Kennebunkport, Maine

It was raining when we left the RV yesterday morning, and it only rained harder as we drove toward Kennebunkport. It was, in fact, pouring. A real "frog strangler," as my father would say. Or, he might say it was "raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock." Shall I go on?

Just so you know I'm not kidding, this was the view out of the windshield of the truck:

Looking at our weather app, we were hopeful it would stop fairly soon. We were thinking we'd like to walk the streets of Kennebunkport since it was described in the tour book as "quaint" and "picturesque."

We decided to first go to the Goat Island Lighthouse at Cape Porpoise, a little ways south. It's a very old lighthouse. We knew it was offshore on an island, and that we wouldn't be able to get any closer. Still, my pictures aren't that good. I was holding an umbrella, and it was still pouring rain. I was wishing I'd worn my waterproof shoes because there was standing water everywhere. Nevertheless, I persisted, and managed to get a couple of shots of it. You can see better pictures at that link I've given you back there. Also, it has an interesting history. It is very nearly 200 years old.

Here's another shot...zoomed in for a better look.

Since it was still raining, I pulled out my quilt shop directory to see if there were any nearby quilt shops. We found one. As it turned out, it was technically a "quilt shop," not a "fabric shop." Still, it was cute on the outside. It was a part of a B&B complex.

When I walked in the front door, this is what I saw. Otherwise, the place was abandoned.

I strolled through looking at things. It was really more of a gift shop. There were a few bolts of fabric...maybe a couple dozen. Also, some lovely quilts for sale with some beautiful hand quilting.

While I was inside, Mike called the RV park we were hoping to stay at while we visit New York City, and we were able to get reservations for the dates we wanted. That was a big load off our minds regarding the New York City visit. I'll say more about that later. Our trip won't be until the end of the week.

So, I didn't spend much time at the quilt shop, and I never did see anyone working there. It was wide open. Fortunately, I'm an honest person. Besides, would a quilter steal from another quilter? I think not.

We drove on, looking for Kennebunkport. There seem to be a constellation of little towns here, and it's a little difficult to know when you've moved from one town to the next. Along the way, we saw this church with a steeple. There were lots of churches with steeples, and I've noticed that many of them have clocks and weather vanes.

Finally, and after just a few minutes, we reached Kennebunkport. Amazingly, the rain had slowed and by the time we were parked and ready to get out of the car, it had stopped altogether.

We found free public parking just a few blocks from the town proper. As we walked along through a residential area, I snapped this picture.

Standing on one corner, I snapped all three of the next shots. See the fish weather vane in this next image?

This is the Kennebunkport post office. I was kind of interested in when the building was constructed, but I couldn't see a year anywhere.

It was a short walk to the town proper.

It was lunch time, and we were on the hunt for a place to get some New England clam chowder. Along the way, we passed this shop. Can you read the sign?

It says, "Scalawags: This and Thats for Dogs and Cats." Well. We'd be back for that. But first, lunch.

As we went into the restaurant, the folks coming out urged us to order the clam chowder, claiming it was delicious. They said they'd had it the day before and came back for another serving. Thanks! Don't mind if we do!

I liked the sign inside.

It's hard to pass up the lobster rolls, but they had a mini (really?) lobster roll with a cup of clam chowder on the menu, and we each had that. Yum. Yum. Yum. It was as delicious as we'd been promised.

From there, we just walked on down the street. This is the Kennebunk River, which seems to flow inward from the sea rather than the other way round. We're thinking the water must be brackish.

On the other side of the street, I snapped this picture.

And this one.

There was an informational sign there. This is historically a ship-building community, and the history of this bridge was interesting.

From there, we headed back to the Scalawags shop.

The signs inside were just too cute.

And not to offend anybody, but, sorry...my sentiments exactly.

It's a small town, and we'd seen what we wanted to see. We headed back to the car. Along the way, I saw this place. I could swear I have some books from them. Mike noted that some of the cookbooks for sale in the shop were published by Cider Mill Press, and so maybe that's where I've seen the name. Certainly, I have enough cookbooks to open my own library.

Also, we went on a disappointing treasure hunt when we saw this sign.

You might not be able to see what caught our eyes. Maybe now you can see it.

How about now?

A catwear showroom. Now, this we had to see. So we walked on and came to this sign.

And we walked on, but we seemed to lose the trail. Then, we looked online and were disappointed to see that it was Purrmanently closed. Bummer.

So from there, we drove to Walker Point. This was the summer home of President George H. W. Bush. Hard to see in the fog, but there it is.

These were their across-the-street neighbors...no slouch either.

By then, it was starting to rain again, and so we headed back to the trailer. Of course, no visit would be complete if I didn't find the requisite refrigerator magnet.

They didn't have shot glasses, but I found one next door.

We've had a relaxing couple of days here in Kennebunkport. In addition to grocery shopping and sight-seeing, I got some stitching done. I'm about halfway finished with Abigail.

She looks like a New England fisher person, doesn't she? Now she's hooped up and ready to go again.

We'll be moving on to Rhode Island this morning, but I'll be doing a little stitching first. We're looking forward to three nights at our next stop, and then at least four nights in New York City. I said we were slowing down, and we are. From here, the weather is going to dictate our travels as we move south to warmer climes.