The Colony Hotel, Kennebunkport, Maine

I've been meaning to blog about my weekend in Kennebunkport, Maine but work got really busy and I've been spending my nights thinking about mortgage applications and not blogging. I have so much to share I am going to do a few posts about the weekend. We arrived late Friday afternoon and left Sunday morning but still I have lots to show you! This post is strictly about the hotel we stayed at.

The hotel is very old and is in the Historic Hotels of America book.  It has an ideal location just minutes from the center of Kennebunkport and it's on the same road as the Bush compound. The oceanviews from the property are spectacular!

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It was a beautiful Fall weekend, actually quite cool and windy but still beautiful.

The hotel is pet friendly which was not a problem for me because as you know I love animals! I did mind when the little yippy dog in the room next door barked every time someone walked by his/her door. Luckily, the room was at the end of the hall so not too much traffic going on there.

The entrance was lovely and decorated for Fall with cornstalks and colorful Mums.

This walkway led straight to the ocean and there was a pool on the other side of the stairs.

We actually started our weekend in Maine late on Friday afternoon. We got there in time to see a beautiful sunset.  This photos shows the back of the hotel.

Another walkway leading to the ocean. On the left, the hotel's restaurant.  We ate there and watched the sunset.  My dinner? Seafood, of course! I ordered baked sea scallops served with an apple cider cream sauce and spinach.

I made a reservation for a deluxe oceanview room for myself and my sister got a garden view from her room. I had a panoramic view of the ocean. It was breathtaking.

 Here's another view. Patterned wallpaper and rug.  In person, it did not look as busy as in the photo and the room's decor was very nice.  It was decorated in the traditional style.

I just kept snapping photos of the view from my room. I was definitely in relaxation mode the minute I saw the space.

I used my wide angle lens to capture the vastness of the room.  My sister said she would have been happy sleeping on a cot in this room!

As you can see, this was a lot of space for one person. I had a wonderful night's sleep here (once the yippy dog decided to go to sleep too!).

The bathroom was very nice too! It had an oceanview as well and a nice hot shower!

I had a walkin closet, something I don't even have at home! 

After dinner, we sat by a cozy fire in the living room/ lobby. The lobby was tastefully decorated.

My sister checked out the tourist news to look for things to do. We already had a few things in mind including a daytrip to Portland the next day and a trip to Old House Parts in Kennebunk.

I think the lobby and living room had a wonderful old New England feel. Conservative yet cozy.

 

The doors led to a porch on the back of the hotel.  You can sit and watch the ocean from the porch, I am sure it is lovely in the Summer. It was too cold and dark to sit there on Friday night.

 

 Here's the dining room. The windows on the right have ocean views and there is a rotunda at the end of the dining room with 360 degree views. We had dinner here the first night and breakfast in this room every morning.

After relaxing by the fire and planning the rest of the weekend, we retired to our respective rooms and had a wonderful night's sleep.

Kennebunkport continued

Two years ago, I vacationed in the Kennebunkport area.  I tried to have dinner at a restaurant called Pier 77 on a friend's recommendation but they were booked solid.  Last Thursday, I tried to eat there again.  This time I was successful.

My friend Lori Lee and I arrived there just as the sky opened up and torrential rain fell.

So no photos of a beautiful sunshiny day.

Nice decor and what a fireplace! I imagine it must be so cozy by that fireplace in the Fall.

Here's a closer look.  What beautiful inlaid tile in that mantel!

Oh right, we ate there too! After all that was the point.  We both chose to go with the special of the day, fried scallops.

And the scallops were huge! They were lightly fried, not too heavy and they were so tender and delicious.

I tried again to get a good ocean shot but the rain persisted.  In fact, right after we sat down there was a loud clap of thunder followed by a spectacular lightning bolt. If only I could have captured it with my  camera, it was all silvery with lots of tendrils.  My friend Lori Lee mentioned that she had never seen silver lightning like that! Either had I.

We finished eating and it was still so gray and wet out.

                           
Just a really dreary afternoon.  Boo hoo! I wanted to walk down by the water.

