The Island and Stone Cottage Compound: Spruce Island falls within the town of Stonington, Maine, famous for fresh Maine lobster and for the pink Maine granite that has been cut from its quarries for more than a hundred years. Spruce was quarried in the late 1800's and in harmony with this history, the owners of Spruce Island began in 2006 to build a granite lodge on the island. This lodge is comprised of two separate structures, the Main House with a granite fireplace, a large living room, and well equipped kitchen, and one bedroom and full bath. There is a 'crows nest' on the roof with spectacular views of the surroundings. The other structure, the Bunk House, is 200 feet away, and contains six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. The Bunk House also has a crows nest on the roof. Power is supplied mainly by wind and solar with backup from a propane generator, all of which feed into a bank of large batteries that store the electricity. The backup generator comes on if wind and solar panels can’t keep up with demand.
Tranportation to the Island: Transportation to and from the island is free on the first and last days. For mid week transportation, there are a number of options. Old Quarry Ocean Adventures runs a 34 foot boat out of Stonington. They also rents kayaks, canoes, small sail boats, and a small outboard motor boat ($300 per week). Steve Johnson, the Stonington Harbor Master, runs a charter service on the side. The Isle au Haut Ferry also does private ferry service to and from Stonington to islands in the area. Another option is to hire my boat (21 foot high speed landing craft) with a captain. The cost is $100 per hour plus fuel. The advantage of my boat is that, as a landing craft, it can run up to the shore and drop a ramp on the beach for ease of walking on and off the boat. This is especially nice for exploring the many uninhabited islands around the area. For deep sea fishing, a good option is Eggemoggin Guide Service.
Island Life: There are many fun things to do on and around Spruce Island. Some examples include: Intra-island or even inter-island capture-the-flag; Camp fires on the beach; Exploring the many other small islands in the area; Hiring some local, colorful characters to dress up as pirates, come ashore at night, and do what pirates do around a campfire for children to watch and wonder from the shadows, and then next morning hiding ''pirate treasure'' on the island for children to hunt for; Kayaks or canoes can be rented in Stonington, and several options are possible for motor boat transportation for excursions to explore the area. Sleeping in a tent near the shore is a wonderful experience for children and adults. You can sit by a camp fire and gaze into the heavens wondering how it all came to be, even catching glimpses of satellites moving across the sky, before rolling into a cozy tent and letting the gentle sounds of waves and wind lull you to sleep.
Other Activities:
campfires on the beach; lobster bakes, Kayaking, Boating, Wildlife Viewing
Learn more about this vacation rental at the owner's website:
