Visiting Kennebunk, Maine and The English Meadows Inn & lots of antiques!

Our drive up the coast from Topsfield, Massachusetts to Kennebunk, Maine took about 2 hours.  Traffic moved along smoothly, even though it was the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend.  Of course, it was dark when we arrived, so I didn't get to 'drool' over what we passed along the way- good thing, too!  This area is just dripping in lovely antique shops.

The English Meadows INN was our home for the next 2 nights and it had been a long and full day.  I mean just that morning, I was shopping at The Beach House on Martha's Vineyard and here I was in Maine!  I chose English Meadows INN because for several reasons:

     1.  It was built in 1860, so it had tons of character, history, and charm

     2.  It is set on approximately 2 acres, yet is only about an 8 minute walk to the downtown area of shops and restaurants

     3.  It has an English garden, period antiques, gorgeous wallpaper and carpets and they serve an afternoon tea

     4.  Breakfast is served candlelit with English china, floral linens, and fresh flowers                                                                               5.  It is close to dozens of antique shops, some of which are known all over the United States

     6.  It is FOR SALE, and even though we are not in the market for a b&b in New England, it's always very  interesting to see an inn that is for sale and ask questions about why it is and so forth- there is always a lot of learning to be gained during our travels

                                                                    

We were greeted by Bruce, the owner/innkeeper.  Bruce is a very knowledgeable and gracious host.  He provided us with maps, directions, and suggestions and showed us to our wonderful room!

You can go on their website and visit the inn and see photographs of all of the rooms, etc, so I'll skip that for this particular inn....see link above and you can learn all about it and see all the rooms in full detail!

It was during this time that I developed an excruciating toothache.  It became so intense that I finally had to ask the innkeeper if he would recommend a dentist to me.  Being that it was Columbus Day weekend only complicated the issue, but we got an appointment on Monday, the 11th, so in the meantime, I headed to the pharmacist in Kennebunk and bought some Ambusol- a temporary fix at best.

I couldn't be fussing about my tooth when there were antique shops to conquer the following day....so we got a great night's sleep and had a fabulous breakfast and spent our entire day exploring the area!

Here, in Kennebunk, the trees were gorgeous!  The scenes were breathtaking....water, boats, homes, pumpkins and all with a backdrop of gorgeous Fall color!

Loved the 'boat' garage!

This sailboat was coming in, and the trees around this area were bursting with color!

More white fences....I love the details on this one!

You can't tell from the photograph, but the water was in the road.  Recent rains had flooded the area here.

We were driving/moving as I caught this fiery collage of color

LOVE the red door!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                          

In Kennebunk, we came across a store that had condiments and hot sauces like none other!

These were ALL just the hot sauces with names too 'hot' to mention!

Gotta love the poor guy who had to dress up in a lobster suit!

Love the spired white churches with enormous clocks

Let the antiquing begin!

A stunning Chippendale dresser

I so wanted to take this spinning wheel home with me!

Yes, that is an original cast iron PUNCH and JUDY!

This clock face was so pretty!

I LOVE old serving pieces and china

One antique store had an entire room filled with 50's diner things!

Another favorite: Old stoves!

I did find some Winton patterns, but not my favorite: Evesham

I actually have this cup and saucer at home! 

Butter molds.....love 'em!

Pressed glass, depression glass

and more glassware!

Lots of neatly pressed linens but just not the ones I was looking for

I really liked these two pieces!

Can anyone guess what this is? That's right and it's the biggest one I've ever seen!

Music box and old-timey popcorn machine

This solid table was another favorite....looks like something Martha Stewart would have!

I loved this colorful collection....the fishermen here know how to catch fish!

Another reason for wanting to stay in Kennebunk is that it is very near Ogunquit, a charming sea town with a walkway of over a mile along the beach.  There are shops, restaurants, and gorgeous inns.  Because it was Columbus Day weekend, however, it was way too crowded!  Here's one shot, but I'll cover Ogunquit in my next blog entry....see you then!

A little inlet where boats are moored; there's also a pedestrian bridge that raises for the boats to go out to sea

For more information about all of the antique shops in the area, visit this ANTIQUE SHOPPING SITE.  It has lots of ideas for you!