts, so the name change now appropriately describes the mix of free concerts, food festivals, Shakespeare in the Park, etc., that now takes place on Saturdays, at L.L. Bean's Discovery Park in Freeport, Maine.

Our guests love to borrow our lawn chairs, and walk to Discovery Park, where they can sit on the lawn and enjoy free concerts, and all the other activities.

This year's Summer in the Park schedule begins this weekend, with the Fourth of July Celebration, and ends with a Labor Day weekend concert featuring the classic rock favorite, America.

This summer's concerts include:

• Ryan Shaw, July 2, 7:30 p.m.
• Randy Judkins, July 3, 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.
• Maine Academy of Modern Music, July 3 (starting at 6 p.m.)
• The Mallett Brothers Band, July 3 (starting at 6 p.m.)
• Red Horse, July 4, 7:30 p.m.
• Court Yard Hounds, July 16, 7:30 p.m.
• Amos Lee, July 30, 7:30 p.m.
• Rickie Lee Jones, August 13, 7:30 p.m.
• Southside Johnny, August 26, 7:30 p.m.
• America, September 3, 7:30 p.m.

The other scheduled events include:

• Fourth of July Celebration, Saturday July 2 - Monday July 4
• Food Festival, July 9
• KidsFest, July 23
• Shakespeare in the Park, August 2-12 (except August 8)
• Shakespeare's Kids, August 9-11
• Dog Days of August, August 20
• Hunting Expo, August 26-28

The Summer in the Park series from L.L. Bean in Freeport promises to be great fun for all!

Maine Lighthouse Tour (Part 2)

Last week we presented Part 1 of our Lighthouse Tour, heading south from Brewster House B&B in Freeport, Maine, and visiting Portland Head Lighthouse and Cape Elizabeth Light (Two Lights), as well as Cape Neddick Light (The Nubble).

This time we'll turn to the north and take US-1 an hour or so north to Rockland, where you can optionally visit the Maine Lighthouse Museum. You can also go just a bit farther on US-1, to Camden, to enjoy the beautiful harbor town.

From Rockland, we'll turn south, toward Owls Head, and visit Owls Head Lighthouse. The lighthouse, standing atop a small hill, but steep enough to require stairs to the top, overlooks Rockland Harbor and Penobscot Bay, providing magnificent views. The lighthouse was lighted in 1825 to help guide mariners safely into Rockland Harbor.

Leaving Owls Head, you may want to stop for a tour of the wonderful Owls Head Transportation Museum, with its antique automobiles, as well as old aeroplanes (all still in working order!) and more. Driving down the peninsula past Spruce Harbor and St. George, there are other lighthouses we can not see - Two Bush Island Light, Tenants Harbor Light, and Whitehead Light - all of which can only be seen from the water (or by air). Next we turn toward Port Clyde and Marshall Point Lighthouse. Be sure to visit the Port Clyde General Store, and view the harbor from their picnic tables (perhaps while eating lunch).

Marshall Point Lighthouse, marking the entrance to Port Clyde Harbor, was first built in 1832, then rebuilt as it currently stands in 1857. The beautiful setting is popular with photographers, who gather at the site early, awaiting a spectacular sunset opportunity.

Returning to the north, we come to Thomaston, a lovely town with restored Victorian homes, shady trees, and a quaint downtown. Proceeding south on US-1, you'll pass Moody's Diner, where you can get almost anything, from a grilled cheese sandwich to a lobster dinner, and their blueberry pie (or 'most any other you like) is always worth stopping for!

At Damariscotta we'll turn off US-1, pass through the pretty village, and follow Route 130 to the end, where we'll visit Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. First built and lighted in 1827, the structure wasn't sound, and was replaced in 1835. There is a magnificent view from the bluff where the lighthouse stands, and you can easily walk down the rocks to view the lighthouse from below. When volunteers are present you can go up in the tower, and there is a museum in the Keeper's house.

Returning to Damariscotta and US-1, we can take the turnoff for Route 27 toward Boothbay Harbor, then turn toward West Boothbay and Newagen, where, near the end of Southport Island, we can see The Cuckolds Light. This lighthouse is not well known, and dates from 1892, when it was erected to prevent vessels from running aground on the ledges nearby.

We'll return after a visit to Boothbay Harbor (and maybe an ice cream cone), taking US-1 south to Brewster House.

Get all the information on our Lighthouse Tour on our specials page.

Flowers in bloom

Our clematis is out in all its glory!

Spring flowers are out in Maine. The lupine is glorious along the roads up and down the coast.

Lighthouses in Maine: Tour (Part 1)

At our Freeport Maine Bed & Breakfast we've recently seen quite a few bookings for our specials and packages, especially our Maine Lighthouse Tour package. What is the attraction? Let's see if we can find out.

First of all, there are over 60 lighthouses in Maine (check out our Maine Lighthouse Map for the locations), so seeing all of them in a day is somewhat challenging - especially when you consider that some are well off-shore! So we've made some hard choices, and come up with a tour that will take all day if you do it all, but will take you to seven lighthouses (and you'll pass tantalizingly close to a few more), and some of the most beautiful and dramatic views along the Maine coast.

Portland Head Light

We begin by getting on Interstate 295 in Freeport, and heading south toward Portland. We'll exit at Forest Avenue, wind through town a bit, cross the Casco Bay Bridge, and navigate through the beautiful and stately old homes of Cape Elizabeth, until we reach Fort Williams Park. Entering the park (Free Admission!!), we pass old barracks, a playground, the parade ground, and park near the gun battery. We can explore the grounds, including the old stone house, and another fort, or sit on a hill overlooking the lighthouse, watching kites and sailboats. Portland Head was originally commissioned in 1785 and first lighted in 1790. There is a nice museum in the keeper's house.

Cape Elizabeth Light (Two Lights)

Turning left as we leave the park, we'll make our way through Cape Elizabeth to the road which leads to Two Lights State Park, but rather than going into the park, we'll pass it by and go to the end of the road, where we can see the twin lighthouses known as "Two Lights," built in 1828. If there's room, we'll park in the dirt lot at the end of the road, then walk out the rocks to get a good look back at the towers, and, if the weather is clear, back down the coast to Portland Head Light. Climbing a small bluff, where Two Lights Lobster Shack is located, there is a great view of the lighthouses, and also out across the bay.

Cape Neddick Light (The Nubble)

We have a choice of returning to US-1 to continue south, or getting on Interstate 295/95, but in either case we'll want to get back to US-1 at Biddeford, then take the drive from Kennebunk to Kennebunkport on Route 35. This pretty drive goes past some beautiful old homes with interesting histories. If you like, you can also take a small detour to Cape Porpoise, hidden away just above Kennebunkport, and home of Goat Island Light, just offshore.

Continuing back to US-1 from Kennebunkport, you pass through several interesting towns - Wells, Ogunquit, York and York Beach, before winding toward the sea and Cape Neddick Lighthouse, built in 1879 (which, interestingly enough, is located in York Beach, not the town of Cape Neddick). The lighthouse is located just offshore on a rocky island, hence the nickname "The Nubble." The keeper used to cross via boat (and it could be waded at low tide, but that was treacherous, until a gondola and cable system was installed.

Cape Neddick Lighthouse is lighted in white lights at Christmas, but since many who visit there choose to come in warmer weather and would otherwise never see its decoration, it is lighted again for the month of July each year.

In our next installment, we'll head north of Brewster House to see more lighthouses!