We chose this home because of its location down the coast, away from the crowds, and because the photos of it appealed to us. We were pleased with our decision on both counts.

Although there were only two of us, the house would easily accommodate many more comfortably. The downstairs is totally open except for one bedroom which can be closed off. There are effectively two living rooms which flow into one another. Each has two good sized couches to lounge in. The kitchen is well equipped and the first floor bath is small but adequate. We really had no need to use the upstairs rooms but they looked nice. The entire place is fairly sparsely furnished but that's not necessarily bad; it allows the renters to add their own things. There is a good supply of puzzles and games available to renters for rainy days, but we had none.

By chance, our rental week included the weekend of the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival. If you've never had Maine wild blueberries, you're in for a treat. They're quite different from the ones that grow on bushes. These grow on the ground and are raked up. They are small and yummy.

We also enjoyed rides to see lighthouses, a trip to Campobello and simply relaxing in the house. One afternoon, two red foxes ran right across the driveway.

Then there was Helen's restaurant also in Machias. It's open all day and it's reasonable. The meals offered are very good, including but not limited to the lobster. The only difficulty is that they don't take reservations although you can call in ahead of time and put your name on the list. We'd recommend that.

There were two things that disappointed us. The first was the laundry situation. The washer and dryer were in the basement, That's okay but there was no hand rail which made the navigation of the stairs a bit of a challenge, especially when carrying things. Once downstairs, while the machines were good sized and worked well, there was nowhere to put the laundry. Even a laundry basket would have helped.

The second disappointment was the access to the beach. There is a very long set of stairs which was a bit scary to us older folks. We are not beach folks, but if we had been, I would have been sad.

If we were young and spry, probably neither of those two situations would have bothered us. This is just a warning for others who, like us, might be intimidated by such things.

All in all, it was a memorable week in an easy-to-live-in home.