Kendall Tavern Inn Blog

So many of our guests have expressed an interest in a spa treatment while you are visiting, and we are excited to let you know that Bhavana Spa will open on September 8, 2018 in downtown Freeport. Among the many spa services offered are Massages - including couples, prenatal, and reflexology, Energetics - Reiki, Polarity, and Vibrational therapy, Body Treatments - Manicure and Pedicure treatments, Hand & Foot Soaks, Ayurveda, and Wedding Packages. Plan some time to visit the Tea and Tonic Bar. What a great way to pamper yourself!

We had a blast celebrating the Royal Wedding! So we celebrated the Wedding of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle on the 19th of May with a full English Breakfast for all our guests. We had so much fun, and shortly thereafter our long-time guests and friends, Richard and Loretta, sent a photo of Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, on her coronation day. Of course we waited for their next visit to install the photo of the queen. You can see it, along with a plaque for 'Richard’s Spot' next to the seat that, you guessed it, Richard sits at EVERY time he comes to visit Kendall Tavern Inn. We do have the best guests!

$10 off every night Mon - Thurs in beautiful room #5 in Freeport, Maine until the end of July. Let us know you saw it here at 207-865-1338 or kendalltaverninn.com (use BLOG in special accommodations on reservation form). Room #5, direct with us only. Call if you are interested in another room.

Since owning the Kendall Tavern Inn B&B we’ve traveled every winter. (When you work all summer, you really need the R&R.) Along the way we’ve gathered some travel tips. These things rise to the top of our list:

Packing - only 30% of travelers roll their clothes. It really is the best way to pack, and saves wrinkling. Bring a little backpack for day trips. We got ours at the L.L.Bean outlet store.

Check out online packing lists for the climate you are traveling to. Especially for Maine. You wouldn’t believe the temperature change sometimes!

Copy your documents - passport, license, etc. Put copies in your suitcase.

Check to see if your credit cards can be used overseas (this is from the not-so-savvy traveler) and call your credit card company to let them know you are traveling. Also bring more than one card - you never know when or where you might be hacked (Virginia - oops!)

When you are booking at any hospitality property, make sure you are on the company website. Some of the online booking services make their site look like ours. If you are at all uncertain, call. (Just so you know, you will ALWAYS save $. Always.)

Visit a tourism information center. There is usually an actual person to talk to which can be fun. See if there are freebies like walking tours.

Take a trolley ride. They are in most larger cities and will give you the lay of the land. Touristy? Yes, but we're tourists, right?

Bring a flashlight! Extra USB charger!

Take lots of photo’s of yourself. Don’t come home with just pictures of where you’ve been without you in them. Just sayin’.

Sunscreen. Sunscreen. Sunscreen.

If you have some good travel tips, let us know and we will share on Facebook.

So you all know that Portland Maine has a reputation of having great food. They say there are more restaurants per capita than any other city in the country. Now, you would think that living just 18 miles away, we would have tried them all by now. Well, kind of busy here in Freeport, but we have tried a few. Over the summer I found my favorite. GRACE! It was wonderful. It is in an old Methodist Church, and the renovations are wonderful. You know you are in a church, which to my mind, is really great. 

See how open it is? It’s not loud, as you might think, and important for those of us whose hearing is not what it used to be. (Ahem) And they cook on the site of the former alter. Cool!

You can see it on the right in this picture. I don’t have any pictures of the food, as I was celebrating an important birthday (don’t ask) and concentrating on the company. (Don’t do that at the Kendall Tavern Inn B&B, we love when you take photos of the food!)  But we had a great steak, and the dessert was to die for. The menu changes all the time so check it out 

Grace Menu

Fun Concerts & Events from LLBean for summer 2018 - find your fave and make a reservation with us!

Everything happens just 1/4 mile from our front door. For the parade on 4th of July you can watch from our lawn - and fireworks are just down the street.

Come stay with whoever you want - girlfriends, sisters, mothers, husbands, significant other. It’s a good weekend to be in Freeport with special sales, fun activities, and it all comes with our out-of-this world breakfast. Mention you are coming for this fun weekend and when you stay for 2 nights we will surprise you with a gift basket!

Check it all out here...

https://www.visitfreeport.com/events/girlfriends-getaway-2/

You really don’t have to travel to Portland to have a wonderful dining experience. Brunswick is 6 miles north, a college town (Bowdoin College), and home to many restaurants to accompany Freeport eateries available when you stay at Kendall Tavern Inn.

This past weekend we went back to Tao Yuan with our friends Tracy & Mike. It did not disappoint. While they will suggested 3-4 dishes a person, we would suggest you don’t need that much. We shared 9-10 between the 4 of us, the following dishes on the menu:

The Asian Fusion dishes are meant to be shared, which means you can try everything. And it is exceptional. We highly recommend Tao Yaun, owned by Cara Stadler and her mother Cecile and is opening Lio in Portland soon. Cara was twice nominated as a James Beard Rising Star, and won a 2014 Food & Wine Best New Chef. Well deserved.

We love having great beer in Maine. And right here in Freeport is the Maine Beer Company brewery. Did you know that they release their #1 beer called Dinner only a few times a year, and only here in Freeport, Maine? You might have missed the latest release, but on May 11-13, 2018 weekend we will give away a bottle of Dinner with every 2night stay. Head on up the street to the Maine Beer Company for a tasting of their other beers. They’ve got a huge expansion underway.

We are all decked out and waiting in anticipation! We are open all of Hanukkah, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Closed December 27 & 28 for some fun family times! 

