We had a generally positive experience during our week-long stay at 20 Castle Lane. The instruction booklet we found upon first entering the house was well-written and helpful. This is a quaint old house ("cute" was my 12-year-old daughter's favorite adjective) with everything we needed---a fully-stocked kitchen, comfortable mattresses with plenty of linens and blankets, abundant towels and soaps in the bathrooms, modern appliances including a new fridge and washer/dryer. The toaster oven nicely filled in for the main oven (electric) which is out of commission. I will say, though, that it works better as an oven than as a toaster. (Smoke from burnt toast triggered the kitchen smoke alarm more than once.) A dedicated bread toaster would be a welcome addition. The only light in the kitchen is a single flush-mount, which doesn't adequately illuminate the room. I kept wishing for track lighting to train on the food prep areas. The microwave and outdoor gas grill were fine.
Adirondack chairs in the spacious yard made it a pleasure to sit outdoors and read, practice my guitar, or just listen to the wind rustling through the trees. The wood-burning stove was great to have on cool summer nights. Only once did the lights go out (on the porch) , but we had easy access to the circuit breakers under the house where we quickly resolved the problem. We even found a beach chair there which we used on our two trips to the beautiful Popham Beach State Park, the highlight of our stay. Food shopping at Shaw's, a 6-mile drive, is convenient, and, the store is well-stocked. Day trips to the Freeport outlet stores, Booth Bay Harbor, and Southport Beach were easy and fun for the kids.
The sole negative experience we had was when Nancy and I were chased from the floating dock by a fellow who peppered us with COVID questions. The matter was skillfully handled by local caretaker Heather who assured us, after contacting the person who runs the dock association, that the fellow was out of line, and, that we, indeed, had rights to the dock.
Heather was very responsive to our text messages. She was especially helpful on that late, rainy night when we first arrived and had some trouble finding the house, staying on the phone with us until we safely made it in. (Hint: on your GPS/Google maps, put in 20 Marshall Lane instead of the Castle address.)
