Cousins River Trail

This Freeport Conservation Trail leads to the tidal Cousins River. You get a glimpse along the way of old stone boundary fences and disused roads. Plenty of opportunity for woodland birding as well.

Great blue herons.

One of the many boardwalk trails thru the woods.

Cousins River from the end of the trail.

Woodland violas.

How to get here: Take Rt 1 south to the YMCA (about 3-4 miles). Pull into the Y, go to the very back of the parking lot on the left side. You'll see the start of the trail going uphill from the parking lot. There is a map at the top of the hill.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Year in Review 2012

It's time again to comb thru the files and pick out some fun tidbits about last year. Without further ado...the year in review:
  
So, where did you all come from?

Countries- in order of number of guests

• USA
• Canada
• Columbia
• Italy
• UK (including Scotland and England)
• Australia
• Germany
• Denmark
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Thailand
• Spain 

States- in order of % of reservations

• MA
• CT
• NY
• PA
• ME (first time ME has been so far up the list!)
• NJ
• RI
• VA
• OH
• CA

This year only 39 states made an appearance. One of these years we'll get all 50 in one year! Don't forget to put a pin in the map.

The youngest guest last year was 5 weeks old. 

Number of guests who went on our lobster boat trip- 18

Pounds of blueberries made into jam- 8 (How long did the jam last? 4 weeks!)

Gallons of maple syrup from our trees? 0 (It was a really bad maple syrup season. Too warm for too long too soon.)

Guest from farthest away? The Australians take it again!

Longest stay? A 2-way tie for first place with 7 nights each. A 3-way tie for second with 6 nights.

Number of languages we heard this year? 7 + all those variations on English from Australia, England, Scotland, Boston. ;-)

New recipes we tried: Cranberry Scones, Pear Salad, Panna Cotta, Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes, Grape Cake (I'm pretty sure there were others I'm forgetting!)

Well, that's it for 2012. Looking ahead to 2013 we already have reservations from 12 different states and 3 different countries!

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Mac n Cheese

Lobster mac n cheese

OK, not something we're serving for breakfast, but I'll file this under 'Dinner with Rock & Monica' as something we make for ourselves.

There are so many variations on mac n cheese I hope you'll share your favorites with us! Either email them or post them in the comments below.

Ingredients:

8 ozs macaroni (I know a lot of recipes call for elbow mac but I really like a mac with more surface area for hanging onto the cheese. Cavatappi has a few more twists and turns to it. My fav is penne.)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp mustard powder
pinch cayenne pepper
12 oz evaporated milk
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese (you can use sharp or mild or flavored, whatever you like)
1/4 c shredded Gruyere
panko or crumbled Ritz crackers

Boil enough water for the type of pasta you bought. Cook til al dente, pour off 1 cup of liquid then drain pasta and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking- melt the butter in a saucepan over med heat. Whisk in the flour, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, cook while whisking for 1 minute. Whisk in the evaporated milk, then simmer about 5 minutes until thickened. Stir in the cheeses and the pasta. Add just enough of the reserved water to make the sauce thick, not thin.

Butter a 9x12 baking dish. Pour in pasta mix, spread panko or crumbled crackers on top and bake at 350 until cheese bubbles.

Alternate ideas-  

• Pop over to Bow St Market and pick up a cooked 1 1/2 lb lobster, pick the meat and mix in after baking. (Ok, this is easy here, not so much elsewhere!) 
• Add chopped ham or bacon before baking. 
• Add tuna fish and peas (tuna pea wiggle) before baking.
• Broccoli is pretty good slathered in cheese, so that's an option, too.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Cuckolds Lighthouse

Plans are afoot to reopen the Cuckolds light to visitors in the summer of 2013. The lighthouse is now owned by a private group that has been working to restore the buildings over the past few years. Until the lighthouse was automated, lightkeepers lived on the island for 82 years.

Cuckolds Lighthouse

To get to a good vantage point to see the light and take photos follow Rt 27 through Boothbay Harbor Village to Southport Island. The lighthouse can be viewed from the town dock. 

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032
www.whitecedarinn.com

Maine State Aquarium

Fun, hands-on side trip for families with kids. For parents, you've got the view, the lobster rolls, lighthouses and much more!

Lots of kids love handling 'creatures' and this is the place for them! Got a kid who doesn't like to be dirty or wet who is a little trepidatious? This is a safe zone for kids to look even if they don't want to touch. 

Take a look...

Flounder

One heck of an ugly fish

Hands-on snail

Gorgeous views from the aquarium lawn

Boothbay Harbor view

Lobster buoy collection at the aquarium

How to get there: Rt 1 north from the inn to Boothbay exit (Rt 27). Stay on Rt 27 all the way through Boothbay Village. Cross the steel deck bridge and turn left on McKown Point Rd. Follow the road to the end.

Make a day of it and wander around the harbor. Stop in at the Lobster Dock for lunch and great views. Take a drive around Southport Island and check out the lighthouses!

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Nemo finds Maine

Saturday morning in Maine after Nemo makes landfall...

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse

Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse

We finally made it to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse! We've driven past it so many times and just never stopped. But on Tuesday, as we headed north on vacation, there it was out in the harbor, calling to us. And when we're on vacation, we go where our whimsy takes us!

The above photo was taken almost at the end of the breakwater, just before we got to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is open for visits on weekends during the summer and on special occasions.

Canada geese over the breakwater at high tide

The granite breakwater is 7/8 of a mile long and you DO have to walk back! We went as the tide was going out but we could certainly see where the waves had broken over the breakwater at high tide. Not a lot of flora and fauna at this time of year, but we did see broken sea urchin shells along the top as well as some sea ducks and gulls. This is an excellent year round location for sighting a variety of sea birds. 

Breakwater Lighthouse at sunset.

Not a lot of foot traffic on the breakwater so it was a nice stroll. A little bit of history here...it took 18 years to build the breakwater, from 1881 to 1899. A small beacon was moved to the end of the finished breakwater 4 times during the construction. More history can be found here.



So you have an idea of how far it is from the lighthouse back to the shore, the 2 figures seen walking back are about 1/3 of the way on their return trip. Now you know what a mile looks like!

Looking back toward shore from the lighthouse.

Directions from White Cedar Inn: Turn north on Rt 1. Drive approx 59 miles to the town of Rockland, stay on Rt 1. Just north of downtown, turn right on Waldo Ave. Follow signs for Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse Museum is straight ahead (toward the harbor) just before you make the left turn in Rockland to stay on Rt 1.

Breakwater at night, fog rolling in.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032
www.whitecedarinn.com