Sometimes you just have to disconnect to reconnect, and if you give yourself some calm before the storm of holidays, you’ll be ready for the frenzy of family gatherings, neighborhood parties, and not enough wrapping paper. A quick jaunt up the coast to Inn by the Sea, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, is the ideal reset before the onset of holidays.
Set like a jewel on Crescent Beach, this oasis of empty beaches and windswept island views over to Kettle Cove is just my ticket for taking a breath. Or two.
In my nautically inspired suite offering a soaking tub, gas-burning fireplace, equipped kitchen, and deck with views of marshlands and tidal inlets, I could zen out inside. But I don’t. Instead, I head outside to the inn’s private boardwalk and take a stroll over the dunes to a wildlife sanctuary. On Kettle Pond, I spot two egrets and watch their stillness, their calm, before continuing my meander over to the marshes of Jordan Point. Sandpipers flit over the low tideline so I follow their footprints to and from the surf.
After an hour’s walk and with sunshine warming the empty beach, I think, why not? I’ve brought a towel, I’m wearing a swimsuit, so in I go for a cold-weather swim—just like I do at Wallis Sands most months of the year. In the distance, a seal head pops up, as if in surprise at someone swimming this late in the season.
Back in the room, the soaking tub steams the chill away.
That night, I dine at the inn’s restaurant, Sea Glass. The chef, Ramiz Jasic—who was born in Bosnia and grew up in Connecticut—believes that “food should always tell a story.” The menu shows this approach. Locally sourced and inspired by nature, each plate is presented like a gift.
I start with grilled peach and burrata with heirloom tomatoes and then jump into a farmer’s salad with the most amazing Atlantic Sea Farms seaweed vinaigrette. The brown-bread Parker rolls with blueberry butter melt in my mouth. Next I enjoy scallops enveloped in asparagus puree, with cured bacon. Dessert is a must: fresh blueberry cobbler a la mode. I take a hot toddy back to my deck, and the stars sit heavy in the dark night sky.
Hearing ocean waves and the buzz of remaining cicadas, and feeling the breeze as I snuggle under a quilt on an Adirondack rocker, I take this in as a moment of perfect place. I breathe in the salty air.
The next morning, I rise with the sun, and head again to the beach. The pines are draped in mist as the sky blooms pink and purple. I find a driftwood log near the dunes and sit in the hush for long moments before heading back to the inn. A yoga class is just beginning on the lawn. I join in, namaste-ing the last of fall, and awaiting the joys of winter: turkey in the oven, pies cooling on a counter, the door wide open to friends and family sharing a table.
There’s gratitude for gatherings, but also space for stillness, for calm. With thankfulness, I’ve opened a window to the sea and let the restful breezes inside.
Inn by the Sea
40 Bowery Beach Road | Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Ask for the “Fall in Love with Fall” special, which runs through November 25. Dog friendly. The inn plants a tree with every reservation through a Hotels for Trees collaboration.
"A holiday for yourself before the joys of family togetherness."