WATERFRONT WITH LARGE PIER - EASTERN GUT - RUTHERFORD ISLAND

Just back from a week of July-Maine living here, next to the sweet 1930s-era drawbridge, the calm harbor that turns to gold at sunset and the working waterfront where we watched lobstermen haul traps as we paddled by on the canoe and a kayak that came with the place. It was my first time renting from old Maine friends.

The house is just a few doors in from where South Bristol's peninsula stops and continues on by bridge as Rutherford Island, like a jagged dot at the end of an exclamation point. The house dates back to the late 1800s when it was the town fire hall. Right next to the historical society with a giant anchor on the lawn commemorating the Canadian shipwreck that locals helped rescue, the house, with old wood floors that feel soft on bare feet, is comfortable and eclectic: Nautical maps of the coast and islands on the wall. The master bedroom had one of the most comfortable beds we’ve ever slept in & a harbor view we never tired of. We went to the dock to sip morning coffee, eat lobster with messy abandon & watch the boys play on the tire swing. This was a great family home base: 12-year-olds had a basement hangout w. twin beds and TV for video games. The kitchen with a wall stretch of counter was a roomy workspace with more of that dreamy view. It was well-stocked w. cooking tools – even a long pancake griddle. Bought lobster to steam just doors away. Found gourmet black raspberry frozen custard at grocery around the corner with crisp Martha Stewart charm. Ate the best raspberry pie at the funky-elegant Christmas Cove restaurant. Made short car trips to a freshwater swimming hole, sandy Pemaquid beach and Fort Henry with a great kid scavenger hunt quiz of 17th-century archeological finds. Boys wanted to stay longer. Eager for next summer so we can do this again… :-)