It's Bill, 4/26/26: April Awakening

April showers bring May flowers. We slowly transition out of cool weather into warmer days and Spring walks. Daffodils, crocus, tulips, snow whites, peek up from their winter slumber, with colorful thoughts of better weather ahead. Mother’s Day is right around the corner to celebrate and to show off new Spring wardrobes.

The road in, the ocean beyond, and another spring season beginning at West Quoddy Station.

Spring Opens the Doors

West Quoddy Station greeted Spring on April 17 by opening up the Crews Quarters and 4 lodgings in The Lodge, Yeaton, Kimball, Jefferson and Washington. Opening the additional 5 lodgings, which were closed for the Winter season, brought us up to our full, operating capacity of 15 lodgings. We close some units during the winter due to less demand and heating expense.

Going to full capacity on Friday, April 17, was timed about perfectly. The previous night, April 16, I had to turn away prospective, last-minute guests as all of our 10 operating lodgings were rented. Ow! That hurt, turning away a guest on April 16. Good news, bad news! The weekend of the 17th through 19th went well with about 90% occupancy.

The Lodge reopened for spring as West Quoddy Station returned to full capacity for the season.

Open All Year Long

Throughout the Winter, since Thanksgiving, our weekends have been basically full. This is particularly true from before Christmas until after New Year’s Day. Of course, occupancy is weather related, a predicted snowstorm keeping guests at home. However, there are a few hearty Mainers who love being at West Quoddy Station during a storm.

We keep our paved roads and parking in good shape. There are always long-distance travelers staying here to see the First Sunrise on The Easternmost Point, rain or shine. For over 25 years, we have always been open year-round. We have never closed.

Spring Cleaning and Seasonal Prep

We start doing our Spring cleaning in March. Floors, walls, lights, windows. Furniture gets a good look at. We put 3 new exterior doors in The Station House, 1 in The Lodge. Kitchens get a good going over, particularly seeing if some kitchen ware went on an extended vacation.

Spring cleaning starts early—tables, floors, walls, and every corner of the Lighthouse get a careful going over.

The Team Behind West Quoddy Station

Kyli Cox-Serrato is our Manager, she has been with us for several years. Her daughter, Amelia, assists Kyli. Under Kyli’s supervision, our housekeepers, all Lubecers, work as a team. Kyli coordinates check-ins and checkouts, working with our guests and myself.

Her other duties go beyond maintaining and decorating the lodging interiors to keeping the exteriors in good order, summer and winter, even Christmas lights! This includes our 15 gardens, walks, and Picnic Deck, as well as maintaining and testing our water quality for The State of Maine. We are a small public water supply.

Lucky Kyli also gets time to spend in the Office! Reservations, emails, charging credit cards, guest requests, television, lost and found, and more. Working as a team, we are not bored, we enjoy working together. We are proud of West Quoddy Station.

Kyli and Amelia, part of the team helping keep West Quoddy Station running smoothly.