Blackbelt shopping in Maine??

Who knew.

Having a bad memory of Maine from my one trip as a teenager did not bode well for last weekend's trip to Ogunquit. My last trip to Maine was from a camp on Cape Cod to another summer camp. I vaguely recall arriving at night via bus, being cold and damp, raining, sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent or cabin, and the trip stayed that way however long it lasted.

Fortunately, this was an infinitely better experience and a pleasant surprise. We stayed at the Beauport Inn, a B&B off the beaten path, but close enough to the main street scene for a short drive or a long walk. The inn was modern and clean, with air conditioning and swimming pool. It is under new management and with new inn keepers, Tom and Nancy who are a lovely couple from the New York area. Nancy prepared a lovely breakfast each morning and was very accommodating to my difficult 14 year old.

Saturday, I was certainly nervous about weather. Although the drive up on Friday was relatively traffic-free, it was still a long six hours including a brief dinner stop. We were leaving some good weather behind and headed into cool, damp weather for the first day but no rain. We drove through the town and walked through Perkins Cove, drove through York (which has a long stretch of beach with waves sufficient for surfing), and went back to Perkins Cove for lunch at Barnacle Billy's, for fresh steamers. We sat inside for the self-service, but a beautiful view of the water, with the fireplaces glowing and throwing off more than enough heat. Even though it was about 57 degrees and damp, hearty New Englanders were still sitting outside. It was interesting that Billy's had no fried food - no French Fries, onion rings, or fried clams, only steamed clams, lobsters, and grilled hot dogs, hamburgers.

That evening we headed out for a late dinner at 98Provence, a local French restaurant recently purchased by the same new owner of the Beauport. The chef is French-Canadian and seems to draw a regular Canadian following. Although a nice menu, and pleasant food, the food is not Provencal, and is more a Canadian flair. The servers are all mature women who are trying hard to be attentive.

On Sunday, in much improved weather, we drove to Freeport, to assist my father-in-law with shoes he wanted to purchase at LL Bean, at their enormous retail store, the mother ship. It was quite impressive, as was the town full of outlet stores, all new construction but looking appropriate for Maine. I noticed a Bass outlet and went to investigate, looking to see if I could replace a favorite pair of bass clogs that had come apart during the winter. Instead of clogs I found clog-type sandals for $89 but noticed the sign advertising a 3-for-1 deal. If purchased the sandals, I could get two other pair of equal or lesser value for free. Not a deal to pass up. When I checked out, I was also given $5 off coupons for Izod and Van Hussen stores down the street, also owned by the same company. So, I ventured to Izod and found a $56 shirt, marked down to $11, less the $5, or a $7 shirt.

Now that is what I call black-belt shopping.

On the way back we drove through Portland to Kennebunk, stopping in Kennebunkport for a lunch at the local clam shack. People were lined up for what we felt were mediocre clams and fries. It was a pretty town, but small and did not have the variety of restaurants and shops we found in Ogunquit. We drove through Wells to find our way back to Ogunquit.

During the evening we headed for pizza and the local movie theater, (for Hangover II) which hasn't been updated I think since it was opened. The seats are hard-wood, and there is only one show each night.

We head out in the night, walking through the town, with a truly vibrant night-life, with piano bars, and quite a lot of action for a beach town in Maine. We had purchased fudge and saltwater taffy in two stores, one in Perkins Cove and one on Main Street, to sample. Although good, the fudge was not as good as what we get in Cape Cod. Likewise, the salt water taffy was equal to the Jersey Shore, but not as good as Cape Cod, and not as good a selection in flavors. But still, a refreshing

For our last morning on Monday, we headed down to Kittery, to the outlet centers there and for an early lunch at the Weathervane on Route 1. The service was excellent and the seafood fresh and well-prepared.

From there we headed home for a fast five hour ride with no traffic, thanks to my Inrix Traffic app.

A surprisingly nice trip.