Come to Boothbay Harbor, Maine on Sunday, August 2nd for the 7th Annual Boat Builders festival. Tour Washburn & Doughty, world-class builder of Tugboats and Hodgon Yachts builder of high quality, state of the art, custom built composite yachts.

Visit the Marina and Sail Loft, watch the boat parades, enjoy local seafood and sit back and listen to the bands. Go to The Boothbay Region Land Trust to see a complete schedule and download a .pdf flyer (with directions) click on Page 1 and Page 2

The Maine Antiques Dealers Association in partnership with the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens presents Antiques in the Garden on Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th from 10am to 5pm at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

Attend the Gala Preview Party on Thursday, July 9th from 5pm to 8pm.

Click Here for directions.

On Sunday, May 31st the Harvey Gamage will be docking at Wooton’s Wharf in beautiful Boothbay Harbor at one o”clock.

The Harvey Gamage has just returned from four months at sea with a full crew of High School students. Working with partner schools, the Ocean Classroom Foundation offers a multitude of programs on it’s three ships, including the “Semester at Sea” program and Seafaring Camps.

Congratulations to all our sailors and thanks to the Ocean Classroom Foundation for the use of the photo of the Harvey Gamage!

Well, the results are in . . . What are Yankee Magazine’s Top 20 best attractions in Maine? Well, you’ll find 2 of the right here in the Boothbay Region.

The Burnt Island Lighthouse here in Boothbay Harbor was rated the best Lighthouse tour, and with more than 60 Lightouses on our coast, that’s a pretty big deal.

Only accessible by boat, you can join a small cast of interpreters that represent the last lighthouse family to live on the island circa 1955. Thursday and Sunday evenings from June 28 through August 30.

Best Seaside Fragrance goes to The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. More than 250 acres of beautifully planned and maintained gardens, sculpture and access to the Sheepscot River.

Free tours, an excellent cafe and georgous gardens and forests that seem to go on forever.

And talking about their Top 20 choices, 2 of the Top 20 Events are right here, too.

June 23rd - 24th is Windjammer’s Days, with fully rigged schooners that sail into the harbor. There are tours, waterfront concerts and fireworks. Plus some really fine food.

Last, East Boothbay’s Boatbilder’s Festival is held August 1st & 2nd.

Art sales, demonstations, nautical lectures, both working and pleasure craft on display and a seafood festival. Come and see how we build boats in Maine!

I wanted to take several blog entries to talk about all of the activities going on during the summer  in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. This entry will deal with our favorite ocean activities, because, well, we live in a Harbor.

Cabbage Island Clambakes - A very well-run operation that combines a harbor tour with a true New England lobster bake on a privately owned island.

Schooner Sailing - A must for anyone visiting the Maine coast. See it the way the first visitors did - aboard one of the traditional wooden sailing vessels that call Boothbay Harbor home. Schooner Eastwind, a traditional wooden windjammer captained by world voyagers (and outstanding hosts) Herb & Doris Smith; Schooner Lazy Jack with Captain Joe Tassi; or Bay Lady, a friendship sloop run by Balmy Days Cruises.

Blackjack Sport Fishing - Captain Dan Stevens grew up on the bays and inlets of this region, and you won’t find a more knowledgeable or experienced guide. If its stripers you’re after, he’s your man. (207-633-64452 or cell: 207-380-5445)

Burnt Island Lighthouse Tour - A limited schedule, but worth going out of your way for this living history tour, seen through the eyes of the last lightkeeper’s family.

Go to the Welch House Inn’s “Innkeeper’s Picks” page to see more choices for great activities in the Boothbay Harbor region, or read what the Boston Globe has to say about our fair town.

April 24th, 25th & 26th right here in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  Come and experience our own brand of harbor antics to herald in the start of spring and the beginning of the 2009 Fishing Season.

We’ll have Lobster Crate races, Trap hauling, Dory bailing, Tug of War, Fish Fry, the Miss Shrimp Pageant, and more!

Go to Welch House Inn Reservations to check room availability.

As usual, when Susan and I have some spare time, we try to get to Portland to see her folks or partake in some other urban diversion.

Decided to try a restaurant called “Blue Spoon”, located on Munjoy Hill on the East Side. While they don’t have a website, you can get plenty of information about the spot on the Portland Food Map. (That’s a really great resource, but another blog at another time).

The atmosphere is very cool…Large windows overlooking the street, a small bar overlooking the kitchen, seats for 35 - 40 max. A very unpretentious urban setting with a menu to match.

For example, Susan and I shared the Chicken Koftas, spicy, ground chicken that is formed into a small patty and fried. There was a fresh coriander sauce on the side that cooled the spice nicely.

Susan had a red and gold beet salad with crushed hazelnuts, grated ricotta salata and finished with a drizzle of hazelnut oil. The hazelnuts were a very pleasant surprise and really made the beets sing.

I had a plain house salad…their plain salad included the usual mesclun greens and red onion, but they added fresh apple slices, goat cheese, almonds and a novel vinaigrette that really played nicely off the bitter greens.

Then the entreé…Susan had Rainbow Trout with a brown butter pine nut sauce, delecately cooked and seasoned wonderfully.  I had the Mussel and Linguica Stew, full of wild caught Maine Mussels, Maine Shrimp and of course, Linguica. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Linguica, imagine a cross  between Kielbasa and Pepperoni, so the spiciness of the Linguica worked perfectly with the seafood.

All in all, a great experience with the extras that separate a good restaurant from a great restaurant…Small plates for entreés, Vegan and Vegetarian plates, a comprehensive wine list and best of all, a decedent dessert list with some of the best coffee I’ve had at a restaurant.

As you can imagine, it takes a lot of behind the scenes work to keep up an inn of this size and age. there is always something to be painted, repaired, swapped-out, flipped, and sometimes, just tossed.

Well, so it goes with our office. It has been several years since it had a major overhaul, so Susan and Tammy and I rolled up our sleeves this weekend and tore it apart. It really needed it.

We’ve ordered new furniture and have totally changed the color scheme from a creme to a very dramatic blue. Don’t you feel better when you retire a tired look?

I’ll post some photos when we’re done . . . I’m sure that you’ll love the new look.

This is going to be my favorite posting category.  We’ll have an opportunity to review some of the best restaurants in the midcoast region.

Of course, we’ll be focusing on the best local resturants . . . the ones that you can walk to while enjoying the Harbor.

Here’s a hint: You know it’s Spring when Christa and Davide are back in town. This year, they have just come back from spending the winter in Davide’s home city of Milan, and we’re all really excited to see what new tricks he picked up while back in his old stomping grounds.

You can see last year’s menu at http://www.portsofitaly.com/.