April 29, 2012.....All the way to Maine....

April 29

entering New Hampshire on the way to Maine

we are in Maine, the furthest pointon our journey...

Portland Head Lighthouse

This is the oldest lighthouse in Maine, commissioned in 1791 by President George Washington.  It has been shortened and heightened many times over the ensuing years.  It has had  updated lights added and it is still a working lighthouse today.....Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the lighthouse poem that is here and the midnight ride of Paul Revere....also a native Maine resident and he loved to visit and he was inspired to write as he sat here to think.......The day was so beautiful just extremely windy and COLD!!!  We walked along the cliff to take some pics and stood on top of Battery Blair that was part of Fort Williams during World I and II. 

We arrived in Freeport and quickly went to check out the LL Bean Outlet Store.  It closed at 6 so we only had a short time there.  Found a couple of good deals.  We spent the night, almost, at LL Bean.....here in Freeport there is a little section of the village that is all LL Bean land!  There are four stores and an outlet here, Hunting and Fishing, Bike, Boat and Ski, Home, and the Flagship store that has all of the clothes and camping items in it.  All stores all multi-level and there is a coffee shop and cafe in the Flagship store.  The kids enjoyed the trout pond, fresh water river aquarium, and real animals throughout the store.....moose, fox, wolf, skunk, porcupine, squirrel, bobcat, bear, and beaver.....Upstairs in the kids section, there was a huge chalkboard to draw on, a whole wall of knot tying, and a tree to walk through. 

We took the kids pics in front of the big LL Bean boot in front of the flagship store and sent them on their way to the RV to make dinner and kick back.  Pam and I joyfully shopped at the Home store kid free.  I think we were hungry because we both purchased quite a few yummy things from Maine.  I have a few of the awesome LL Bean canvas bags now and I am happy about that.  We took a dinner break and finished the day, really, at the Flagship store.  Did you know they are open 24 hours???  Seriously, Pam and I were walking around the store well after midnight and there were plenty of clerks to help us with any need.  The store staff were very polite.  The very best part of the whole shopping trip was that everything we bought was shipped right home to our door.....for free!!!  I wish every store did that!!!!