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New November Print & Clip Specials for our Ogunquit hotel are here!
Check out the specials by clicking here!
Outlet coupons, yoga discounts and 10% Stonewall Kitchen's Cooking School - Perfect for a new holiday dish!
There's a theme developing here - as you may have noticed, our fearless Stu is a big fan of beef! He has a point - cooking a steak well is a talent and definitely shows. There's no way to fake steak!
Most people venture to Maine for the lobster and seafood, which is understandable. The area has excellent fishing and Maine lobster is one of a kind (and also a bargain right now). However, after a few days, guests usually stop by and ask where's the beef? The Steakhouse in Wells is a great spot - clearly with an emphasis on steak, but also has a good seafood selection too. The sister restaurant is Lord's Harborside which is a local favorite for seafood. For beef, the menu is very extensive - However Stu recommends the Eye of Round with twice baked potatoes. It's consistently good and filling.
Service is charming - felt like an old friend that would sit down and chat with you. Very nice and relaxed - a pleasant experience. Another plus to the visit was not having to wait in line - the Steakhouse does not take reservations and can be very popular. A recommendation is to go early to beat the crowds. The excellent quality makes this a good choice for everyone looking for steak (though the busy atmosphere doesn't work for a romantic outing or possibly an older crowd).
Overall, a Stu's Review of 4.5 out of 5!
Our giant scarecrow - Gordy - is getting popular. He's made the front page of Tourist News (they didn't note it under the picture caption, but he is located at the Meadowmere, directly at our entrance). And we've spotted a few blogs about him.
On The Batty Belfry, Bob and Terry spotted our Ogunquitfest scarecrow in their travels up and down the coast. They also took some cool pictures. (See Gordy's here -Though we must say - the is no Windmere Resort and the caption should read, the Meadowmere). Check out everything at http://impybat.blogspot.com/2008/10/bob-and-terri-go-to-ogunquit-photoblog.html
On Mini-Obs, Wii Lad and Natalie posed in front of our giant pumpkins surrounding Gordy. http://natsthename.blogspot.com/2008/10/weekend-away.html . They also got some amazing pictures of the area (the Butterflies have been out lately - they are huge this year!) to enjoy.
We'll keep our eyes open for more Gordy updates and check out the information on OgunquitFest at seacoastonline: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081013-NEWS-81013010 . Don't worry, we'll share our bed race team soon!
As an Environmental Leader, we get a lot of sales pitches for 'green' products (some send us mailers weekly despite requests to stop wasting the paper please). But this latest gadget is definitely one cool widget.
Agilewaves releases a Resource Monitoring system. Real Time look at your gas, electric and water consumption - and how that translates into Carbon emissons and money. (We immediately thought - teenagers of the world are in trouble - can't leave the lights on anywhere and the parents have hard evidence that yes, you did waste water taking a 40 minute shower.)
Even better, the energy can be monitored on the go so when your relatives house sit, even they have to behave.
But seriously, sometimes you need to know where you are starting from to cut back and make changes. Startled to find how high the electricity is when you gone all day at work? Maybe it's time for an Energy Star appliance to replace that old fridge or invest is a thermostat timer to automatically turn down the temperature when no one is there.
Check out the online information at Treehugger.com (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/agilewaves-shows-off-user-friendly-home-energy-monitoring-system-at-wcg-2008.php)
This monthes votes are in! Congratulations to The Library Restaurant in Portsmouth, NH - #1 for October 2008!
1. The Library Restaurant
2. The Green Monkey
3. Wentworth by the Sea
4. Ristorante Molise
5. The Old Salt
6. Joseph's Winter Street Cafe
7. 10 Center Street
8. Ristorante Massimo
9. White Barn Inn
10. Anneke Jans
Clearly there are a few staples to the Taste crowd, but you might by surprised to see a hotel on the list. Wentworth by the Sea has a few restaurant choices so it's tough to know which (or if all) are getting the rank of 3 this month. However - we can say that the hotel's main dining - set in the beautiful dining rooms off of the lobby - offers excellent holiday menus. Our last try was for Mother's Day and the set menu was delicious and service was excellent. Best of all, the value was unbelievable. We highly recommend advance reservations - between hotel and local guests, the tables fill quickly.
A new addition to the list is 10 Center Street - which looks like an exciting new choice. The online menus and decor means we may have to take a trip to Newburyport! Plus it looks like they make some cool drinks too!
