Just being here in this lovely seaside village is often all the activity our guests desire. If you are looking to explore, here are some of our favorites. Antiques Whether its flea markets, public auctions or rustic shops Maine is a great place to antique. We have a list of our favorites starting with Leila Days Antiques here in Castine on Main Street. Biking We have single speed cruisers for guests to use and mountain bikes can be rented from Dennetts Wharf. Bikes are a great way to explore the historic markers around town or take a picnic lunch to the lighthouse. There is also island biking further a field, Old Quarry tours can take you and your bike to Isle Au Haut and the carriage trails in. Acadia National Park are great for biking. Beaches Backshore beach is our local favorite with a tidal swimming hole and pebble beach for the hardy. There is also stunning Sand Beach at Acadia Park. Craigs Pond and Alamoosook Lake are a short drive away and great for swimming. Power Boat Tours Belfast Bay tours has a daily boat tour of Castine. The Old Quarry in Stonington or the Isle Au Haut ferry service can take you to Isle Au Haut. Old Quarry also offers a lighthouse trip, a puffin search and an island archipelago tour. There is also the sightseeing boat Miss Lissie out of Stonington. Sailboat Tours - There is sailing with the Perlandra in Brooksville, the Pinky schooner Summertime in Oakland. There are more sailing options in Bar Harbor on the schooner Mary Todd and in Camden there are more schooners with more scheduled sailings. In Belfast there is the Friendship sloop Almadea. There are also sailboat rentals available for qualified sailors in Bucks Harbor at Bucks Harbor Marine. Canoeing There is a great canoe rental service in Acadia Park on Long Pond. Craigs Pond and Alamoosook Lake are also nice and close by. Books Our guests favorite is the Compass Rose Bookstore on Main St. and for antique books we enjoy the Dolphin Bookstore, both in Castine. Further a field there is the Blue Hill Bookstore and for antiques the Big Chicken Barn in Ellsworth. Festivals Our favorite is the Fourth of July in Castine, the whole town comes alive in an outdoor festival of activities. There is music on the waterfront, a costume parade and traditional games on the common such as potato sack races, a town tug of war and fireworks over the harbor after sunset. In Deer Isle the hills come alive with the blossoming of lupines and the town celebrates its Lupine Festival on June 15, 16 17. In Brooklin The Annual Folk Music Arts Festival at Flye Point, is on June 23. Its an all day very casual affair with national and local artists. In the Blue Hill Fairgrounds there is The Perkinstock Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival, on August 17, 18, 19. In Blue Hill over Labor Day weekend there is the Blue Hill Fair, an old Maine, county fair with traditional farm games, oxen and horse pulls, 4-H ribbon award ceremonies, pig races, barrel relays on horse and sheep dog trials. www.bluehillfair.com. Gardens June is when the gardens come to life. Please start with ours, in 2000 this was an empty lot without grass, its been a labor of love. I would also stroll up the street to the gardens at Leila Day Antiques. Further afield are the Asticou and Thuya Gardens in N.E. Harbor and Merryspring in Camden. Golf Castine has a nine hole golf course open to the public, the oldest in the free world. There is the White Birches in Ellsworth, Deer Isle Country Club on Deer Isle and the Kebo Country Club in Bar Harbor. Hiking The Blue Hill Peninsula is filled with wonderful places to hike and explore. Our guests like the Witherlee Woods and the Rene Henderson Nature Preserve, both in Castine. A short boat ride across the bay is the Holbrook Island Sanctuary, excellent for hiking an isolated coastal bird sanctuary. Blue Hill mountain is a more challenging hike with expansive views of Blue Hill Bay and Acadia is a must see. Depending on your direction we can make recommendations. Kayaking Our guests love Karen at Castine Kayak Adventures. Karen is a knowledgeable guide who knows the area like no other! Castine was the birthplace of the LL Bean sponsored International Sea Kayak Symposium, it was the home for this event for its perfect waters and surrounding islands. Further a field is the Old Quarry Adventures and Granite Island Guide service, both out of Stonington with trips to Isle Au haut. Lobster rolls The Castine Variety was awarded the coveted Maine State Lobster Roll award and holds dear to its original recipe. The Breeze is another good recommendation with seating on the Town Dock. The Bagaduce Lunch on the reversing falls in Brooksville and the Maritime Caf in Stonington are also recommended. Lighthouses Maine is famous for its lighthouses, visit our Dyce Head Lighthouse, its a beautiful waterfront stroll from the inn. There is a lighthouse cruise sponsored by the Belfast Bay Cruises and also the Old Quarry Guide service in Stonington. Traveling further on the coast we can provide more details. Local Food Producers The Blue Hill Peninsula is blessed with an abundance of local farms, wine makers, cheese producers, seafood smoke houses, jam makers and farmers markets. Let us know, we can help you plan a tour. Movie Theatres Its rare to find the old, small town movie theatre but here in Downeast we are lucky to still have our thriving, vintage movie houses. There is the Historic Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, home of the Silent Movie Film Festival, The art deco Grand in Ellsworth and the Colonial in Belfast. If you are in Rockland see the Strand, the Bayview in Camden, Reel Pizza in Bar Harbor and The Opera House in Stonington. Museums Castine is blessed with two fine museums, the Wilson Museum and the Castine Historical Society. The Wilson museum has a plethora of worldly, anthropological curiosities. Our guests enjoy the Castine Historical Society and their permanent installation of the Penobscot Exhibition. In Stonington there is the Granite Museum which chronicles the age of granite commerce in the state. Off to Bar Harbor, dont miss the Abbe Museum and the native American narrative on the peninsula. In Ellsworth youll find the Telephone Museum and the Woodlawn Museum. In Blue Hill there is an excellent example of late early American architecture in the form of the Jonathan Fischer House. Music Castine is the home of jazz singer Diane Linscott and the opera singer Gladys Kuli. In Castine there is a thriving summer concert series of guest artists sponsored by the Trinitarian Church. The Castine Town band is well worth the flight as is the eclectic Mike and Susie Fay, the drumming ministers of soul, The Bluebirds and the spirited Julianne Gardner are not to be missed. in Blue Hill, the home of an international summer camp for classic music protgs since 1907. Flash In The Pans, steel drum group from neighboring Brooksville make regular appearances as does the Bagaduce Chorale. Spa Care Blue Moon Body Treatments offers a full range of spa treatments. There are also individual masseuses available for in room massages. Tennis The Castine Golf Club, just 2 blocks up the hill is open to the public and has three tennis courts. Shopping Start your shopping with us at Bird Song! Then just a block from us is the Four Flags for the best selection of Maine gifts. Just outside the village is The Duck Stops Here.