Awesome gift suggestion - purchase a Gift Certificate for a stay at Kendall Tavern Inn B&B. If you’d like a suggestion for a restaurant gift card to go with it, call us or check out our website at Kendalltaverninn.com

Have you seen L.L. Beans recent ad campaign? We think it’s one of their best, and we think Freeport, the home of LLBean is the perfect spot to enjoy your winter vacation. And, of course, where else would you stay but at the Kendall Tavern Inn Bed & Breakfast, with the #1 breakfast in town according to Expedia? Just a short walk, also 3,000 free parking spaces down town.

First, enjoy the Northern Lights of LLBean - Santa, horse drawn carriage rides, Santa and his live reindeer, a warming yurt, a model train village, ALL FREE! and all encapsulated in the amazing Freeport Village outlet shopping!

Check it out here... LLBean Northern Lights November 17 to December 31

If what you desire on your vacation is to visit one of the top botanical gardens in the country, you will find it right here. The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is a fantastic place to spend a few hours, though don’t be surprised if you find that you have wandered for more time than you think. It is magical.

No matter what time of year, you will find wonder in the 270 acres of gardens. During the summer there is a Dinner Series and in September, an End of Summer Tea, You can register here. The Gardens have the biggest light display in Maine starting mid November through the end of December. The event includes food trucks, s’mores by the fire, and art.

They even have a lovely Children’s Garden, and lots of hands on things kids will find fascinating, even a whale spouting water! 

One of our favorite places is by the water - where there is a fairy forest where kids can make their own little fairy garden from local flora. 

4th of July is a really fun time here in Freeport. LLBean provides a lot of free activities. This year the Summer in the Park series is full of fun things to see and do. Here’s a list!

At 7:45 there is a 10K Road Race followed by a Family Fun Run at 9:10

The local parade goes right past Kendall Tavern Inn right after breakfast!

The free concert is blues singer Matt Anderson and starts at 7:30pm

Fireworks are at 9pm 

LLBean has a Firework Kayak tour you can sign up for - see the fireworks from the water!

If you don’t have a vacation week over the 4th, don’t worry, there is still a lot to do and see from LLBean

FREE YOGA IN THE PARK(LLBean Discover Park - 1/4 mile from Kendall Tavern Inn   8-9 A.M. | Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 

FOOD, FUN & FILMS Every Friday,                                                                 Food trucks arrive at 6 p.m. CHECK OUT LOCAL FOOD, FREE MOVIES, PLAYS AND MORE!

There’s lots more to do - check out our local(207) page on our website!

Here are the links - 

After a short stop in St Augustine, we finally got our trip to Charleston. On our way south there was a Shriner’s Convention and not a room to be had!

We absolutely enjoyed the city, and had beautiful weather for 4 days. What a great walking city, historical and very friendly! We had a great time on a trip to Fort Sumter...

And took in a Ghost Tour...

Mark really had a great time on the boat ride, don’t you think? We think you should add Charleston to your list of must see places. 

So the turnaround at the everglades lead us to a trip north to Orlando (forgive us, we do love a park)...

And while we enjoy a good Harry Potter book and/or movie, we could not compete with the true fans...

We had a great time!

Our 5 days of R&R being just what the doctor ordered, we got back into the car to explore more of Florida. While leaving views like this

from Sunset Beach (AKA Bean’s Point - no relation to the Freeport LLBean family as far as we know) was challenging, we knew there would be more great views along the way.

Our next stop was with friends near Sarasota so we stopped along the way to visit the Ringling Circus Museum and the Ringling Museum of Art. The Circus Museum is a history of all circuses, and hold quite a bit of memorabilia. The Art Museum is mostly baroque with a new small display of contemporary art from local Florida artists. We enjoyed them both as well as the immense rose gardens and this beautiful building that was once the home of the Ringling family.

Crossing interstate 75, otherwise known as Everglade Alley, and through the Everglades National Park, was a blast. This trip was what we call the ‘no plan plan’. We had no reservations or plans really, just the 5 day reservation on the island. Our visit to friends was spontaneous, and so was the visit to the Everglades. What fun! We took the tram ride in the National Park. It was a windy day as you can tell from the pictures. Mark had to hold onto his hat! We saw over 25 alligators and a lot of bird life, including some endangered birds. 

We are back from our vacation and we want to tell you all about it! Traveling is such an eye-opener for us as we are reminded how our guests feel when they approach our door. We traveled all the way to Florida and back in 3 weeks - you are not so impressed? Well, we drove. Yes, another trip like our one in 2015 - only this time we did not go cross country, just down south. This trip was, like the last one, on the No-Plan Plan. 

Sometimes it’s about the destination, but mostly it’s about the journey. Our first night after driving through the rain all day was a stop in Wilkes-Barre PA. We’d never been there before, and soon found out we did not even know how to pronounce it. But at the Service Area Mark came upon a bear - we took a photo for our granddaughter - but thought you might enjoy it too. As it turned out it was our only day of rain out of 25.

The next day of travel took us through Hagerstown, Maryland where we had a great breakfast at the G&G Grille. One of our goals on this trip was to stay and eat at as many small businesses as we could. 

Day 3 took us through North Carolina where there was another Service Area with a great picture opportunity.

Our first idea was to stop in Charleston SC, but the town was full of Shriners on a convention trip so we moved on. We spent 2 days on Daytona Beach. Quiet, empty, warm, sun. Just what 2 Mainers traveling from the cold needed. Our room in a small family owned hotel gave us a view of the sunrise on the beach. Really, what more could you ask for?

The following day brought us to our first 5 day stay - Anna Maria Island. We have guests to thank for this suggestion and we are so grateful for it. It’s a small island on the gulf side of Florida that not a lot of people know about. This is a shot of our lovely little cottage - the only one we rented through an online service. Trying out the competition!