Sunset Haven

06/25/2026

The flower box is planted! You know what that means. It means the summer guest season is about to begin.

So, just a note. Last season, the flowers all died during a dry spell because they went unwatered. I realize this is technically not our guests' job, but if you happen to be at the cottage and notice these flowers crying for help, please grab the hose on the side of the building and just give them a little drink. It will only take a moment and the plants will be oh so happy. We are not local and our cleaners are very busy cleaning and preparing for the next guests.

This year we will try to make some runs to Gray on turnover days to lay eyes on the cottage a little more. Next season, rental availability will be much more limited and we will be here more.

But for this season, if it's possible, please keep an eye on the baby flowers.

06/19/2026

Mama and baby at Sunset Haven this morning.

06/16/2026

Met these two characters out on the lake last night.

A few updates. We have sold our house in Paris at the worst possible time relative to getting Sunset Haven ready for summer rental. The house in Paris closes July 17th and we are working feverishly to remove 26 years of life there. The good news is Sunset Haven has some nice newer furniture. The bad news is that our usual June project list for the cottage will not get completed this year. Every June it's a different list. The cottage is fine overall; it's just that some fixes/updates now have to wait til September.

Those returning next summer (this is a whole other topic for another post) *might* just find a new garage has been built, but we have a long process we have not even begun between now and that being anywhere near reality. And after that, we're looking at possibly a new foundation for the cottage and upgrades to it as well.

What will never be happening is razing it and building new, at least not on our watch. Don't even get me started on that nonsense. (Not the word I choose outside of polite company.)

Our other residence is now in Rockland, Maine. Rockland stole my heart decades ago, so I'm pretty happy there and we hope to spend more time at Sunset Haven as well. Rental availability will change. We'll keep everyone posted.

04/26/2026

Happy spring, Sunset Havenites. Dock is IN!

11/05/2025

I have always been transparent on this page, so here goes:

It looks like our 2026 summer season with Jordan Rentals is just about filled up, but do get in touch with them if you wanted to rent in July and August. If some weeks are filled, I'm sure there's a waiting list.

We are also still renting on Airbnb and we've had quite a few visitors so far this fall.

We are, as always, very thankful to everyone who stays at Sunset Haven and cherishes it almost as much as we do.

I will say, however, that we are taking things on a year by year basis with the rent/do not rent decision. We were young (ish) twenty years ago when we bought the cottage and first started renting it. We are now in our 60s with grown kids and small grandchildren and there are aspects of renting that we have less resilience around now.

One way we will handle this in the meantime is to be increasingly selective about choosing renters and also making sure that the effort yields a return that makes it worthwhile and funds some improvements to the cottage. We hope to replace all of the carpet, for example, before the summer '26 season. We have even bigger long term plans, none of which will change the essential character of the camp that everyone seems to love.

So, as long as this restful place is still available for sharing, please treat it with respect and care. Know that it is an increasingly rare thing to find a genuinely old fashioned lake "camp" in Maine, especially in southern Maine, and that these are not to be taken for granted.

10/30/2025

The 99.9% of guests who are great can scroll on by.

For anyone else...

I can't believe I have to say this, but if you use a non-stick pan at Sunset Haven, please also use the plastic spatulas we have for this purpose. Maybe don't use scorching heat. Maybe don't burn stuff onto the bottom of the pan if you can help it at all. But by all means, don't scrub the entire surface off a lot of the pan, leaving jagged little Teflon edges, and then put it back in the cabinet. This pan is going to the dump.

10/13/2025

Heads up, Sunset Havenites. Our primary residence, the Parris House, is back on the market. Please share far and wide!

This 4500 square feet Single Family home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It is located at 546 Paris Hill Road, South Paris, ME.

08/31/2025

This seems like an important announcement.

Attention‼️

Unfortunately The Good Ship is unable to travel around the lake today with you guessed it, more motor issues! On the last weekend!

The Good Ship is gonna need your help to sell out!

I will be posted, and anchored between lyons point sandbar, and the hayden bay sandbar.

I hope you all understand and come help sell me out!!

See you all later!

Thank you - Captain Connor

08/31/2025

Throwing away a bunch of activities and games today at Sunset Haven because this is how we found them. 🤷‍♀️

08/30/2025

A bad day at Sunset Haven is still better than a good day a lot of other places.