Ogunquit, Maine - A Favorite Vacation Destination

The town of Ogunquit calls itself “a beautiful place by the sea,” and indeed it is. Nestled on the southern coast of Maine, this town has it all—rock beaches, sand beaches, an old fashioned trolley, shops, art galleries, and of course plenty of fresh seafood. Ogunquit is a favorite seasonal vacation spot for families and couples that keep returning year after year.

Image (cc) Jay Woodworth/Flickr

By the sea

The sandy, white Ogunquit beach is a peninsula stretching 3 1/2 miles between the Atlantic Ocean and Ogunquit River. It's a perfect spot for walking, collecting shells, swimming and building sand castles. The beach is pristine—picture perfect—and a wonderful place to layout in the sun and rejuvenate.

The Marginal Way is a paved one-mile walking path that highlights rock beaches and stunning views. The path starts in the center of Ogunquit and leads along rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. Along its curves, walkers take in picturesque views of Ogunquit while breathing salty air and spotting lobster boats. The path ends in Perkins Cove where visitors can take a boat ride, shop, and eat, then return to Ogunquit on the trolley.

Ogunquit Museum of American Art

 Around Town

Ogunquit is a well known art colony and the town is full of quirky and lovely art galleries to suit any interest. It is also home to the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, which is the only museum in Maine to exclusively exhibit American art. Their pieces date back to the late 1800s with several collections from early Ogunquit art colony artists.

The Ogunquit Playhouse is known as “America’s Foremost Summer Theater” for their high quality Broadway at the Beach musicals. They produce five different musicals each season and have showcased stars from Broadway and television.

No Maine coastal vacation is complete without fresh seafood, and lots of it. Ogunquit is bursting with seafood restaurants ranging from the classic Maine lobster shack to 5-star affairs. And of course, most of these establishments offer seating with spectacular ocean views.

Close By

Ogunquit is only about half an hour up the coast from Kittery, New Hampshire, which is well known for outlet shopping. It is also only a short jaunt away from Freeport where visitors can shop the outlets and visit L.L. Bean. Visitors can take these day trips along the scenic Route 1 following the coastline and stopping at small shops and lobster shacks all along the way.

Ogunquit is a picturesque town full of natural beauty, artistic expression, and vacation fun for everyone. It caters to vacationers looking to rent a simple cottage as well as those who prefer a luxury hotel. If you're looking for online resources, Ogunquit stay packages are a great way to discover Ogunquit and plan your next vacation. Remember, book ahead because this "beautiful place by the sea" is hugely popular and everything books up fast!

5 Tips to Help Your Small Business Impress Clients

No business is going to succeed unless it has satisfied customers. Without their money, there is no way that a company is going to generate enough revenue to keep its doors open. With that in mind, what are some ways that a small business can keep its clients happy at all times?

Image (cc) cooldesign/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Always Act Like a Professional

Even if you are just one person running a business as a side project or a hobby, you should always act like a professional around your clients. It is important to project an image as someone who is knowledgeable about what he or she is doing at all times. This will cause the client to see you as a viable partner now and in the future. If you're a home based business a meeting room hire is a great idea if you need to meet with clients, and is a sure way to help inspire confidence.

Be There At All Times

It is critical that you are there when your clients need you. Regardless of what time it is or how many hours you have worked during a given day, you need to be there when a client needs you the most. While you are entitled to charge more for responding to an emergency situation, you can't ignore the needs of your clients. If you do, you will find that you don't have many clients paying for your services.

Be Ready With Ideas to Help Your Clients

Take the time to come up with new ideas that can help your clients expand their business. For example, if you hear about a new technology or a new best practice that could help your clients increase page views to their blog, you should be ready and willing to share that information with your clients.

Understand the Needs of Your Clients

People come to you because you have a special skill or knowledge about a specific field that your client needs to tap into. However, you need to understand why your clients have chosen to work with you. Determine early on how you can best use your skills to make it easier for your clients to get the best value for their money.

Develop a Good Working Relationship with Your Clients

Although you never want to mix business and pleasure, there is nothing wrong with developing a good working relationship with your clients. In other words, you should get to know the names of their kids, what they like to do for fun and what cars that they like to drive. This can help you gain the trust of your client and cement a long-term business relationship.

Implementing some or all of these strategies will help you win over your clients and make it easier for them to give you more business. In time, your clients will tell others about your good work and refer new clients to your business. This will help you go from a small business to a well-known company before you know it.

5 Ideas for Your Guest Room

Having guests stay over is a lovely way to be able to spend time with your friends or family and share your home with them. Once you’ve got a nice space set up as your guest room, hosting your loved ones becomes easy and pleasant for both parties. Here are a few great ideas to help you do just that. 

Colours and Pleasant Perfumes

To leave a good impression and ensure your guests feel comfortable in their temporary room, the space should be welcoming and pleasant. Neutral shades accented with splashes of warmer colours or striking bright textiles will help to create a space that is neither too dull nor too bold.
Make sure it’s a nice space for sleeping and for spending a little down time during the day – it should be well lit but able to be kept cool, dark and quiet at night. Subtle, soothing aromas are a homely touch that also create a calm and inviting space.

Creature Comforts

When your guests are staying with you they’ll want a little time to themselves. In order to create a space in which they can feel comfortable they should be provided with a few creature comforts that can be enjoyed in their room.

A mirror in the room means guests can ready themselves without having to wait for the bathroom, it helps guests feel a little more self contained. This can be complimented with a nice dresser where they can keep cosmetics and toiletries rather than in their travel bag.

A tray with tea cups, tea bags and a kettle is another lovely touch. Some spare towels and blankets should also be accessible – if your guests get up earlier than you for a shower, or are cold during the night, they won’t want to wake you up to ask for a towel or blanket.

Books and Magazines

A few recent magazines or simple, short books by the bed give guests something to pass the time when they need to escape for a few hours and just relax, or to wind down at night. Try opting for gender neutral magazines and books that make for an easy read.

Towels and Toiletries

A dresser for toiletries, towel hooks, a small desk for the laptop and a chair in the corner are all nice ideas for furnishings. Necessary items like towels and face washers should also be placed in the room. You might also like to provide a small cake of soap and some travel-sized shampoo, conditioner and body wash, so that your guests don’t have to share the family supply. They’ll feel as though they’re at a five star resort.

Futons and Foldaways

If you’re a little stuck for space in your home, why not combine purposes for your spare rooms? When there’s only one room to spare, have your office space or games room double as a guest room when you have people come to stay.

The easiest way to do this is by having furniture than can easily be stowed away, moved or transformed. You might like to have your room as primarily an office space or a play room for the kids, with a stylish futon or fold-out sofa bed included in the room so that when guests come to stay you can simply convert the seating to bedding. You could also use a desk that folds away and can be stored in a small space. Make sure there’s plenty of spare cupboard space so any office items, toys or electronics can be neatly tucked away while your guests are present.

If your guest room is mostly used by your children’s friends or younger family members, you could search for any bunk beds for sale to include in your spare room, maximising sleeping space while leaving plenty of room for an office desk or a play space.

By following these basic tips you’ll create a lovely in-home respite for your guests to sleep, relax, and recharge for all the day’s activities. They’ll be back in no time!