Portland, Freeport, Old Orchard Beach, Kennebunkport & Kennebunk,ME

We are staying in Scarborough, ME at Wild Duck Campground that is centrally located between all the places we want to visit.  When we drove in Judy noticed that their sign said “Adult Park.”  Mike told her he had another surprise – it was a nudist camp.  Just kidding, adult referred to no children allowed.  It seems very well taken care of, clean and neat and decent sized sites.  We are at the back of the loop, backing up to a marsh and hiking trail.

Portland

Saturday morning we drove to Portland, Maine, not Oregon, and walked up and down their streets with all the other tourists.  This is Maine’s largest city with almost ¼ of the state’s population living here.  We walked up and down the many blocks that were covered with shops and went to a restaurant on the Pier for lunch.  Our next stop was East End beach that had a pretty view overlooking the water so we stopped and walked around.

Old Custom Building

On Sunday we visited Portland Head Light which is Maine’s oldest lighthouse.  George Washington commissioned this lighthouse in 1791.  It is adjacent to Fort Williams Park which has large grounds with picnic facilities and is beautifully landscaped with rolling hills and many azaleas planted all over.  Farther in the water was a smaller lighthouse, so that made the visit more unique.



Freeport

Freeport is the home of L.L.Bean.  They have a huge campus that was being constructed when we were here four years ago.  It is magnificient with a stage and grassy area between all of their buildings.  At the outlet store Judy bought three items.  This year Mike found nothing, except a woman’s pair of bike shorts to try on.  He wondered why the zipper was on the side!  He made no purchases this time, although last time here he was the one who bought a few things and Judy walked away with nothing.  We then headed to their first free concert of the season starring Ryan Shaw, singer/songwriter, who is from Georgia and has a powerfully expressive voice along with a great personality.  L.L.Bean hosts activities and live entertainment regularly.

Ryan Shaw

Ryan Shaw



Monday we returned to Freeport to L.L. Bean for another concert and to check out a few more stores.  The concert featuring Red Horse, a trio of two women and one man, who sang folk music.  started at 7:30.   We were disappointed that they didn’t play or sing any upbeat music, all very mellow.  Sadly they didn’t play any patriotic music either. Fireworks started soon after the concert ended. 

Red Horse

Old Orchard Beach

After visiting Portland Head Light we headed to Old Orchard Beach and were surprised to find a place more like Coney Island.  It seemed like there were more people here than in the big city of Philadelphia.  Shops, shops, and more shops, penny arcades and amusement rides all over the place, a typical tourist town.  Parking was almost impossible.  Judy spotted a spot on the main drag that had no parking meter.  Mike checked with one of the stores and they just said we were lucky to get one of the only free spots in that area.  We walked up one side of the street and then down the other, surrounded by throngs of people.  Our first stop was at a stand for French fries prepared like Nathan’s of Coney Island.  Oh, they were yummy!  Then more walking until we got to the pier where we got to see the beach.  It  was first settled in 1657 and is 7 miles long.  For many years there was an old apple orchard on high land above the long sand beach.  The orchard was a landmark to sailors and the town took its name from this seafaring icon.  We thoroughly enjoyed walking the streets and the pier, bringing back many memories of Coney Island for Mike, and Riverview for Judy, although that had no pier or water.       

When we returned we visited with Cathy and John, (and their dog Jack) our neighbors who only live 30 minutes from the campground before and after dinner.  Nice people, very easy to talk with. 

Kennebunkport

Tuesday we drove to Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.   Kennebunkport was known for shipbuilding from the 17^th to 20^th centuries.  As America’s trade grew it necessitated larger ships, and the Kennebunkport River was too shallow to accommodate larger vessels.  The last sailing ship built here was launched in 1918. 

We drove through Arundel where Kathy and John Leach (our camping neighbors) live.  The areas we went through seem very nice and everything appears to be well-taken care of.  We passed the compound that is home to the senior Bushes.  It is HUGE and very nice. 

Bush Compound

Bush Compound



We drove to Cape Porpoise, Goose Rocks Beach and enjoyed the scenery and the weather which was in the 70s with a little breeze.  It was a little humid today.  Our driving many times consisted of driving by the coastline and seeing the prosperity of the shipbuilders, merchants and sea captains.  It is evident in the beautiful mansions we saw.  The railing on the roof is called a “widow’s walk”.  Wives could go up on the roof and see if they could see their husband's ship returning to port from a long voyage.

Another stop we made was to see St. Ann’s church, a beautiful structure that was built in 1881.

Kennebunk

Thursday we were invited to visit John and Kathy Leach who were camped next to us at Wild Duck Campground, as they live in Arundel which is only ½ hour away.  Arriving at their home at 1:00 p.m., Kathy took us on a guided tour of Kennebunk where she pointed out the old buildings and what they used to be.  We walked up and down one street that had many old homes from the 1600s to the 1900s and she had a book that explained who built them and their history. 

Dinner was being prepared by John who works at Cabella’s and gets home around 4:30.  We enjoyed a pear salad, baked potatoes, asparagus with onions and garlic, and a fish casserole that was made with haddock, scallops and shrimp.  It had a Ritz cracker topping.  Everything was delicious.  We met their two sons and thanked them again for the dinner and hospitality.  We hope we can sometime pay them back on the west coast!

 Dinner with Kathy & John

Below are some of the homes we saw