Southern Exposure in Damariscotta
Review Submitted: August 5, 2009
Date of Stay: June 2009
Our family of three, including a teenage son, spent a week at Southern Exposure. It was our first stay at the cottage, which was recommended to us by friends. We had a pretty good idea of what to expect, and we weren’t disappointed.
The cabin was in excellent condition. Everything was clean and ready for our use, and fresh-cut flowers were placed around the cottage. The kitchen was well stocked with appliances, equipment, and dinnerware, as well as staples like condiments and seasonings. Towels and bed linens were all fresh. Bathrooms are small, but manageable. Delightful works of art hang throughout the cottage and the bookshelves are stocked with regional and wildlife guides. There are a number of hummingbird feeders, which get a steady stream of customers. Friends had told us of nesting eagles on the island, but they weren’t in evidence during our stay.
The cottage’s location is perfect for getting up and down the coast and into the interior. Although Damariscotta is tiny, it offers a variety of restaurants, shops, and galleries to try. We had a fabulous meal at the Damariscotta River Grille and heard a wonderful jazz band, the Down East Jazz Babies, at Schooner Landing. (Check Schooner Landing’s performance schedule to see who’s performing.) I really enjoyed shopping at Darling & DeLisle, a shop specializing in accessories and jewelry (made by the shop’s owners). We can also recommend the Firehouse Gallery and Damariscotta Pottery, where each piece is one-of-a-kind. In New Harbor, you can catch the Hardy Boat Ferry to Monhegan, and in Boothbay, you can visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. Plenty of opportunities to hear chamber music, as well. I used a Verizon card to access the internet at the cottage, but you can also settle in at the bookstore in town to log on.
Depending on where you are in life, the campuses of Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby are easy to get to, in case you want to work some college visits into your stay. Each campus has much to offer, including art galleries, plays, and concerts, and specialties like Bates’ summer dance festival.
The only minor drawbacks were the difficulty in getting an NPR station on the cottage radio and the placement of the television in the entryway, which was too small to accommodate all three of us.
Owner's Response: Because of the size and reception of the television, I purposely do not advertise a TV in my listing of Southern Exposure. I agree that NPR reception is not the best...but that's life in coastal Maine.
This guest has requested to return in 2010, so I guess the drawbacks she noted were indeed minor.
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