RoadNotes: Maine Attractions

Cherry Valley, New York – October 1 to 9, 2012 Our Current Location

Not starting out to be such a great day. Leaving Acadia NP, we scraped a few trees on the way out. Frank went on the roof to check for damage and found the bathroom vent fin was creamed. When we stopped in Ellsworth, ME at Walmart for supplies, the wind caught the front door and broke the opener. Guess we need to find an RV parts place.

It rained off and on as we made our way to Freeport, ME. One bright spot is that the tree colors are looking good.

Our original purpose was to go to the the LL Bean complex. We didn’t realize that all of Freeport is one big shopping area. It is full of outlet stores, shops, food places and a theatre. This may take longer than we thought.

The city of was kind enough to provide us with a free place to park Big Guy for 4 days while we explored the area. The first night we experienced a little anxiety as we were the only RV parked in the RV Only parking area, while all the other RVs were parked in the car parking area next to the Visitor Center. By the second night the other RVers had finally figured it out and were parking with us.

I can’t believe that in the whole time we were in Freeport we only took a few pictures and those were of the outside of LL Bean. But believe us when we tell you it is an awesome store complex complete with restaurant and coffee shop.

We had an “it’s a small world” experience in one of the stores. We ran into our “cousin” Pam from home. She and Chuck were in Bath, ME and we were able to have lunch with them.

While in Freeport, we shopped til we felt like dropping, went to two movies and took a day trip to Boothbay Harbor. Frank liked the fact that he could head back to the RV and EJ could keep going. We helped the local economy some, but mostly we were amazed at all of the stuff we just didn’t have to have.

Next on the to do list was Cabella’s in Scarboroough, ME. We pulled into their parking lot and found it posted with No Overnight Parking signs everywhere, but there were lots of other RV’s and trucks that didn’t look like they were going anywhere. We asked inside about the parking situation and they told us not to worry about the signs, so we didn’t! Another interesting store, but again, we didn’t find any compelling reasons to turn loose of any of our retirement funds.

Having dry camped for 5 nights, it was time to seek out a full service campground. Oh yeah, and it had to have a Laundromat as underwear supplies were getting critical again. We went a whole 7 miles to Saco, ME. We found a NAPA store nearby and were able to pick up the gas strut that holds the entrance door open. We took the opportunity to replace several other items that had been damaged along the way. It was a very beneficial 24 hours.

Frank had heard about an outdoor outfitter in Kittery, ME and we thought we would check it out on our way to Bow, NH. Wow! Back up the Bus! Big Mistake!!!

Having spent the last 4 months in relative isolation had in no way prepared us for the Kittery Experience. It appeared that every car in a 4 state area was going where we wanted to go. Only we didn’t find that out until after we turned off on the exit from which there was no way to turn around. It so happens that Kittery is a MAJOR factory outlet location and we lacked that little piece of information. The parking lots were full, the roads were full, and there were people everywhere. After several miles we found a place to turn around, and now we had to fight our way back through that mess. Frank’s pretty sure he left permanent hand impressions on the steering wheel. And we didn’t even try and park so we could see the Kittery Trading Post.

Our Maine experience leads us to believe shopping is a major sport up here or at least a favorite pastime.

Somewhere in the last week or so, we overheard some local folks making fun of the name Fernandina, FL. This from people who live in a state with cities that have names like Kennebunkport and Ogunquit. Hmmmph!

Our next stop was in Bow, NH, to visit Franks’ cousin-in-law Joanie, whom we hadn’t seen in many years. We had a great time chatting and catching up. She even provided a place to park Big Guy right next door and an electric plug. We had a fun visit with her and the “boys”, but we had to keep moving. In the back of our minds we are aware that we don’t want to get caught up here in an early winter storm.

On our way towards Niagara Falls we stopped in Bennington, VT home of the Hemming Motor News filling station and museum. A good friend, Larry told us to keep an eye open for it and we’re glad he did.