I guess I will just have to take my shots through the windows.
                               

This the bathroom at Pier 77.  After having just visited the architectural salvage place, Old House Parts in Kennebunk, I made special note of the mirror. Cute idea!

This is a little sitting area at the top of the stairs and just outside the bathrooms. I was loving that table and lamp.  So unique! It would look fantastic in my home and I'll take the chair too!


                                 
                                 
A separate room for larger groups.  I think my tea group would enjoy this.

                                
I really liked the decor at Pier 77.

And another view of that fabulous lamp and table.

One more shot of the restaurant, lunch time is over.

And one last shot of the water before we leave.  Still no sunshine but at least the torrential rain stopped.  I will definitely be back, perhaps in the Fall to sit by that cozy fireplace!

Daytripping- Kennebunkport, Maine

The other day I looked at my attendance calendar at work and I realized I had only taken 3 of my 22 allotted vacation days this year.  If I don't use them by December 31st. I lose them.  So I decided to take one last Thursday.

I decided to go with a friend to Kennebunkport, Maine for the day.  We started out with a drive up to Stonewall Kitchens in York.  We did a little shopping and had coffee and enough breakfast to tide us over to until lunchtime.

Rain was predicted but not until the afternoon and we arrived before the rain hit.   We drove by the ocean as the sky got grayer and grayer.  I didn't mind.  I love a moody sky.

We drove along Ocean Ave, admiring all the beautiful seaside homes and wishing we knew the people who lived there.

Occasionally, we would get out of the car and explore the area.  This spot was lovely with it's wild  foliage and cool rocks.  You can see what the travel brochures mean by rocky coastline.

We enjoyed walking by and admiring all the oceanfront homes on Ocean Ave.

This one had a fantastic porch facing the ocean.

This spectacular home was directly on the water.

This one might have been my favorite.  Don't you love the architectural detail?

Here's a longer shot of the home. Just lovely!

So sweet, another beauty.

And no trip to Kennebunkport is complete without a trip to the Bush compund at Walker's Point. This is the view from Ocean Ave.  What spectacular views they must have from that house!
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As I was zooming in a bit, a woman who was standing on the rocks called our attention to the people who were standing on the front lawn.  She asked if I could see who it was, she suspected it was Barbara Bush.  I couldn't say for sure at the time.  But later upon closer inspection, it was indeed Barbara Bush and I am not sure about the man next to her.  So I was pretty excited to think that I got a photo of Barbara on her front lawn. ( You can click on the photo to enlarge it).

The waves were crashing against the rocks making that sound that I love.  It's actually very rhythmnic and soothing.  If you've ever slept by the ocean, you know it can lull you to sleep.

But no sleeping on this daytrip.  I have more to tell about this day which I will hold for another post. We had lunch at Pier 77 in Cape Porpoise and witnessed a fantastic lightning storm and prior to that we made a stop at Old House Parts to look at architectual salvage pieces.  I found something really amazing but that too is for another post.

Those of you on the East Coast, I wish you a safe weekend.  Let's hope the hurricane does not live up to the hype!

St Anne's Church

This is the third post about my recent trip to Kennebunkport, Maine. If you haven't already read them, you might be interested in the previous two posts.

One of the points of interest our innkeeper mentioned was St. Anne's Church. He said the church looked like it had been dropped from Europe into Kennebunkport.



I would have to agree. Look at the fabulous stonework!



Such an impressive doorway.



Stunning stained glass windows all around the church! My sister and I were a little inhibited taking photos inside the church and the low light didn't help the quality of the photos we did take or at least the ones I took.




The sky turned dark and took on a moody feel.




Wouldn't you love to attend a service or concert right here by the ocean? And wouldn't you love to live in that house in the background?



The water was starting to get a little choppy. I tried but I could not do the whitecaps justice.




The sun was starting to set and we spied this boat with the burgundy sails. It looked really stunning against the aforementioned moody sky.



Our innkeeper was right. St. Anne's Church and it's seaside location was one point of interest we didn't want to miss!