L.L. Bean and Lobster

We started our day with a workout and coffee, as usual.  Breakfast was excellent.  There were several yummy baked goods from which to choose, delicious jam (blueberry and raspberry) made in Maine, eggs, yogurt, juice, fruit, cereal, and coffee.  I love having choices for breakfast and not having to think about it and make the food myself.

Our day trip today was a lovely drive to Freeport, the town that L.L. Bean built.  We took back roads and wound up in the middle of Portland at the bustling dock area.  There were tons of people!  Then we saw the cruise ship that had just disgorged all of those folks into the center of Portland.  I love road trips and traveling with Dennis, but I don't think I would like to participate in one of those cruises.  Too many people and not enough control over the itinerary!

When we reached Freeport we were surprised at how jammed it was for such a small town.  There were outlet stores everywhere, but none as big as the campus of the flagship stores for L.L. Bean.  Dennis and I found a parking place and ventured in.  We were looking for anoraks - the water-resistant kind that fold into a pocket.  We found them in last season's colors for $10 off - a good deal.  While we were walking around, I overheard a man on his cell phone saying with incredulity, "Do you know that this store is by far the most popular tourist attraction in Maine?"  I had to chuckle at that.

When we drove through the rest of Freeport, I noticed that the storefronts all looked like they fit into a New England town.  They did not have their trademark building styles and colors.  I commented on this to Dennis and then looked up the history of Freeport.  In the 1980s MacDonald's wanted to tear down an old Greek Revival house to build a new restaurant.  Community outrage resulted in local statutes about what could and could not be built or modified.  Go Freeport!

We decided to go look at and photograph the lighthouses at Two Lights just south of Portland and to look for a lobster shack for lunch.  We again took side roads and found the Two Lights State Park and the lighthouse.  A lobster shack was right next door!  We took lots of pictures and then ate a delicious late lunch of lobster roll, and crab roll with iced tea.  It was delicious.  That counts as lobster meal one and I need to have more!

We drove back to the Inn and now are having wine on the front porch.  This is a lovely town and I am sure it is wildly crazy during the summer season.  Now, things are a bit calmer, some stores and restaurants are closed and some are only open on the weekend.  I think they roll up the sidewalks at the beginning of November and batten down the hatches to survive the winter.  The coast of Maine is so beautiful with so many charming small towns, but these are tough people to survive each winter.  I'm glad we are visiting in milder times.