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Waldo County, Maine - Part 2
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
B & Bs and Belfast
Waldo County also loves their B&Bs. In fact, there might be as many B&Bs in town as there are lobster fanatics. Of course, to understand the plethora of B&Bs one needs to consider some history. Maine fishermen did well financially around the end of the last century, and they expanded their homes. They made them bigger and bolder. And of course, being sailors’ homes, they all faced the beautiful bay. Now, you have gorgeous homes facing the bay and a tourist population that loves to visit. Yes, there are non-B&B options which are more affordable, like the Yardham Motel where we stayed, but the B&Bs seem to be the culture here.
My options for checking out visiting the B&Bs were either to drive around and hope for the best, or to embarrass my wife. As is the custom in our marriage, I chose the latter.
Through a series of events which would make the story perplexing and boring, we had met some owners of B&Bs in the area.
I said, "Oh, wow, B&Bs... that refers to bed and...." I paused for quite a long time but fortunately, one of the B&B owners filled in the socially awkward pause.
"Breakfast" she supplied, filling in the obvious blank.
I looked longingly and said, "Wow, I don’t often have a good breakfast, usually just rice and dirt."
Margherita gave me one of those glares that she felt only I should see. She cocked her head in such a manner that only I would see her glare, and the B&B owner would just wonder why she had a stiff neck.
Believe it or not, when the B&B owners learned that I only eat rice and dirt for breakfast, they offered to let us visit.
"Dominick, I feel guilty about visiting them for breakfast."
"Shhhh, I’m playing the role of a man who has eaten dirt. I’m getting in character."
The first place we stopped was the Wildflower Inn, run by Cathy Keating and Deb Bush. They left their high paying jobs in Seattle to come here to Waldo County, Maine to plant wildflowers and make quiche. I love these women. Margherita feels that we should mention that the inn is decorated quite nicely and that there are flowers and stuff everywhere.
That’s really irrelevant compared to the jalapeno Mexican quiche. Spicy in the morning? Much better than dirt! Okay, yeah, they were pleasant and all, and the place was very pretty, but did I mention that breakfast included the best damn quiche I’ve ever had?
Or, you can cross the street to the next B&B...
"Dominick," you say, "please don’t tell me you did this two days in a row?"
Actually, we did it three days in a row. The second breakfast was at the Carriage House, which is essentially one of the most massive B&Bs in the area. The owner of this B&B had a gold mine here and didn’t realize it. Here’s the marketing plan that I gave her.
1) She has a moose in her backyard. Actually, she has more than one moose, but since there is such a debate about the plural form of moose, I’ll just say that she’s seen more than one moose, so I’m grammatically correct.
2) The Carriage House refers to the original carriage house, which is a room that sleeps eight. What a great get-away weekend for the girls. Or for the guys if the guy are avoiding the strip bar scene and heading towards the fishing hole.
3) Here’s the kicker. And she mentions this in passing as one would mention a tree.
"So that’s a tree?"
"Oh yes, it’s a pine."
Boring and simplistic.
This is the commonplace style with which she mentions a minor little fact. She looked ever so calm and said, "Oh yeah, Waldo Peirce, the artist, lived here, and he was best friends with Hemingway. Hemingway stayed here all of the time."
This is what she lists last? To me, I’d rename the place, the B&B Where Hemingway Slept & By The Way There’s A Big Room That Sleeps Eight So You Can Look At The Moose Out The Window. The Waldo County Marketing Association might not like the name but it would surely be accurate.
On the third day we rested and learned what ployes are. We had gone to the Watchtide Inn, which is run by Nancy-Linn Nellis. If you have a question about Waldo County, this is the woman to ask. As for ployes, I had always thought that a ploy was an evil plot that my mother-in-law would undertake to ruin my life, but in this case I was wrong. A ploye is a thin buckwheat pancake that originated in the area.
Anyway, lastly, you’re left with Belfast, one of the largest and most charming towns in the area. The Main Street I mentioned does hold not only the oldest shoe store in North America, but also has lots of quaint little shops. The Colonial Movie Theater plays indie films, and there’s an abundance of local fancy restaurants.
Okay, there’s part two of why to visit Waldo County, the quaint Bed and Breakfasts and Belfast.
Part 1- Intro and Lobsters
Part 2- B&Bs and Belfast
Part 3- Weird Waldo County
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