Thus read the sign in the Yarmouth Hardware Store window as we drove by in the rain. It rained almost across the board for our vacation in Maine, which you’d think would be a drag, but we actually had a terrific time.
To understand why, you have to consider the ‘dumbfounded wonder factor’ which struck Husband and I from the start. Meaning that extremely northern New Englanders are immune to weather of any kind, making them hard not to watch with interest. Even in a steady rain, as long as it’s after Memorial Day, Maine natives wear sandals and t-shirts. In this case, squishy leather sandals and dripping cotton t-shirts. I guess they’re just happy they’re not shoveling snow.
Despite a constant rolling fog headed toward land, our view across Portland’s Casco Bay was stupendous, with ships appearing like ghosts on the horizon, steadily growing in size as the distance diminished. The intermittent break in the clouds revealed a sun as bright as pirate gold and just as welcome. Husband and I sipped coffee by our picture window and feasted on lobster stew at the wharf across the street. The café next to our hotel served a cappuccino that made me think I was in Seattle.
Of course, shopping is always a good thing to do in the rain, and nearby Freeport houses the flagship L.L. Bean as well as dozens of upscale outlet stores that look architecturally more like historic landmarks than retail shops. Husband found me in Cole Haan clutching a pair of ballerina flats to my chest as I confided that everything on the first floor was 50% off. Drawing him close, I whispered, “The second floor is 60% off! Cole Haan!” He grabbed my arm and said, “You know what Cole Haan is at 80% off? Cole Slaw!” That boy ate too much lobster salad.
On the one sunny day of the week, I seized the chance to board the Portland Trolley and get familiar in 90 minutes with all the places of interest I’d read about in the travel guide. Local trolley tours aren’t Husband’s thing, but I try not to miss them in any city we visit. This one was especially entertaining because the driver had an easy patter and obviously enjoyed what he was doing. His regular job for the past 30 years is middle school math teacher. He said giving tours on the weekends is a pleasure because he gets to talk a lot while people actually listen.
So why, you ask, do port cities have so many cobblestone streets? Because the roads were made with the stone used for ship ballast. What’s buried under the statue of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Longfellow Square? A metal box containing the names of the New England schoolchildren who raised $17,000 to build the statue after his death.
And finally, what’s behind the name of a pub on Commercial Street called $3 Dewey’s? Well, back in the pub’s heyday, the charge for entertainment there was $1 – looky; $2 – feely; $3 – doey. And that’s without the second floor discount.
Daughter’s Featured Fotos sing Here Comes The Sun
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people watching people
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fringe monster, DCKT Gallery
Note: This weekend, June 6th and 7th, is the annual Renegade Craft Fair in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at the McCarren Park Pool that I wrote about last year in Renegade Nation. Maybe Daughter and I will see you there.