before there was rei and bass pro, there was l.l. bean. it was the go to place for all things outdoor/hiking/camping/fishing/etc, and everything had a lifetime guarantee. it’s still around, but it’s mostly an online/catalogue company with a handful of actual stores in the new england area.

during our maine adventures, we often visit the ginormous flagship l.l. bean in freeport. in fact, ryan has been visiting this store with his family since he was a little boy; his mom love’s their canvas bags.

there’s lots to do and see in the massive 100 year old flagship l.l. bean. from aquariums with live fish and running streams to a cafe & coffee shop, you can find yourself wandering the store for awhile. it’s also open 24 hours 365 days a year, so there’s plenty of time to squeeze a visit into your trip. and even though rei and bass pro have spoiled some of the novelty, it’s still quite an impressive place!

by the way, the l.l. bean kids department was super fun! they had lots of great books, including local maine selections, and an amazing faux-forest where the kids could run around. we loved the design of leaf mobiles hanging above the tree stumps in this room.

– ryan & gub

flagship l.l. bean

95 main street
freeport, me 04032
877-755-2326

when traveling in maine, you should save at least an afternoon to visit downtown freeport, the adorable little town filled with great shops and restaurants! most of the businesses are in renovated historic buildings, ie. abercrombie is in the super old library, so everything still has that old-timey new england feel. freeport is also home to the flagship l.l. bean store and other boutique shops like the abacus gallery, where we found lots of great treasures!

– ryan & gub

abacus gallery

36 main street
freeport, me 04032
207-865-6620

we recently went on another maine adventure, this time bringing clementine along for the ride! we flew into boston and then made our way up the coast via us 1, stopping along the way for some fun side trips.

one of the first places we generally stop on our maine adventures is newick’s lobster house in dover, new hampshire. this great seafood shack has been open since 1948 and offers scenic views of lobster fishing on great bay while you enjoy fresh local seafood! the sterritt’s have been going to this dockside restaurant for ages.

newick’s offers all sorts of options for trying fresh lobster. this includes steamed lobster, stuffed & baked lobster, lobster pie, lobster rolls, fried lobster tail, lobster stew and more. they also have a great draft beer selection and all sorts of other seafood treats, so you should definitely try and eat here if traveling to maine.

here is newick’s full menu.

if you ever find yourself in the new hampshire area and have time, you should also drive through historic portsmouth, new hampshire, which is only a few miles from newick’s. this beautiful seaside town and has the look and feel of an an old english town and is totally worth visiting!

keep checking back for more new england travel posts!

– ryan & gub

newick’s lobster house

431 dover point road
dover, nh 03820
603-742-3205

happy 4th! we just got back from visiting maine, so expect lots of fun travel posts to come!

– ryan & gub

as mentioned in yeterday’s post, we had some great dockside seafood after visiting pemaquid point lighthouse. the restaurant was called shaw’s fish & lobster wharf and was quite amazing! we tried a fried clam roll and various lobster treats, including lobster stew. we also enjoyed watching fisherman unload lobsters off their boats while we ate outside, it was quite the new england experience!

– ryan & gub

shaw’s fish & lobster wharf

129 maine 32
new harbor, me 04554
207-677-2200

another sterritt family tradition when visiting maine is to check out as many lighthouses as possible. a favorite of ours is cape neddick, aka nubble lighthouse, which is close to york beach. the lighthouse is on an island, so you can’t get super close, but it is still gorgeous. the lighthouse keeper travels back and forth to the island on a sky rail type device, you can see it dangling over the ocean in the image above. the surrounding coast is filled with enormous rocks that are fun to explore. one year it was so foggy that we couldn’t even see the lighthouse.

this past summer we visited pemaquid point lighthouse for the first time. this beautiful lighthouse is featured on the maine quarter. we were able to climb to the top for some amazing views of the coast and also walk around the rocky cliffs. afterwards, we ate some awesome seafood at a nearby dockside restaurant that had lobsters fresh off the boats.

we have also been to portland head lighthouse, although we have yet to climb it. the lighthouse offers great views of portland, maine and the rocky coast. ram island ledge lighthouse is also visible from portland head.

another maine lighthouse we have explored is cape elizabeth. the rocky beaches near this lighthouse are amazing, we spent some time taking in the beautiful scenery. we also dipped our feet into the ocean, which was totally freezing!

we have also seen seguin island lighthouse, cuckolds lighthouse, and hendrick’s head lighthouse from reid state park, although they were too far to photograph.

check out this map of maine lighthouses.

– ryan

sterritt family tradition dictates that, when in maine, the annual l.l. bean pilgrimage to freeport is a guarantee. while on such a pilgrimage, we had some delicious fresh seafood at harraseeket lunch and lobster company. we love this type of dockside seafood restaurant found throughout new england and look forward to trying out new places on each trip.

the line was fairly long for lunch, but well worth the wait. your options included maine lobster, clams, shrimp, scallops and more in steamed, fried, or roll form. they even had a sandwich called the clamburger royale, which sounded exciting (ryan) and/or gross (gub). watching the fishing boats bring in the fresh seafood while eating outside on the patio was a great new england experience. harraseeket has been open for over 40 years and is definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

check out the menu.

– ryan & gub

harraseeket lunch and lobster

36 main street
south freeport, me 04078
207-865-4888

on our maine trip this summer we drove through kennebunk and kennebunkport, which are both quaint, beautiful, new england coastal towns. although not big fans of the bush family, we did make a detour to see the bush compound. the estate was on a picturesque little peninsula that jetted out into the atlantic ocean. we were pleasantly surprised to see a windmill on the property.

– ryan & gub

our family in maine has an annual lobster boil every summer at reid state park. it’s always a blast with lots of seafood and fun in the sun! to prepare for such a large gathering, someone is always in charge of purchasing the lobsters and new england clams, aka steamers, from gendron’s seafood when it first opens. small lobsters are preferred, around 1 lb, as they are more tender than heavier ones. this summer, lobsters were only $4.75 lb, unfathomable to us southerners. we ate soft-shell lobsters, which did not require any tools to crack open.

on a funny side note, gendron’s seafood is actually located within a gas station. you can fill up your car while getting fresh live lobsters and clams! only in maine, right?

gendron’s also ships their seafood anywhere in the u.s., including hawaii and alaska. order here.

– ryan & gub

gendron’s seafood

1292 lisbon street
lewiston, me 04240
207-784-2646
800-896-2646

we always visit york beach if we are up in maine. it’s this beautiful little beach town with picturesque houses along the coast. near the boardwalk you’ll find an old timey arcade called the fun o rama as well as indoor candlepin bowling and putt putt. it’s pretty awesome. there are also lots of shops and restaurants to check out as you walk along the cute streets in this new england beach town.

one of the years we visited york beach the fog was so thick you couldn’t even see the ocean. there is a photo of the fog below.

– ryan & gub