Catherine Mettey has turned an old South Lubec farmhouse into a lovely cottage, available for rent throughout the spring, summer, and fall. With a great eye for design, she’s built in many amenities while keeping a lot of the old features of the house.

The mixture of art and antiques makes for a delightful and cozy place to vacation, and the ocean view is spectacular. From the welcome bag full of Maine-made goodies, to the array of items from binoculars to rain jackets available to guests, Catherine goes far beyond what you’d expect from a cottage rental. This is a very special place.

Additional Photos

After reading a column we wrote about Lubec, Catherine contacted us to see if we’d like to stay at her Lubec Bay Cottage and write about it. To give you some idea of how much we liked it, we’ll tell you that on our first afternoon there a few weeks ago, we called Catherine and reserved it for a week next year!  Many people ask what we do all day in Lubec on our many visits there.

Here’s how we spent a day in June.

Linda
(with George in parentheses)

4:45 a.m.: A red globe of sun appears outside the triple glass doors, and within 20 minutes the second floor master bedroom is flooded with light. We have two choices: get up and enjoy the sunrise, or turn over for an extra hour or two of sleep.
(The title of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt movie, “Sunrise Over Campobello,” takes on new meaning when your head lifts off the pillow to see the sun really rise over Campobello! The ocean view from our second-floor bedroom is stunning. I can even see the house across the bay where my great grandparents lived.)

6:30 a.m.: I make my way to the kitchen to make fresh coffee, while George is already ensconced in a book. Because this involves a coffee grinder and a very fancy coffee machine, this becomes my duty all week, it being well beyond George’s capabilities. He tried one morning, but couldn’t figure out where to pour the water.
(Pillows propped behind me, I’m lounging in bed, enjoying the smell of coffee brewing, along with a new Walter Stroby novel. I love the way some of the features of this old farmhouse were kept, including built-in drawers in this room).
George says, “I love looking out at the ocean,” and I reply, “I love looking out at the ocean while I’m warm and sipping coffee in bed!”

8:30 a.m.: Time to decide on breakfast. For anyone who likes to cook, this is a vacation dream house. Everything I need including a great selection of cookware is here. We’ve got a lot planned for the morning ahead, so I decide on a big breakfast: crab cakes, bacon, eggs, English muffins and fresh fruit, with orange juice and more coffee.
(I contribute to breakfast by suggesting we eat it at the table on the second story deck just outside our bedroom. Despite the prediction of rain showers, the sun is shining brightly, the ocean shimmers and my favorite bird, the winter wren, sings his beautiful 19-note song to us throughout the meal. Halfway through breakfast, a deer bounded all the way across the field behind the cottage).

10 a.m.: We grab our binoculars and check out the neighborhood warblers on our walk to the South Lubec Sandbar, directly behind our cottage, where we find Nelson’s Seaside Sparrows — of course! —and get a surprisingly long and close look at them. We discover a big patch of goose tongue greens and harvest a bagfull for dinner later in the week.
(The sandbar, purchased a few years ago by The Nature Conservancy and now owned and managed by the state, harbors few birds in June — but by mid-August, it becomes the best spot in the state to see migrating shorebirds. At any time of year, it’s a beautiful place to walk).

Noon: We are hungry again after our two hours of walking and we whip up crabmeat rolls to die for. We have a choice of eating inside or outside, but both come with spectacular views.
(For years, before heading to Lubec, we’ve been calling ahead to Griffin’s Crabmeat in Edmunds to reserve a couple of containers of the very freshest crabmeat you’ll ever get. Mrs. Griffin spends her day shucking them after her son and grandsons catch them. This trip, we got two containers enroute to Lubec and three more on the way home!  Yum!)

1 p.m.: Our plans are for a leisurely afternoon of reading or writing, punctuated with a nap. This South Lubec neighborhood is quiet, peaceful and very relaxing.
(Catherine has arranged more places to sit, relax and read than I’ve ever seen anywhere. By my count — from the wooden swing on the downstairs deck to the chair under the apple tree to the Adirondack chairs on the shore behind the cottage — there are 16 different locations offering comfortable sitting opportunities. My goal this week is to try them all!).

4 p.m.: We take a quick trip uptown, stopping at the library to do a little work using their wireless connection. This is a very impressive library, a big presence in the town, open five days a week from

10 a.m. to 8 p.m. When it isn’t open, you’ll find people outside, using the wireless connection for their computers.
(We make our first visit to Monica’s Chocolates — where we run into two couples from our hometown of Mount Vernon. We all enjoy a tasting and tour, thanks to the vivacious Monica, and Lin and I load up with raspberry truffles and pecan bonbons).

6 p.m.: We head to the Water Street Tavern for dinner — a first visit for us to a place recommended by many friends — wondering how the day slipped away so quickly. The dining experience far exceeded our expectations, and will now comprise a future column!
(When people ask what we do all day in Lubec, it’s hard to describe. There is a lot to do, but really, we don’t come here “to do” anything at all. And that’s what we often do!).

8:30 pm. Catherine provides a flat-screen TV and DVD player with a great selection of movies. Settling into the very comfy couch, turning on the decorative gas fireplace and popping in a movie, we finish a wonderful day.

(I was surprised to discover that the evening TV news is not essential. There’s no cable or other TV connection here. I disconnected from the world for a few days — and didn’t miss it!).

IF YOU GO . . .

Lubec Bay Cottage
ON THE WEB: www.lubecbaycottage.com
EMAIL: lubecbaycottage@yahoo.com
PHONE: 645-9723
ADDRESS: 450 South Lubec Road
OWNER: Catherine Mettey

Visit George’s website: www.george
smithmaine.com for travel tips, book reviews, outdoor news and more.