Great Memorial Day Weather

Memorial Day Weekend is almost upon us and we're expecting great weather! Drive on down, stay with us and enjoy the Owls Head Transportation Museum while you're here!

http://owlshead.org

Sailing season begins

A sure sign of the start of a new season, the Windjammers are setting sail! Welcome back one and all! There are few better ways to spend two hours in Camden than on a great windjammer. One of our favorite things to do, meet the great captains of these historic vessels as you motor out of the harbor, then watch the sails spread and feel the wind catch them. Enjoy the stories told by these fine sailors during the peace and quiet of the ride. Take in the beautiful scenery of Maine's gorgeous coast. Return to the dock with a new and relaxed spirit! Stay with us and we'll book one of these great sails for you while you're here.

Gnorm overseeing, or is that oversleeping the herb garden!


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Plants are in!!

Gnorman has assumed a new position as head groundskeeper at the Captain Swift Inn! Not surprising as he is a garden gnome. Who's to argue with 965 years of gardening experience!




Last year was Gnorm's first with us as a permanent resident, ...he finally retired and was able to join us and set us on the right road with our yard. The flowers were never better!!



As you can see, Gnorm has been busy today planting the edible flowers we use to decorate the great breakfasts here at the Captain Swift. Just the marigolds, so far, but others will be coming soon.



He also was able to get the fresh herbs potted that we use in our cooking. We now have our parsley, oregano?, rosemary and thyme growing. I guess he is not a big fan of Simon and Garfunkel! He has planted the mint we often use on our starters as well.

He invites our guests to pick their own if they would like.



More photos to come soon!

WELCOME BACK GNORMAN!!

We want to welcome Gnorman back to the Captain Swift Inn! As you all remember, Gnorman is the entertainment director and official greeter here at the Inn. Of course, like many higher ups in any organization, Gnorm h...as earned the right to take off during the year for "company business". This off season Gnorm did some exhausting research on other places to stay. He has just come back from a fact finding tour to Bora Bora! He loved staying in the huts that are on piers out over the crystal clear water, but watch out for the sharks! Still, he could not wait to return to the Captain Swift!! He has to relax for a bit from his travels, but he will be back cruising around town soon! One his favorite ways to relax is in one of our great rockers, kicked back with some home baked cookies and a glass of great lemonade!


Watch for his continuing adventures and his great travel tips for your stay in Camden. Please make sure you say hi to him when you come in, we don't want him to get his feelings hurt!

Which Wine With Lobster?

Decisions, decisions! Which wine to have with lobster? Here is an answer from experts. But really, can there be a wrong choice?

http://www.lobsterfrommaine.com/which-wine.aspx

Trip Advisor Excellence!

For the second year in a row, the Captain Swift Inn has been awarded Trip Advisor's Certificate of Excellence. We greatly appreciate the recognition of our guests of the care and attention to detail that we put in every day to insure that you have a great stay here in Camden, Maine. We hope all of you will return to stay with us on your next trip to Maine so that we may help to make another beautiful midcoast memory for you.

Thank you,

Your Innkeepers,

Linda, Norm and Alex

A beautiful shot and a great story about Camden Hill State Park trails.

http://globegazette.com/features/the-maine-event/article_bceceaac-e669-11e0-a8b3-001cc4c03286.html

Captain Swift Inn on Channel 6

Captain Swift Inn was on the Channel 6 news as part of a segment about gas prices. We are offering an early season gas rebate.

http://www.wlbz2.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=160591

Stay and Sail Package

Come sail with us. Stay at the Captain Swift Inn in Camden, Maine and take advantage of this unbelievably beautiful way to see the coast of Maine. There are few things more invigorating than being under sail off the shore, enjoying the wildlife, seeing the lighthouses, the wind and the sea. In addition, you will get to stay in a great, historic New England Inn. Stay two or more nights and we will treat you to a sail for one guest. Included is a full, multi-course breakfast and afternoon refreshments. You can choose from a variety of rooms, some with gas fireplaces and whirlpool tubs. Rates start at $99.00 per night in May and $119.00 per night in June. All rates are plus 7% state lodging tax.

Early Season Special

Spring into summer with a great special rate at the Captain Swift Inn in Camden, Maine! You can enjoy a wonderful stay in a historic B&B, sail on a classic windjammer, hike, bike, go antiquing, visit unique shops and dine at top restaurants. The weather is perfect for it! Beat the crowds, the Midcoast is coming alive for summer, flowers are blooming and it's still quiet and peaceful. Choose any of our beautiful regular rooms for $99.00 per night, plus 7% state lodging tax. Or. treat yourself to a luxurious suite for $150.00 per night, plus state lodging tax. Rates are for two guests. Included in this price is a full multi-course breakfast and afternoon refreshments. But hurry, this special deal is only available through May 31st, 2011.

CAPTAIN SWIFT INNS JOINS WITH “BETTER WAY TO STAY” TO KICK GAS!

