kids Archives - Sadler House

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All of the posts under the "kids" tag.

Sailing in Midcoast Maine: How to Arrange a Day Sail

I can finally write a post about how to go sailing in midcoast Maine. Why didn’t I do this sooner? It’s because I’d never done it and I couldn’t get over my nervousness about figuring out how to make it happen. What I’m going to share here is not as much for people who are experienced in sailing and who have boats and connections. It’s for those of you who, like me, didn’t grow up near the water and want to experience sailing in midcoast Maine – possibly for the first time.

Sailing in Midcoast Maine Just for the Day

As a newbie, of course you are not going to want to get on a boat by yourself and throw caution (literally) to the wind. There are numerous gorgeous schooners in the midcoast that will take people out for overnight or multiple day sails. These are a thing of beauty, but it’s a commitment some of us (especially with kids) may not be ready to make. What I needed was to get my kids on a boat for a few hours and see how it went.

Bufflehead Sailing Charters

Sailing in Maine on The Bufflehead Poking around town, I finally heard about a wonderful ship called The Bufflehead. This 32′ wooden gaff sloop is owned by Daniel and Amanda Bennett, who have a great website with a calendar and lots of information about all the different types of sails they can provide for up to six people at a time. Because I didn’t even know how my kids would react to sailing, I jumped at the chance to take just a two hour trip. I emailed Daniel and Amanda and easily arranged for an August morning when we would have our first sail as a family! Read more →

Sadler House August 21, 2018 Leave A Comment Permalink

Tic Tac Toe Keepsake

In order to give guests the optimal experience at your vacation rental, it’s important to pay attention to those little extras. Years ago, before we had our own place, we stayed at a vacation rental in the area of Luray, Virginia. When we arrived, the owner had left us a basket of goodies, including a pound cake she had baked, herself. Between that and the generous stack of white towels, we were immediately predisposed to enjoy our stay. We felt very welcome. Tic Tac Toe Keepsake - DIY

Now that we are sharing Sadler House with guests, we try to carry on our own gift basket tradition. We aren’t living next door, so we can’t bake each guest a fresh pound cake. Instead, I’ve tried to come up with fun little crafts that our guests will find both charming and useful. We hope that these little touches and a welcome card will make show our guests how thankful we are to be hosting them.

Recently, I was scrolling through Pinterest and I came to a stop at this craft by Megan at the blog Balancing Home. The product was an adorable little tic tac toe set that was made from rocks and carried in a teeny burlap bag.

While I was reading the post, I started pondering how I might incorporate this craft into my gift baskets. I resolved to find some sort of rocks and burlap bags on my next trip to the craft store and give it a go.

Well, we all know you rarely find exactly what you’re looking for, right? Instead of the natural burlap bags, I happened upon a stack of sea foam green ones on clearance in the cake decorating aisle, of all places. I got a bunch of them for 50 cents each. The color reminded me a bit of a Tiffany box, and I hatched a plan to make my tic tac toe kit a little fancier. Here’s what I did, and I hope you love the results as much as I do! Read more →

Sadler House November 2, 2015 2 Comments Permalink

Plenty About Puffins: Family Fun

When I ask our visiting families what local information I can help them with, they invariably say, “What advice do you have for activities with the kids?” In a world of excessive screen time, it is such a delight for families to discover high quality adventures that are also (gasp) educational. Don’t tell the kids, but they are going to actually absorb quite a bit if they experience the mid coast adventure of learning about Project Puffin.

About Project Puffin

Project Puffin is an Audubon conservation project that takes place on Eastern Egg Rock and other islands off of the mid coast. A very persistent scientist named Dr. Stephen Kress pioneered an effort in 1973 to bring back the nearly obliterated population of puffins in Maine. It didn’t happen right away, but he and his team eventually achieved a near-miracle, repopulating the area with about a thousand pairs of them, to date. The conservation efforts have also included other endangered seabirds, such as terns. Read more →

Sadler House July 14, 2015 Leave A Comment Permalink