According to my coworker who follows my instagram, we had the ideal old person vacation in Maine this weekend. I guess I’m moving into my geriatric years because it was so restful and pleasing and perfect that I don’t even mind that we weren’t drunk on a beach in Cancun. And yes, instagram, again, I’m sorry! I did bring my camera, but it’s so heavy I didn’t feel like toting it around, and my trustworthy vintage film camera that was a high school graduation gift suddenly stopped working.
This B&B is in Wiscasset, a little town I spent a lot of time in in high school. Billed as the “Prettiest Town in Maine” it’s close to Popham Beach, Boothbay, and Bath.
The photos above are of the B&B, which turned out to be a dream – the owners were really fantastic (& their son was in high school with the friend I stayed with in summers past – small world!) and just back from France with armloads of treasures for their shop. I wanted everything – yards of antique linens, delicate pot de crème sets, mercury glass candlesticks. We had a picnic basket breakfast each morning in the garden, and lounged around in patches of sun on the tall bed reading books. We’ll definitely head back & maybe even aim for a stay at one of their rentals in France.
Wiscasset itself is a total time-travel town – so easy to imagine tall ships filling the harbor, trunks of china and silks roped to carts headed up the main streets past the grand houses. One of those houses is the Nickels-Sortwell House, above. Our tour guide Dan was really interesting and knowledgeable & the house stunning – unlike the nearby Castle Tucker, which had a terrible guide, was absolutely hideous, and had housed a family who seemed downright psychopathic. Good times! But the Nickels-Sortwell house has me drawing up solarium plans, and we even got to meet the current owner, a tiny energetic imp in her 90s who actually made me want to get old.
Wiscasset also has some fancy shops, including Treats, Rock Paper Scissors, and more spendy antique shops than you can shake a stick at. It also has one junk shop, where I came across this CÉLINE train case for $20 and almost had a heart attack. Next to the Chanel bag, it’s probably one of my favorite finds.
I’m all self-conscious now after being told I’m an old lady, but I LIKE gardens and graveyards and old houses and rocky beaches and tiny weathered gates wrapped in wild seaside roses. I’m ready for a little red roofed ocean cottage in the middle of nowhere now, please.
So refined and calming. Those fence shots warm the heart.
From someone who took her day off to wander slowly around a botanical garden and sniff every single plant in the fragrance garden , then have a nap. I salute you. Mid-thirties old ladies, hooray!
Pshaw on the naysayers! That looks like it was a fantastic trip. If you had a good time, then that’s all that counts. That B&B looks gorgeous and so relaxing.
Your trip looks simply blissful. My favorite thing to do on vacations is wander around really old graveyards.
I don’t think enjoying yourself makes you an old lady. I think it’s silly that people would even consider taking a trip and getting drunk enough not to remember most of it.
(And visit graveyards is the best. There are even certain graveyards that I have a favorite marker to visit.)
Looks like the perfect getaway!
I’ve been into gran-cations since I was a little kid, and the thought of beach vacations makes me snarl my lip, so I think that being interested in the creepy and old inherently does not MAKE YOU creepy and old. Harrumph!
What, no pictures of a B&B cat patrolling the place? LOVED THIS.
Sadly, no B&B cat. We should have brought our own.
That looks just perfect. I don’t care what people say – old lady vacations are the best vacations!
We love the old lady weekends too. And trips to Reno. We go antiquing, to nurseries, forests, beaches that allow tiny dogs.
I love being old! Except for the whole aging part.
That B&B looks delicious! How did you find it?
I think I found a link on Pinterest, maybe? Something totally random! Hello, new world of travel inspiration!
So cool! I’ve found the same with recipes posted on Pinterest. The visuals really get you.
Our B&Bs out here really stink. They’re all shiny new brass beds & cheap floral bedspreads from Ross. Bleh!
Oh my gosh – I forgot about that band trip to Wiscasset! Nick and I stumbled upon Popham Beach a few Spring Breaks ago and it was the most beautiful sunset we’ve ever seen.
I kept going back every summer to stay with Zoe and Brooke! The B&B owner’s son was actually in Zoe’s class. Small world.
This is ineffably lovely! Your instagram photos were so bewitching, I was waiting to hear where you stayed. Delightful.
Oh Maine, how I love it. My brother lives in Bath and I am going to visit in 2 weeks – cannot wait. Your vacation looks lovely.