Rockport which was once the same town as Camden has a beautiful harbor, a wonderful scenic byway along Beauchamp Point and is a hidden gem that is starting to come alive again in it’s little harbor village downtown.

Rockport Maine, named for the quarries that once supplied lime for kilns that manufactured the lime used in the White House, and in all the tall buildings in the major cities on the eastern seaboard is now home to one of the most famous wooden boat building and restoring shipyards, Rockport Marine (http://www.rockportmarine.com/). Wooden boats come from around the world to be rebuilt here in Rockport Maine.

The Rockport Opera house hosts world class concerts, and is right near a newly restored building that has a great new restaurant overlooking the harbor – Shepherd’s Pie from the creative culinary talent of Camden’s Francine’s Bistro, Brian Hill. No website up yet, but check back because we will certainly lead you to it!

Want to walk the same plank as Johnny Depp? Well you can in Rockport Maine. Just book passage on one of the Schooner Yacht Heron’s day sails. Looking for an ecological tour of Penobscott Bay aboard Camden-Rockport’s answer to the Black Pearl. The schooner yacht Heron gives wonderful sunset cruises with hors d’oeurves, BYO beer/wine, out of Rockport harbor,  after your cruise you can enjoy a fantastic dinner at  Shepherd’s Pie (reservations highly recommended). The movie The Rum Diary which features the Heron and stars Johnny Depp will be released in October. The Heron seats 25 comfortably, and serves food and drink aboard some of their cruises. Some of our guests recently have been reserving the boat for special occasions, including small wedding parties, rehearsal dinners.

Rockport village is also home to the Center for Maine Contemporary Art: CMCA. The CMCA hosts very prominent Maine artists and has a famous craft show in the summer.

Schooner yacht Heron  http://www.woodenboatco.com/ :  Bonnie and her wonderful family host a unique sailing trip in Maine. The Heron Schooner trips are a little longer then the Camden Harbor Schooner boat trips. The Heron hosts a wonderful Island Sail with Lunch, Indian Island Light/Eco Tours and a Gourmet Sunset Sail. This is the only day sailer that you can eat a meal on. It is a very relaxing and scenic harbor. The Schooner Heron was used in Johnny Depp’s film “The Rum Diary”.
Itinerary:

Go to CMCA for the art experience,

Go out on a sail on the Schooner Heron,

Dinner at Shepherd’s Pie (link coming!)

Bay Chamber Concert’s Performance Du Jour http://www.baychamberconcerts.org/summermusic.php

Home to the Windward House B&B in Camden for a great night’s sleep!

The Telephone Number for the wonderful new Shepherd’s Pie Restaurant in Rockport Maine is 207-236-8500!

The restaurant invites bar patrons with a Bar Snack menu items that include Spicy smoked peanuts, Curried pickled eggs, Seasonal Pickles, Chicken Liver Toast, Grilled bread and homemade butter…. simple, classic but done to perfection.

Plates included when we dined there fresh oysters, wood roast oysters a’la escargot, crispy chicken wings, local cheese (“two good local cheeses”) g rilled bread and accoutrement, fried clam tacos, chicken noodle soup, rock crab, lest we forget -, shepherd’s pie…The grill selections included organic cheeseburger, tomato confit, Eleanor buttercup, purple mustard (if you crave a good cheeseburger, but are tired of asking  “is it grass fed? is it factory stuff?) The cheeseburger was great.

Grilled halibut, pepper and cider barbecued chicken. Kristi and my father had the barbecued ribs, which were really delicious. The sauce was subtle, and they were cooked to perfection. Other items included skirt steak and pork belly sandwich.

The Sides include, of course, fries, but their organic. I had the steamed beet greens with goat cheese. They also have shoe string onions buttermilk potatoes, and the classic mac and cheese. This is real comfort food – without the omnivores dilemma, just local, organic, and really good!