Saturday, June 9, 2007

Remember the Maine

Of all things the Missouri Compromise produced, the state of Maine is one of the finest. Although we would be remiss if we failed mention the importance of the Compromise in setting the seeds for the national Whig party. Internal improvements, congressional supremacy, and screw Jackson we say. But in any event, for a few days recently, we soaked in Maine's bounty.
We stayed in Freeport, a charming town near Maine's coast. The chief draw of Freeport is without question the outlets. All are housed in cute buildings along Main Street, and for the most part, were pleasantly uncrowded. The Burberry outlet is undoubtedly the jewel, but there are a number of good choices. The secondary draw of Freeport is probably the L.L. Bean store, which everyone will tell you never closes. They don't even have locks. So if you want to shop for sporty clothing or sporting goods at 3:00 this place is your Nirvana.


For accommodations, we stayed at a B&B. I'm not a B&B person, don't think I ever will be. I am fine with there being B&B people in the world. I support full constitutional rights for such people. But really, it's a little creepy. That being said, the place was nice enough and conveniently located to the aforementioned Freeport attractions.


Of the other sights of Maine I was privy too, I think Augusta is underrated. It is an interesting looking town -- especially along the Kennebec river -- that has a very defined sense of place. To be sure, there is some sprawl that is not the most charming feature, but nearly every American city has that disadvantage.


The food in Maine is not my among my favorite, but this is my own idiosyncratic preference rather than a quality issue. Fresh seafood, especially lobster and crabs, are never going to be at the top of my list. But the people that you meet in Maine make up for the overabundance of seafood. Nearly uniformly informally nice, there is a marketed difference between Maine and, say our nation's capitol. The hot dogs, too, are first rate.


So, on the whole, my impression of Maine was that it is a charming place with nice people. It is among the more attractive of our states, and if not for the winters, would be one of America's premier locations.