Rock Gardens Inn Blog

Women's Health and Healing at Rock Gardens Inn

We are excited to announce that Rock Gardens Inn will be offering a new workshop this summer.  On Saturday, June 20th Dr. Zhao Mei, of Portland Maine, will be offering a day long workshop focused entirely on women's health and healing.  The day will begin with a talk about women's health issues and simple practices to ensure good health.  Dr. Mei will then answer individual health questions.  Lunch will be provided according to Dr. Mei's personal recipes.  During the afternoon Dr. Mei will teach participants principles of the ancient art of Qigong.  The workshop will end at 4:00pm.  For those staying overnight there will be dinner and breakfast included, and an after breakfast workshop on Sunday with Dr. Mei focusing on self-healing Qigong massage.

Dr. Zhao Mei is a widely recognized expert in Qigong (using traditional practices of movement and breathing, working with qi or life energy within the body).  She was also a distinguished professor of OB/GYN at Beijing Medical University in China, and a visiting cancer gene researcher at Austria's Vienna University.  She has more than forty years of experience in both Western and traditional Chinese medicine.  In 1991 she established the Chinese Healing Arts center in Portland.  In addition to patient work she has conducted numerous seminars and training sessions for 18 years.

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Mei to Rock Gardens Inn!

Many Happy Returns

Growing up at Rock Gardens, the part of the summer I most looked forward to was the return of familiar faces, friends from previous summers returning to the Inn either to work or to play.  While new faces are a consistent, and vital, part of every summer, the Inn is privileged to retain both employees and guests who return each subsequent year to their favorite hidden corner of the Atlantic coast.  Whether they do it for a love of the sun dappled water, the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, or the camaraderie of fellow returnees, they comprise one of the core elements of a summer season at Rock Gardens.

This year we have quite a few staff members returning.  Happily our kitchen remains in the talented hands of brothers Bill and Paul Hanley who will be serving up a combination of old favorites, and a few new, tasty dishes.  Our cottages will continue to shine thanks to the efforts of our housekeepers, Ruth, Ellen, Jessey, and Billie Jo, who, between them, have over one hundred years of experience taking care of the Inn.  In the dining room our wait staff will be comprised of veteran servers Donna, Molly, and Paige, as well as newcomers Tori and Craig.  While most of the time guests will be able to enjoy the delicious breads and desserts of bakers Ellie and Randy, once a week they will be treated to the culinary creations of former baker Aurora Joseph, who will serve as guest baker this summer.  And of course, as for the last twenty five years Ona Barnet will be welcoming guests to the Inn.

Of course, many of those guests will be new to Rock Gardens, and are in for an unforgettable experience.  However, quite a few will be immediately recognizable to Ona, and many of the staff members here.  Returning guests run the gamut from couples that have been coming to the Inn for over fifty years, to families whose children's growth is almost as familiar to us as it is to them.  It is this mix of experience and novelty that make Rock Gardens such a unique place to stay.  Those new to the Inn will find new friends with years of experience to show them the ropes, and returning guests have the opportunity to see the familiar locale they love through new eyes.

Springtime at Rock Gardens

We are finally seeing some warm and sunny days now in Maine; it was a very long winter.  We had lots of snow, which made for good days for skiing and snowshoeing, but also led to numerous power outages and downed tree limbs.

With the sunshine, I have been taking every opportunity to be outside, working in the gardens; beginning by taking off the protective cover of straw and pine boughs we cover the gardens with in winter.

Most of the plants have wintered well, new shoots starting to pop up, the crocus already in bloom.  Here on the coast of Maine we are usually at two weeks behind towns like Bath and Brunswick, and at least a month behind the cities in the Northeast such as New York and Boston.

O.B.

Welcome to the Rock Gardens Inn Blog

As the sun started to come up this morning the sky was filled with hues of pinks and purples reflecting off the water.  I thought about seeing these colors in paintings and how no one would believe they were real.  Our sunrises and sunsets this winter have been spectacular, and as the days grow longer I imagine the many artists who have painted here seeing these images and putting them to canvass.

Many people ask what goes on at Rock Gardens Inn in the "off season".  We decided to start this blog to stay in touch with our guests in and out of season.  We'll write every week, sometimes more during the summer months, about projects, upcoming events, and general observations.  We would love to hear from you as well.

Ona Barnet, Innkeeper