Connie Lay was tired of the big city life in Cincinnati. She loves Maine and she is especially fond of Freeport. So when Lay learned late last year that the historic Captain Briggs House Bed and Breakfast on Maple Avenue was for sale, she jumped on it.

Lay quickly contacted Chuck and Bev Cefer, who had owned Captain Briggs House for about eight years. She looked the B&B over, and bought it.

“I love Maine,” said Lay, who had been a business manager at a veterinary hospital, and does photography on the side. “I would come up here for vacation at least once a year for eight years. It’s absolutely gorgeous. People are friendly. I like a slower pace. I’m not a big shopper, but I have a special place in my heart for Freeport.”

Lay has renamed the bed-and-breakfast the Candlebay Inn, and it offers seven elegant rooms. Lay spent the winter assessing what needed to be done. She has been painting the rooms, freshened them up with new bedspreads and furnished them with satellite televisions. Lay’s daughter, Stephanie Lay, is the pastry chef and her partner, Van Mehanovic, is the head chef. The family lives at the inn.

The Candlebay Inn, one of the few accommodations in the Freeport area that allows family dogs, is air-conditioned and smoke-free. Each room has its own private bath, and one room can be turned into a two-room suite. For more information, see www.CandlebayMaine.com.