{"id":2177,"date":"2017-07-02T18:07:46","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T01:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2177"},"modified":"2017-07-02T18:07:46","modified_gmt":"2017-07-03T01:07:46","slug":"bushes-launch-kennebunkports-summer-season-in-presidential-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/personalities\/2177\/bushes-launch-kennebunkports-summer-season-in-presidential-fashion","title":{"rendered":"BUSHES “LAUNCH” KENNEBUNKPORT’S SUMMER SEASON IN PRESIDENTIAL FASHION"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fresh

Fresh avocado in breakfasts is the latest trend in classic yet chic dining and lodging outlets<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAny time you\u2019re in\u00a0Maine\u00a0with your family it\u2019s a prescription for joy,\u201d former President George W. Bush told me as I sat across the table from him on the porch of\u00a0Kennebunkport\u2019s Cape Arundel Golf Club. The 43rd<\/sup>\u00a0President, who plays regularly at the course (which is open to the public) when he\u2019s in Kennebunkport, then referred to the health scares his parents, former President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush,\u00a0each in their 90\u2019s, endured over the winter. \u201cFor a while I didn\u2019t think I was going to be able to see my parents again here in\u00a0Maine, but they have defied expectations. They\u2019re very resilient people. So Maine\u00a0is a joyful place.\u201d<\/p>\n

A large number of extended Bush family members, including #43\u2019s daughter Jenna, who appears on NBC TV\u2019s \u201cToday Show,\u201d and her two toddlers, stayed at the family\u2019s generational, oceanfront homestead,Walker\u2019s Point, which is visible to tourists from an observation area on\u00a0Ocean Avenue, for Father\u2019s Day weekend.<\/p>\n

Other visitors, not in the Bush family, were in the quaint town for \u201cLaunch: A Maritime Festival,\u201d an annual event celebrating the history and seaside culture of the picturesque area with a five-day series of charming events including a boat parade, lobster bake, Captain\u2019s cook-off, rain gutter regatta and more.<\/p>\n

The snazzy, boutique Boathouse Waterfront Hotel, in the heart of the upper village and Dock Square shopping and dining area, had the most panoramic views of the boat parade and harbor from its guestroom balconies, windows and the outdoor deck at David\u2019s KPT restaurant. The Boathouse manages to maintain the marina\u2019s nautical authenticity, but in sleek, a contemporary fashion that doesn\u2019t evoke thoughts of Long John Silvers. \u201cSometimes hotels lean too far to either side in terms of themes. Being too contemporary can make guests uncomfortable. We worked to find the perfect blend to match the atmosphere and capture the essence of Maine without making guests feel like they\u2019re in the bottom of a ship,\u201d said Justin Grimes, director of operations for the Kennebunkport Resort Collection.<\/p>\n

Similarly, in the lower village,\u00a0vacationers enjoy chic style, luxury linens, Vera Wang mattresses, and in-room fireplaces in a classic yet artsy,\u00a0New England \u201cbed-and-breakfast\u201d called the Inn at English Meadows, which David and Kate Parisi bought and renovated as a \u201csecond career\u201d after moving up from Connecticut four years ago. \u201cWe\u2019d stayed at a lot of \u2018b-and-b\u2019s\u2019 which were nice, but we wanted this one to be special. We include beautiful amenities to create an experience for guests even nicer than where they live,\u201d said David, who assists his wife Kate in serving some of the breakfasts (and\u00a0blankets when needed)\u00a0in the outdoor garden courtyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI observe the guests and develop a custom gourmet breakfast each morning,\u201d Kate explained. \u201cI decide whether they are an \u2018egg white\u2019 or \u2018pancake type\u2019 of crowd. Our avocado, bacon and egg sandwich on an English muffin with marinated tomatoes seems very popular.\u201d<\/p>\n

With boating, the Bushes and restful romance as some of the attractions, Kennebunkport,\u00a0Maine\u00a0is 80 miles north of\u00a0Boston\u00a0and a leafy 30-minute drive from Portland International Jetport.<\/p>\n

Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at\u00a0<\/em>InviteYourself@aol.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or via TravelTattler.com\u00a0His talk show can be heard weekday mornings in\u00a0Lansing\u00a0on 92.1 FM.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAny time you\u2019re in\u00a0Maine\u00a0with your family it\u2019s a prescription for joy,\u201d former President George W. Bush told me as I… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[813728,5941,845056],"class_list":["post-2177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personalities","tag-kennebunkport","tag-george-bush","tag-george-hw-bush"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2017\/07\/EnglishMeadows.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2179,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions\/2179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}