Portland, Maine

After touring Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park earlier in the week, we traveled down the coast to our campground in Scarborough, just south of Portland. We stopped in Freeport to visit the LL Bean Flagship campus. Parking the RV was a challenge, which seemed surprising since tourists should be their main source of revenue. Following the “RV Parking” signs led us to a dead end – not a fun experience with a 34 foot trailer. We managed to back out and find parking close to a high school, not far from the LL Bean campus. An unsuccessful pass through their factory outlet left us no choice but to pay top dollar at the main store – go figure! Laura found a new rain coat (she hasn’t had one on the trip), and I invested in a pair of slip on rubber clogs for walking Rocky on wet mornings. Teressa and Brian stuck out, except for cake and a muffin at the coffee bar!

Our campground is located a half mile from Old Orchard Beach in a grove of trees next to a marsh estuary. We selected a site in the new section of the park, with wide drive ways and open vistas. The temperature dipped into the low 40s the last two nights, which required us to break down and use the furnace to keep warm. We are also using the shower in our trailer, since the first morning’s experience in the 40 degree RV Park bathroom was a little too invigorating.

As Teressa declared yesterday morning, “This must be Portland because it’s raining and the wind is blowing!” Brian drove us into downtown Portland, not an easy feat even with a GPS. It reminded us of Portland, Oregon, with its quaint downtown area on the waterfront. The kids really wanted to find shirts with “Portland Maine” logos, so we spent an hour scouring the downtown area before both were successful. Brian scored a great deal, picking up the sweatshirt you see in the picture for $20. It was a fun experience, as we were convinced the shop keeper was the sister of one of our good friends, Karin Schock (same voice and mannerisms). She was very helpful, giving us directions to the Portland Head Light, and a favorite local ice cream parlor (are you picking up a pattern here?). We were very fortunate that the rains stopped as we approached the light house. The setting sun illuminating the light house provided a stark contrast to the dark rain clouds on the far horizon.