January 8, 2022 – On Saturdays I plan to share some of my coastal finds with you. These might be interesting links, locally-made goods, unusual places, fun art and images from: Maine, New England, the USA and around the world – all with a beach or coastal vibe.
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Striped Beach Tents
I love striped beach tents! Years ago, when I was in the Channel Islands (on the island of Jersey, like the cow) my intrepid Aunt Mim took me on a day trip on a catamaran to Dinard, France. There, the main beach is the Plage de l’Ecluse with its iconic beach tents in blue and shite stripes. I love their Medieval appearance. (photo in the gallery above of the tents is from FranceThisWay.com)
France This Way says: “The combination of a sandy beach, beautiful architecture and a lively shopping centre make Dinard a very pleasant and popular resort to visit.”
FMI: https://www.francethisway.com/places/dinard.php
More French Stripes – La Marinière Top
Another French iconic item is la Marinière, a long-sleeved shirt or sweater with horizontal blue and white stripes. It is also called a Breton shirt, or a sailor shirt (or sweater) and is worn by men and women. In its original form, this striped jersey was worn by 19th-century French Navy sailors. Think Marcel Marceau, Coco Chanel, Jean Seberg in the film Breathless. And then Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, and a host of other designers made the stripes their own.
Read: The History of the French Striped Top here
Check out the Breton Shirt Co’s “Picasso” version – https://bretonshirt.com/products/picasso
You don’t have to be a celeb or play polo to look stylish in a Breton Shirt. Vineyard Vines has a blue-with-white-stripes tee. https://shopstyle.it/l/bCEyR
Reid State Park – Two Beaches in One
Long before we moved to Maine, my family would vacation for a week or two somewhere along the coast. Usually slightly off-season. One place we went back to, time and again, was Five Islands, Georgetown. It’s on one of the peninsulas made up of small interconnected islands just past Bath on Route 127.
If you visit, make sure to go to Reid State Park, located at the south end of the peninsula and known for its sand dunes and long, wide beaches. There are two of them! You can’t beat the views of the inlets, pine-covered rocky coast, and harbors in this 770-acre park.
FMI: https://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/doc/parksearch/details.pl?park_id=13
Or: https://visitmaine.com/things-to-do/parks-natural-attractions/reid-state-park
If You Live in a Tourist Town You Have to Read this Book
Photographer, illustrator and writer Gretchen Viehmann released a book inspired by terrible reviews of her hometown Fowey, in Cornwall, England, at TripAdvisor. (Fowey is pronounced FOY)
“Disappointed! An Illustrated Compendium of Displeasure, hilariously encapsulates many of those musings as she documents some of the misspelled, unfair and just downright hilarious reviews of Fowey during the most unusual of seasons.” – Cornwall.com
You can find Gretchen Viehmann on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hissingvulture/?hl=en
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/lunacy-tourists-cornwall-inspired-hilarious-6227296
On a personal note: When I was a child, my family visited Fowey several times, as we had relatives living there. What a wonderful house they had, with a long garden overlooking the river. Fowey is a lovely old port town with narrow streets on the Fowey River. I loved it there, watching the big ships heading upriver to pick up China clay for export, going out in my cousin’s boat to catch some fish, and seeing Daphne du Maurier’s house perched near the Bodinnick ferry. We were never disappointed!
Uncommon Goods Tide Clock
This tide clock keeps time with the flow of nature, measuring high and low tide rather than hours and minutes. Smooth, tumbled marble clock, on a cast iron stand, made in Providence, Rhode Island.
FMI https://shopstyle.it/l/bCEXW
Yes, You Do Need Another Lobster Mug
Coastal Finds Marketplace in Salisbury, Massachusetts, looks like such a fun place to visit. Large earthenware lobster mug, handprinted. FMI: https://www.coastalfindsmarketplace.com/store/large-lobster-mug-hand-painted-16-oz
Photo credits: The images used in this post are from the websites via each link about the item.
~~~~~ That’s all for this week! If you come across any fab coastal finds,
add the link and a few words in the comments! ~~~~~
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