Fun in Freeport this weekend!

This weekend, April 17-19, is alive with outdoor activities!

The LL Bean Spring Sports event takes place this weekend. Take a walk to the store from here and get excited about the outdoors! And don't miss the newly opened 1912 Cafe located in LL Bean on the main floor near the big 'River' aquarium.

The Wild Bird Supply store will be having free coffee and popcorn as well as their free, guided bird walk. On Saturday, meet at the store at 8 AM; on Sunday meet atop Bradbury Mountain. (In the event of rain, the Sunday bird walk will not be held, but a presentation on hawk identification will be show at the store.) FMI- check their website

The Historic Freeport B&B's will be hosting an open house on Friday, April 17 from 2-4 PM. Stop in here to get your map and have a look around. This was the former home of Donald MacMillan, Arctic explorer. We have some of his books and his wife Marian's books as well as articles he wrote for National Geographic back in 1925. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! For more information and to see artifacts of his and Adm Peary's expeditions, check out the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College.

The Bath Antiques Show is on Sunday from 10 AM- 3 PM in the Bath Middle School.

Hope to see you here!

And plan ahead for the grand opening of the Freeport Village Station...May 16. South Freeport resident, Joan Benoit Samuelson will be the guest of honor at the opening of the Nike Outlet.

Baked brie with apples- April recipe of the month

We had something similar to this at the Blue Water Grill in Skaneateles (highly recommend this restaurant right on the lake). It was such a hit at the table, we decided to make it for breakfast as our fruit course. It would also make great hors d'oeuvres.

1 loaf French bread
1 lb brie
1/2 c chopped walnuts
2 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
1/2 c raspberry jam

Slice the French bread into thin slices, place on baking sheet. Slice the brie in thin slices and place one on top of each slice of bread. Sprinkle the walnuts around the bread on the baking sheet (or bake separately if no room). Warm the raspberry jam so it 'pours' and drizzle it over the walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees just until the cheese starts to melt.

Remove from baking sheet and place on serving tray, scatter walnuts around, place apples slices around bread, drizzle more warm raspberry jam, if needed, over apples and walnuts. Enjoy!

LL Bean Summer Concert Series Schedule!

2018 LL Bean Summer Concert Series Schedule is here!

LL Bean's Discovery Park will be hosting multiple different events during the summer. So, a note to those locals who set up their chairs in June - don't! The Big Lawn will be used for many events and not just for concerts. (And a note from LL Bean- set up of chairs & blankets may be done the day before the concert, not prior to that. Thanks for the help keeping the park clear during the week!)

As always, concerts are free, but subject to cancellation due to weather. Start time: 7:30 PM.

LL Bean Summer Concerts- Freeport



July 4:  Events all day including the 5k road race. Parade in front of the inn at 10 AM.

July 4:  Devon Gilfillian

July 7:  Chase Rice and Cassadee Pope

July 14: Big Head Todd

July 21: Old Crow Medicine Show

July 28: Passenger

Aug 4:   The Revivalists

Aug 11:  Camp Sunshine Watermelon Fest (not a concert)

Aug 18:  Teens to Trails with events throughout the day

Aug 25-26: Dog Days of Summer - All day events with dogs as the focus

Sept 1:  The Fray

Call for more information and event cancellations: 1-877-755-2326

All concerts start at 7:30 PM in Discovery Park at LL Bean. Saturday nights, except where noted. White Cedar Inn is 2 blocks from Discovery Park, and easy walk!

Last summer was a terrific line-up and everyone had a great time. Hope to see you this summer!

Thanks again to LL Bean for these great concerts every summer!

Check here for room availability.

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

Irish Soda Bread- March recipe of the month

Sure and ye knew there'd be an Irish recipe from me this month!

Aunt Mary's Irish Soda Bread

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsps sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsps butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 c raisins
• 1 c buttermilk
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds

Preheat oven to 350, grease cake pan.

Mix flour, sugar baking powder, baking soda in large bowl. Toss in butter chunks and cut in with knife, mixture will be crumbly. Add raisins and caraway seeds, mix.

Pour in buttermilk, mix with fork until mixture holds together.

Remove mixture from bowl and knead on floured surface, folding and refolding. Form into round and place in cake pan. Score top in the shape of a cross (traditional method for keeping the devil out of the finished product). Bake for 35-45 minutes. Entire surface will be lightly browned and top will have 'split' open.

Serve warm with butter or jam. Also tastes great cold with tea.

Don't forget, there's a little Irish in us all...slainte! Enjoy.

Click here for printable recipe.

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

Another storm!

What started off as rain last night, ended up like this: that's the same tree from a couple of posts ago, the one that had the work done to it.

At least this time it seems to have held up just fine, unlike the next tree...

You know which one this is, you can see the thermometer attached to it! This view is from the dining room window.

Now the sun is out and most of the snow is falling off the trees in large, cold, wet clumps...brrr!

C&G, if you're reading this...you missed another one!





It'll be a little while before we can even reach this tree to get that branch down. It's cracked almost all the way thru but, because the tip of the branch is in a snowbank, the whole branch is being held up. Otherwise, it would have snapped clear off.

You can see the white cedar (to the right of the 'thermometer tree') also lost a few branches.

These pictures were taken fairly early this morning, thus the overall blue tint to everything. Yes, I was up and out THAT early!

Seriously? I could have taken these pictures at midnight it was so bright outside with the reflected light from the snowfall and the streetlights.



My hero...

Maine Restaurant Week!

Now is the time to check out dining in and around Portland! March 1-10, 2009 is Maine Restaurant Week. Special menus and pricing are on tap for this fantastic 10 day time frame. Freeport, Maine restaurants signed up to participate as of today are: Azure Cafe, Broad Arrow Tavern & the Maine Dining Room, Pedro O'Hara's and the Jameson Tavern.

Three course dinners are priced at $20.09, $30.09 and $40.09 (exclusive of drinks, tax & tip). There's no time like Restaurant Week to check out a new or old favorite!

Sign up to receive emails when the restaurant participation list changes. Be first in line for special events! Heck, they're even on Twitter so you can keep up minute by minute! (The previous link takes you to the Maine Restaurant Week website, over which I have no control!)

Plan a couple of days and visit more than one restaurant! We have availability here at White Cedar Inn during that time and we have a great package to boot! Click here to go to our packages page and book today!

Peary MacMillan Arctic Museum hosts the Centennial

During the course of the year, Bowdoin College will be hosting events associated with Adm Peary's 1908-1909 expedition to the North Pole. Each day there will be a new entry posted from the logs of the crew members. Follow along as Peary, MacMillan and Henson make the trek to the Pole.

Also available is the newly re-issued "How Peary Reached the Pole: The Personal Story of His Assistant Donald B. Macmillan" written by our own Donald MacMillan. I've just ordered a copy so we'll have it here for your perusal.

Read entries from MacMillan's own personal diary of the expedition as the remainder of the crew sets out on the last leg of the expedition as he stays behind with frostbite.

With new artifacts brought in especially for the Centennial, this is the time to visit the Arctic Museum.