Old Orchard Beach is a suburb of Scarborough. It reminds me a little of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, with an adjacent amusement park, a pier arcade with shops, bars, and restaurants, and a big, wide beach. But not as nice.
The day was a bit cool and windy, but there were quite a few people out there on the sand. And I know that East Coast waters are generally supposed to be warmer than West Coast waters, but hats off to those hardy souls out in the surf.
Portland is the largest city in Maine (but much smaller than Portland, Oregon; in fact, it's about the size of Santa Cruz). They don't grow their cities very big up here. It is a lively town, known for its restaurant scene and its Old Port waterfront. We toured the Victoria Mansion, built in 1860 by a gentleman who had made his fortune running huge hotels in New York and New Orleans.
The mansion doesn't look like much from the outside, but it was quite spectacular once we were indoors. The woodworking details were wonderful and much appreciated by me, especially since they were accomplished entirely with hand tools. The Victoria Mansion was the first home in Portland to boast running hot and cold water, central heating, gas lights, and flush toilets. Unfortunately, the rules did not allow photography inside, which would have shown you how special it is.
Kennebunkport is the town where the Bush Compound, that family's summer home, is located, and both President Bushes have spent a great deal of time there. That's understandable, because it is a delightful little village on an ocean bay, a tourist destination with winding streets and great shops. Looking in the real estate windows, it's clear that home prices there are not close to Santa Cruz's level.
According to national news, Bill Clinton visited the elder Bush, whose health has been precarious for some time, at the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport the day after we were there. A near brush with fame.
Back in Scarborough we found an interesting fish market not far from our campground. Amazingly cheap prices. We told the owner that we had found them on Yelp, and he regaled us with complaints about Yelp taking advantage of him when he advertised with them. I suspect he didn't understand how Yelp works and paid for something he didn't need.
One night we steamed four pounds of local clams from that market over white wine, garlic, onion, butter, and lemon juice, which we'd never done before. And we had to learn how to eat them. It involves pulling off the weird little neck tubes and dragging the remaining clam meat through the broth to wash off any sand that's there before popping it our mouths. Incredibly tender, and delicious with salad and garlic toast.
Another night we bought haddock filets at the fish market and pan fried them, coated with Panko crumbs. Tasty. We could get used to eating the great seafood here.
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