Road Trips: The Old Iron Inn – Bed & Breakfast

Road Trips

The Old Iron Inn – Bed & Breakfast

It was while traveling to Maine in late September (2018) to visit what’s left of Loring AFB in Limestone, Maine… we had our first experience at a bed & breakfast. Why were going to Loring AFB… well, that was where my husband was stationed at when he left Georgia. Even though the base closed in 1992, I had always wanted to see the area where he called me nightly from… even asking me to marry him from Maine!

After we left RT. 1 and decided the rest of the trip would be on I-95… we were surprised to see that all along the highway… there literally was nothing! For most of the trip, most times we were all alone on the highway, except for the occasional “watch for Moose signs“…. which I was hoping to see… as at least it would be some semblance of life found! Little did I know then, that we had just missed the annual moose hunting in Maine… that would have been the week to see moose… trucks hauling them and their large antlers off to the meat shops. Next time we go I’m going to have to find a meat/butcher shop and buy moose meat… I’m open to trying it! And in planning our trip on the spur, we weren’t near any moose sighting expeditions… that will have to be for another trip!

After searching online for hotels… and coming up with nothing, I found a bed and breakfast in Caribou… nearby to Limestone. I had never stayed in someone’s home before and felt a small amount of hesitation until I viewed their site… and immediately fell in love with their treasures. I was in luck… there was “one” room left out of their three rooms they offer; I booked, and we headed toward Caribou!

I mapped out the directions on my phone, but we still kept going in circles. After pulling over I decided to re-map the directions again from where we now were… big mistake… as then I had no service. Now I panicked… as it was becoming late in the day and we were driving in circles! As we headed to turn around and return back to the area where I thought it was located, I spotted a sign.. The Old Iron Inn Bed & Breakfast… Eureka… it found us!

We turned onto a side road… and just as we almost felt lost again at the end of the street… I spotted the house! Nothing is worse, than being away from home in an unknown area with no phone service! How did people survive years ago?

We pulled in and I hesitantly walked up to their door… feeling strange in knocking on a stranger’s door saying… “hi, I’m here to spend the night in your home.”

While grabbing our bags from the car, I told hubby, “wait till you go in, you are going to love their house”... they have a Victor phonograph just like ours and antiques all over their home.” I couldn’t wait to get back inside to really look around… we were like a kid in a candy store!

Our host, Kate, showed us upstairs to our room and left us to get settled. There were three bedrooms on the second floor, along with a coffee bar area and microwave in the hallway and a TV room with a fridge for guests.

Just down from the coffee bar were the other rooms… looking down the stairs is the front door!

Love the bookcases filled for their guests!

Outside our room were bookcases engulfing the doorway… sadly no Nancy Drew books… as I looked right away! If I’m ever back up in that area, I’ll definitely bring her a few books!

Our room was super cozy with a high back Victorian oak bed, just like I’ve always wanted… all the pieces were oak. Definitely our type of room! Kate told me that they had collected these pieces from many years of searching… each one was so unique and fit perfect in their home.

The perfect room for us!

I fell in love with every piece in the room… the microscope was from a friend who worked at the Smithsonian… and they turned it into a lamp… so unique!

After unpacking, we headed out to dinner… but eventually settled to have sandwiches, so we stopped at the local grocery to buy cold cuts to bring back to our room. Maine is another state which sells wine in the grocery store… such a great feature… and they also sold liquor; never saw that sold in a grocery store before.

We hated to pack up the next morning and head out, but not before we were treated to a home-cooked breakfast… and where we met the other overnight guests.

We walked into a waiting breakfast table of muffins and coffee while everyone gathered for breakfast. We both chose waffles when offered a choice… but at that point, I didn’t even want to choose… just surprise me. I don’t do well with choices!

One of those beautiful stoneware mugs with their Old Iron logo came home with me…. I just couldn’t resist! Our host Kate had several types of coffee and tea available for us. I could easily have spent longer than one night here… breakfast was awesome… our plates of waffles with fresh slices of pears arrived… and sadly I was too hungry to think of taking a photo!

Our host allowed me a quick peek in her kitchen and I was excited to see that she had a collection of cast iron pans and fell in love with her tin ceiling. It was then that I learned that she also designed her kitchen, and besides running the daily needs of a B&B, Kate is also a contractor and planner in home design; she has a perfect eye to detail! Sadly, after our lingering breakfast and conversations with the other guests and her husband Kevin, we packed to leave. It almost felt like we were leaving family, but hope to return for another stay with them.