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| This postcard was the work of our host, an artist |
Back near the beginning of February, Mr. T and I felt the need for a short getaway. It had been several months since we had any time away, and it was really feeling necessary. We did some looking and found a wonderful, reasonably priced Airbnb in Bridgton, Maine -- a place we had never been, but no matter. We enjoy visiting new places. This was such a great price that we could afford to stay three nights!
As we looked at the map, we realized that we would not be too far from our blog friend Vee of A Haven for Vee. So of course I got in touch with Vee to see if she would be game for getting together. We compared calendars and weather reports and made a plan for breakfast on Monday morning.
Mr. T and I traveled to Bridgton on the Sunday afternoon in a snowstorm. It was a bit of a hair-raising trip, as there was quite a bit of traffic, but we had our truck with its trusty four-wheel drive and got there with no problems, just a bit later than planned. We were relieved when we reached Pebble Cottage!
This sweet and cozy little cottage is the product of lots of love and hard work on the part of its owners, who purchased it from the bank. Built in 1916, it had once been the guest cottage for their own yellow house, but had fallen on hard times when they decided to renovate it. A photo book on the living room coffee table documents all that they did.
After a tremendous amount of hard work, the cottage transformation was complete, and in February 2021 it received its first Airbnb guests.
I'm not going to show a whole bunch of photos of the cottage, but will just share a couple of the special touches. One is the lovely electric fireplace below. Complete with its own brick hearth, it lent such a cozy atmosphere to the living room!
I loved seeing the vintage linens used as dresser scarves, table mats, and so on in the various rooms. The one below really caught my eye -- it was part of a matching set with several pieces. Someone back in the day put a great deal of love and care into embroidering these sweet linens. How pleased they would be that their beautiful creations are still being used and appreciated!
Pebble Cottage turned out to be a wonderful base for our adventures and the perfect place to invite Vee and her sister Kim for breakfast. We served the now-famous Pumpkin Crunch Sheet Pancakes along with bacon and some grapes. And coffee, of course. It was such a blessing to spend time with Vee again and to meet Kim, who is every bit as delightful as Vee. We enjoyed every bite of that scrumptious breakfast, and the conversation that accompanied it. It is always such a joy to fellowship with like-minded people, and we are so thankful for the opportunity.
Bridgton is a lovely little town. We so enjoyed seeing the gorgeous old houses as we walked about the town. The three houses below are all on the same street as Pebble Cottage. You can't see it in this photo, and we didn't get a nighttime one that did it justice, but the green house below had a pretty lighted Christmas tree in its cupola.
The mural below shows some lovely features of the town. The mural was on the side of a building, hence the propane tank.
It was an easy walk to Highland Lake. I can only imagine how beautiful this is in the summer and fall!
Another wonderful feature of Bridgton is Pondicherry Park, 66 beautiful acres of woodland and stream in the heart of downtown. The covered bridge below is on one of the trails. We were able to follow trails and actually come from downtown all the way to Pebble Cottage on one of them. In addition to walking on a number of the trails, Mr. T took his snowshoes out on Tuesday and enjoyed an invigorating snowshoe hike as well.
We were charmed that so many houses in Bridgton still had their Christmas trees and lights up in early February. To me, it feels like an effort to drive back that dark winter we heard so much about. On our last evening there, we went out walking after dark and got a few photos. The house and barn in the top two photos were so beautifully lit. The photos cannot do them justice.
Beautiful houses. Your getaway sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt was! I'm happy you enjoyed seeing these lovely old homes.
DeleteThank you for sharing these pictures, Mrs. T. The lit houses are just beautiful with the snow. And somehow are really special imagining that in February.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was so beautiful with the fresh snow and the lights that were decorating so many of these stately old homes and barns. I'm glad you enjoyed them.
DeleteThat is a delightful getaway! I adore Vee! She's become such a great friend. I'll have to check out that sweet cottage! Maine is calling!
ReplyDeleteIt was very delightful indeed. Such a blessing to spend time with Vee again. And ... if Pebble Cottage should be booked at the time you want to visit Maine, I noticed that there was at least one other Airbnb in Bridgton -- a sweet bungalow. Its price was quite reasonable as well, if I remember right.
DeleteIt felt like Christmas that day with all the snow. Kim says that if she had known that book was on the table, she would have peeked.
ReplyDeleteYes, I so appreciate the lights after Christmas. My neighbor kept her lights on into February. It was cheering.
Bridgton is a charming, quaint town. I am glad that you found things to do and that Mr. T even went snowshoeing.
May you find it just as darling in autumn. 🍂
I wish that we had thought to point the photo book out to you gals.
DeleteLove the lights. So many in Bridgton still had theirs up and shining out into the darkness. We found it very inspiring.
It was lovely walking around the streets near Pebble Cottage at night, also. A number of the townspeople were out and about walking dogs and so on.
Yes, we loved it there. If we get to go in fall, I will get in touch!
Oh wait! Did Kim and I tell you that we took a house tour in Bridgton a quarter century ago? The house beside the red house was one of them. It looks a bit tired these days, but then it was all decked out for summer and looking fine. It had built-in shutters that were closed from inside. It was a great concept! We toured a home down in the square proper where they had just finished painting a mural. I hope they never discovered my thumbprint in it. 🤦🏻♀️
ReplyDeleteYou did not tell us that, but how very interesting! There are so many gorgeous old homes there.
ReplyDeleteHow fun that you left your mark on a mural in one of the houses on the tour! I wonder if it was the Rufus Porter museum.
Our son lives in southern Maine in Whitefield. He's been there about 10 years and another town for about 5. He's a real Mainer now. We love Maine. My husband and I used to work on the coast near Owl's Head. We have been to Bridgeton. Maybe if we get to go up this summer, we will look for these beautiful houses in Bridgeton!
ReplyDeleteThis really is a delightful airbnb. How nice to enjoy a breakfast with Vee and her sister, too. Someday we'd love to visit Maine and head north across the border, too. Hoping for the best for travel in the future.
ReplyDeleteOh, How delightful! Bridgton is such a pretty little Maine town. I've been through there many times back in the 1990's. I once had Tea at one of the old homes on Main Street...it was then known as "The Maine Difference" or "The Tea Room" at 22 Main St., Bridgton. I wonder if it is still a tea room. I have a little recipe book from there. Thank you for sharing the pictures. It looks like it was a wonderful little getaway, and how great that Vee and her sister joined you for breakfast! What a treat!!
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful that you were able to enjoy this amazing getaway in such a darling town, and get to visit with Vee as well! Those pancakes sound quite amazing, and I must print out the recipe. So wonderful to see the beautiful homes in the area. I would have loved to hike the trails too, just a lovely way to enjoy the winter views! Many blessings to you, dear friend :)
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