The Captain Swift Inn in Camden, Maine appreciates that the increasing price of gas has us all concerned. We'd like to help by offering you a break on your getaway expenses. It's been estimated that the average guest will spend about an extra $50 on a getaway as the result of increased gas prices. If you stay 3 nights with us we will help out by giving you $50.00 off your stay! Stay 2 nights and we will give you $30 off! You get to stay in a great room, enjoy a delicious, multi-course breakfast each morning and save money, too! Please visit our website, www.swiftinn.com, to view our rooms. You can call us at 1-800-251-0865, or email us at innkeeper@swiftinn.com to make your reservations. Available through June 30th, 2011. Certain restrictions apply.

Camden in the Top 10!!

Camden, Maine has made the list of the Top 10 towns in New England to view foliage, according to Yankee Magazine!! We are not surprised!!

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/09/16/events-ideas-destinations-fall-travel/

A Spanish Look at Camden.

Ana Arasanz, a travel writer from Spain, stayed with us at the end of her class at the Acadia Center for English Immersion. Acadia Center is a great school that hosts those wishing to improve their English language skills through immersion in the culture. We have been priviledged to have some of their students stay with us at the Captain Swift Inn. Enjoy Ana's comments and photos of her stay during Lobster Fest.

http://www.acadiaenglish.com/whats-new/camden-and-acadia-center-featured-in-el-pais

A Great Trail To Explore!!

Maine Wine TrailJune 13th, 2010 . by admin
What comes to mind when you think of a Maine? The rocky coast? Mountains? Lobster? Seals, whales and puffins? How about wineries? Probably not. Yet Maine has 15 wineries, the majority of which are located along that rocky coast. Summer is a great time to plan a Maine vacation including a trip along the Maine Wine Trail and the Sebasco Harbor Resort in Sebasco Maine makes a great home base for exploring Midcoast Maine and making a scenic day trip along the Maine Wine Trail.
With 7 wineries concentrated in the area, Mid Coast Maine is a great spot to focus your travels.
Anyone followed this trail, yet?

Children's Vesper Chapel

Another great place to go when you're in Camden, Maine, is the Children's Vesper Chapel. This hidden gem is an open air church, pews with almost no walls. The view out over the ocean is spectacular, as are the gardens covering the grounds. Has anyone been here and would like to comment?http://www.steppinoutmaine.com/archives/2004/aug_11/offpath.html

Haunted Tours of Camden, Maine!

Join ‘The Lady in the Red Cloak” for a lantern lit walk exploring the mysterious haunts and untold history of Camden, Maine. A thoroughly enjoyable tour with ghostly stories and interesting history of the town. Cost $10.00 adults. Tours start at 7pm. Check website www.redcloakhauntedhistorytours.com for dates in July and August.

Forrest Gump Ran Here!!

Marshall Point Lighthouse museum opens Saturday May 29th, for the 2010 season. Marshall Point Lighthouse is located at the end of the St. George peninsula in Port Clyde. The Lighthouse grounds are always open to the public from sunup to dusk every day throughout the year. The museum contains displays, tools and artifacts depicting past and present fishing methods and local stone quarrying history as well as historical data regarding the lighthouse itself. Just a short ride from the Captain Swift Inn in Camden, Maine!

THE TOWER ON THE TOP!!

Hike to the tower! One of the most well known sights around Camden is the tower on the top of Mount Battie. Take a picnic lunch and hike up there and you can appreciate the inspiration for the opening stanza of Edna St. Vincent Millays’s famous work, “Renascence.”


“All I could see from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood;
I turned and looked the other way,
And saw three islands in a bay.”

The familiar phrase, “Where the mountains meet the sea,” is seen frequently on brochures all over town, but the real distinction of it goes much further. From the tip of Florida to the Bay of Fundy, along the entire Atlantic coast, Camden is one of only two places where the mountains do meet the sea. The other is, of course Mount Desert, both in Maine.

Camden Hills State Park nestles the town of Camden between Mt. Battie (757 ft) and Mt. Megunticook (1385 ft). This beautiful state park is covered in miles of trails just waiting for you to hike them to the top. There are gorgeous trails of varying levels of difficulty. For those who are unable to hike up, there is an excellent asphalt road to the top.

The road was first built in 1897 by Columbus Buswell, who paid $40 to the owners of the old Fay House near the bottom of the mountain, to get the exclusive right to use the road for 10 years and to collect tolls from others. He leased one square acre at the top of the mountain from the Adam family. There he built Summit House. The house, road and 59 more acres were bought in 1899 by a group of summer residents, the Mt. Battie Association, who remodeled the house into a summer hotel which opened on August 17, 1900.

When fire swept across Mt. Battie in 1918, the house was spared, but in 1920 the Association had torn down as it couldn’t pay for itself. One year later the tower was built on the foundation of the house, using some of the original stones, as the World War I Memorial.
Now it awaits Camden’s many visitors to come see the area from the top of the tower!