Discerning Traveler Romantic Hideaway. Excerpts from their review of February 2004. This prominent Victorian inn on the main street of this quiet unspoiled Maine coastal community is one of the original Maine seasonal summer hotels. With its three-story turret, wraparound porch with rocking chairs and overflowing flower boxes it is a favorite of photographers and artists. Julie VandeGraaf, who owned the Pink Rose Pastry Shop in Philadelphia for 18 years, and her husband Jack, purchased the inn in 2000. The pub is our favorite spot in the inn. Jack's fabulous collection of photographs, paintings and memorabilia of world leaders and events literally cover every available space on the walls. Some of the most distinctive are an original lithograph of Queen Victoria, a sepia portrait of Ghandi, and a watercolor of gondolas in Venice. Guests gather here for a drink, to talk about their travels, or to have dinner. In addition to the Passports Pub there's a sunny sitting room with a turret window seat and view of the harbor and a wide wraparound porch with wicker chairs. Most of the rooms have king or queen-size beds. They have greatly enhanced the rooms to give them a comfortable old-fashioned summery feel, adding overhead fans, lots of antiques including Eastlake headboards to many of the beds, mismatched floral bed linens and pillows, lace curtains and bedding including down quilts and pillows, and lots of old prints, lithographs, and whimsical antique postcards. Our favorites and the most romantic rooms are in the main building. The one most frequently selected by honeymooners is Room 1, the second floor turret room with a great view looking down Castine's elm tree lined Main Street toward the harbor. This sunny large room has a pair of wicker chairs facing the five windows of the turret, a king-size bed, and a redone bath with a marble vanity and clawfoot tub with a shower. Room 3, a summertime favorite, has a small balcony on the front of the inn overlooking the town. You have a good view yet have privacy as flower boxes surround the balcony. Other features are a queen-size bed with a white painted antique headboard and bureau and a big renovated bath with a clawfoot tub and shower. Room 4 is a large room with a king-size bed and matching bureau and a small newly renovated bath. The six-room Perkins Cottage located just behind the inn is the oldest part of the inn. The suite with a king-size bed and small bath is a favorite as the sitting room has a wood-burning fireplace. We also like Room 5 as it is a bright sunny morning room overlooking the garden. The two candlelit dining rooms have widely spaced tables with flowers on each, mismatched antique china, and jazz recordings playing in the background. We started with a bowl of small tender steamed mussels from Blue Hill, some of the best and sweetest we have eaten. Crab cakes are made from local fresh picked Stonington crabs. Local organic mixed green salad with Irish cheddar and spicy shrimp salad are other appetizers. The exceptional bouillabaisse, a special, has a rich and flavorful broth, filled with white fish, mussels, lobster and clams. The tender lamb shank served with portobello mushrooms, oven dried tomatoes, and polenta, and grilled swordfish in a lemon broth with house made Greek sausage are popular. They always have grilled lobster served with different accompaniments. Favorite desserts made by Julie are profiteroles with homemade ice cream and chocolate sauce and gingerbread with warm apple compote and sabayon sauce. For early risers fresh brewed coffee is set out in the hallway of each building. Breakfast, 8 to 9:30, is served at individual tables in the dining room or on the deck overlooking the side garden. Along with juices, a fresh fruit bowl, baked items, granola and yogurt there's a choice of two hot dishes. One is always scrambled eggs and bacon and a second option could be blueberry buttermilk pancakes or apple walnut French toast. Following breakfast borrow one of the inn's bikes to explore the town. What to Do. This waterfront community, first settled by the French in 1613, has an impressive number of restored 18th and 19th century homes. Use one of the inn's bicycles to explore the quiet streets. Scattered throughout town are about one hundred markers that point out historic buildings and sites. This is a major craft area. Blue Hill, Deer Isle and Stonington have fine shops and numerous craft and art galleries. Favorites are the Leighton Gallery in Blue Hill and Blue Heron Gallery in Deer Isle. To get out on the water go kayaking from Castine or take the mailboat from Stonington to Isle au Haut. For more information about the area please see Discerning Traveler's guide to Down East Maine which is available on their website www.discerningtraveler.com