If you are a frequent traveler, you probably already know about SmarterTravel - with regular deals on last minute specials. It's a handy resource - particularly if you traveling regularly to certain place (we hope that's Ogunquit!)
For this Columbus Day weekend, SmarterTravel focused on great fall foliage deals - and pick our holiday package! (http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/where-to-look-for-columbus-day-deals.html?id=2673699) There are only a few rooms left to enjoy the three night stay with us -but have no fear! We offer a two day weekend version from now until June. There's even a New Year's version as well (this package comes with Jonathan's Upstairs/Downstair party - a really good time).
So don't dispair if you can't join us this weekend - Eat Drink & Be Merry is an option every off season weekend. And if you hint now, maybe Santa will put a gift certificate under the tree. Far better to have some relaxation and time together, than an extra tie this year.
Check out New England Fine Living online (http://www.nefineliving.com/OctoberandHalloweenevents.html)
Our Haunted Hallows escape was a Halloween event pick! Did you know that the Old Village Inn - a choice on the weekend's dining package - is famous for room 2? Featured in a book about ghosts and haunts of New England, the Old Village Inn has been a stop in the center of Ogunquit for food and rest for hundreds of year. Room 2 overlooks the street on the second floor and legend has it, the soul of a faithful departed haunts the room to this day. People report feeling chills in the dead (haha) of summer and quick rushes of breezes - though no window or door is open. Finally, the most haunted happening is the lights - flickering, glowing and randomly turning on and off.
In fact, the year Room 2 was included on the Ghost Tours of OgunquitFest (this happens on the Friday night of OgunquitFest and the tour changes a bit each year - but tells famous Ogunquit tales), as the group huddled outside the Old Village Inn, the lamp post light blew out and left them all in darkness. Just as the guide mentioned how the ghost is protective of Room 2. Coincidence? Perhaps . . .
Other famous ghost tales include the red coats marching the playhouse fields when fog rolls off the ocean, the Isadora sinking and the haunts of an alleged Indian grave in the back of our property (Several staff members report creepy noises, random lights and doors closing). To hear some of these, check out the Ghost Tours of OgunquitFest or visit us on Halloween weekend - if you dare!
Rumor has it the sun will return this weekend and crisp fall temperatures will be here. Driving route one, you can see beautiful fall foliage. It is definitely time to take a drive to the top of Mt. Agamenticus and look over the horizon.
But the other thing that happens on the Seacoast and around Ogunquit are fall festivals. OgunquitFest begins this weekend with the annual scarecrow contest (Go Gordy! He's a patriot this year and hoping to finally crack into the top three. He's like our version of the Cubs - a hopeful contender!) and ChiliFest (http://www.prescottpark.org/events/food_festivals/chili.asp) is held at Prescott Park in Portsmouth. The cook off begins at 1130am and there are awards for people's choice, judge's best and best booth (this gets a little crazy, er, we mean creative).
Zorn's Corn Maze is in full swing as well (http://www.zachscornmaze.com/photos.htm). Our favorite is the shark maze but this year's is cool with a tractor pull.
And for a real fall deall - check out Arrows Restaurant on Friday for one of their Bistro Nights (this week's menu http://www.arrowsrestaurant.com/menu_trattoria.cfm - the pumpkin soup sounds delicious!). Five star dining for $39.95. Yep - it's that good a deal. Plus, you'll warm up the taste buds for ChiliFest.
So pack the sweater and enjoy the sunshine!
Good grief! This year's pumpkin is large!
Our annual pumpkin contest is back - from October 1-31st, guess the weight and you may win! The winner is announced early November on our blog, ogunquitbeachmaine.com, and in our Winter newsletter.
Where does one find such a pumpkin? Funny you should ask. See, this year was a tough one for pumpkin growing. With the rain and regular rot issues, many small carving pumpkins burst and molded (Evidently pumpkin bursting can happen overnight. This gave us images of waking one morning and seeing a pumpkin patch covered in pumpkin goo - a potentially sticky situation). And growing large pumpkins, an art, was even more difficult. Farmer after farmer said they had crop problems and gaint pumpkins explode, implode or just stop growing.
So the great pumpkin search was on. From Massachusetts to Vermont, New Hampshire to Maine - who had a giant pumpkin? Turns out there is one farmer (who shall remain nameless - after all, there is a contest going on) who is the giant pumpkin master. Famous from country shops to gas stations to state fairs, this farmer was sure he could locate a pumpkin for us. And he did - the perfect pumpkin was found - and it's the Great Pumpkin!
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