– By HANNAH DOUGHERTY CAMPBELL

Special to the Maine Sunday Telegram

She’s the most beautiful 106-year-old I’ve ever seen … still in shape, still vibrant and welcoming. I’m talking about the Driftwood Inn on Bailey Island. My family and I found it by accident over 25 years ago — and like most folks, consider it a secret not to be shared. Me? I want to see it continue for another 100-plus years and that’s why you’re reading this now.

It’s a long eight-plus hour drive from my home in the suburbs of Philadelphia, but well worth the gas, tolls and continuous construction troubles. Now that it is just my husband and I going there, I look at the back seat of our car packed with our things and wonder where our four children sat and whined, “Are we there yet?”

My favorite part of the trip is when we “leapfrog” from Great Island to Orrs Island before crossing over the world’s only Cribstone Bridge, built in 1927 and just rebuilt last year. The bridge is a cobblework granite masterpiece which withstands the tides. Surrounding scenery is absolutely breathtaking as you drive past beautiful Mackerel Cove, where fishing boats are nestled beneath Glen’s lobster shack, where you can buy lobsters to cook on the island or take travel packed to your home. We bring a cooler every year to drive the little darlings home.

Bailey Island brings the combination of salty air and colonies of pine trees stirred with rugosa rose fragrance into a heavenly elixir. It is one of the 365 “Calendar” islands in Casco Bay, and part of Harpswell.

The Driftwood Inn was built in 1905 and remains in continuous operation. This place is frozen in time; its gray shingled porch rests on craggy rocks splashed by surf while crayon colored lobster buoys bounce next to mother ducks leading their broods across the waves.

Lobstermen steer their boats in early morning sun, pulling traps, hauling in the day’s catch and re-baiting for the next pickup. Sailboats slide across the horizon and occasional summer storms, followed by rainbows from island’s end to end.

Days after storms, our children used to collect seaglass of every color and put them in a jar to take home. Island vendors make jewelry and other souvenirs of the glass. People are friendly and Norman Rockwell-esque toward visitors. The Harpswell Fire Department hosts an annual Bean Hole Supper.

Seals swim ashore sometimes and once in awhile, someone will set a bonfire on the beach so we can roast marshmallows and meet others. Most days, the porch becomes the panoramic hub for those who wish to read while rocking in a wicker chair, or chat with fellow guests about what to do and see on the island.

The inn serves breakfast and dinner daily — for my money, the all-inclusive breakfast is the best deal at $7. Dinner choices vary night to night. Guests are permitted to bring a bottle of wine to enjoy.

The inn has an American Plan which includes your seven-day stay with breakfast and dinner costs included as well as daily/weekly rental rates. There are rooms to rent in one of three buildings. Driftwood, Surfside or Pleasant Place. Six cabins with various bed sizes and unique features are also available to rent at a decent price and are furnished with pretty much everything you will need for your stay. A deposit of $50 is required to keep the reservation. It’s still a sweet custom that only cash and checks are accepted for payment — no credit cards.

Pets are welcome in the cabins for a nominal fee. The chilly saltwater pool where our four children learned how to swim provides cool relief on scorching days. One can kayak around the many coves and open ocean, there are many rocks to climb and trails to walk including the one down to the Giant Stairs. I love the echo of the caw-cawing seagulls diving ocean depths or cruising the sky. Randi, who works in the office, sells us bags of clams that her husband dug that morning.

Some nights, even in summer, guests gaze at a roaring fire in the inn’s sitting room, read a good book, chat with others, play Scrabble, do puzzles or watch shooting stars or the man in the moon. We’ve even lit bonfires and toasted marshmallows and hot dogs. If you want an old-fashioned vacation with a porch rocking chair and a good book, or fishing and reeling in a striped bass, or just sunning and dozing, the Driftwood Inn is for you.

The Conrad Family has run the place since the 1930s; this is not for prima donnas and there is no air conditioning. It is a diamond in the rough, a sweet secret, a treasure, Maine at its best. The inn is also a great destination for family reunions and weddings. There are other hotels on the island, but for our buck, the value and memories are at Driftwood Inn which opens mid-May and closes early October. Pool and dining room open end of June till Labor Day.

Maine invites you, Maine, the way life should be. Hurry, the lobsters are waiting! Visit the website: driftwoodinnmaine.com

Hannah Dougherty Campbell is a freelance writer who liveds in Havertown, Pa.