Today we spent the day in Freeport, Maine. Woke in a lovely room in the White Cedar Inn and went down to a delicious breakfast of eggs and sausage cooked by our host Rock and served by Monica.
That was the gluten free, dairy free breakfast they provided for me. My travel partner had a delicious looking orange croissant French toast with sausage. There was also hot coffee, a big selection of teas and a few juices to choose from. Yum!
I quickly learned that the knitting store and children’s consignment stores I wanted to look at were just too far away for walking:( So we headed out to explore the Main Street shopping. One of the neat things about shopping in Freeport, Maine is that most of the stores are in buildings that are either old or built to look old. It really makes for a lovely, quaint shopping experience, and the whole shopping district is quite compact!
Stop #1: Georgetown Pottery- absolutely beautiful pottery and many other local crafts as well. I was especially intrigued by the mug rests filled with Balsam Fir, but if you want something bigger they had everything, including a bathroom sink!
Stop #2: Sherman’s Book and Stationary Store- this is way more than just a book store! I of course found two knitting books I wanted and a cookbook. They even have a large selection of Maine authored books. To add to this you can get stationary, cooking gadgets, jams and jellies, clothing,…
Stop #3: Coastal Maine Popcorn Company- wow! All but one of the flavours is gluten free and many are dairy free! The young clerk also allowed us to try way more than the states two samples. I have to say I loved the Maine Maple, the Marshmallow Treat and the Jey Lime Pie flavours. My friend bought a small package of the New England Berries Flavour. Again, someone came up with a cute sign!
Stop #4: Mangy Moose- this is a souvenir shop that offered a lot- both big and small. Plenty of the usual magnets and t-shirts but also just cute little stationary supplies. I picked up Massachusetts glasses for my friend and a lobster oven mitt for myself. My friend found a Maine salt grinder here.
Stop #5: Wicked Whoopies- supposedly this is a Mains treat staple. I asked but they had no gluten free and dairy free options. There were some very interesting flavours and a variety of sizes from mini to gargantuan!
Stop #6: The North face – a good kid’s department and everything was 50% off, but I ended up with nothing because of the exchange rate:(
Stop #6: Patagonia- the store is very small so it quickly feels very crowded! It had some pretty looking prints, but personally the two Burmese Mountain Dogs out front were more interesting to me๐คฃ
Stop #7: A Wilbur’s Chocolate Shop- this was a very cute shop upstairs of a florist.
Yet again I asked about gf and df but was told they had those at the store attached to their factory, but not in this location. Wouldn’t you think they’d have something if they make them????
Stop #8: The Orvis Company- we had never heard of this store before, but have since learned that it is a fishing store. It has some clothes but not anything that really appealed to me:(
Stop #9: J Crew- seemed the same as at home, but not as good of sales:(
Lobster #1: Linda Bean’s Main Kitchen and Topside Tavern- my friend and I shared the Big Lobster Claw Salad. It was a chef’s salad either lobster added and the restaurant kindly put the gluten and dairy ingredients separate and brought two plates. A lovely place with sidewalk dining or balcony dining as well as inside options. 
Stop #10: Sea Bags- I loved this store and everything in it.
Gorgeous bags of every shape, size and colour and some beautiful accessories to go along with them.
Stop #11: Freeport Village Station- seemed like a small outlet mall with stores such as Coach, Haggar, LL Bean Outlet, Francesca’s, Old Navy, Nike, etc.
It was fine, but I didn’t feel the need to buy anything.
Stop #12: Abacus- turned out to be arts,crafts and gifts. It had interesting items, displayed in a bright, clean store, but the clerk was definitely not welcoming, helpful or friendly:(
Stop #13: Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop- absolutely beautiful store with lots of material and tools along with samples and even previous samples for sale at very reasonable prices! If only I had more room in my bag:(
Stop #14: When Pigs Fly – turned out to be a bread store! It smelled divine, but I can’t tell you how anything was because there was flour flying everywhere in there so I got out quick!
Stop #15: Freeport Historical Society- this had one show on right now of donated objects, but everything was very local and well documented. The atmosphere was bright and fresh:)
Stop #16: Gap outlet- just like every other Gap outlet in the world. My friend did find some dark wash jean Bermuda shorts that she’s been looking for.
Stop #17: Frosty’s: a make it yourself doughnut shop. It was pretty picked over by 3pm but it’s an interesting concept so I suggest checking it out early in the day!
Eating #2: The Lobster Cooker and Upper Deck Sports Pub- I only saw the downstairs of this shop which is a take out counter with tables and chairs set up outside. I asked about gf and df lobster rolls as it showed up on my “Find me GF” app, but really they were just going to give me lobster with nothing on it on top of lettuce. I think I can find a more exciting lobster dish somewhere else.
But the sign outside was quite cute! Someone has a sense of humour:)
Stop #18: The LL Bean Campus. It feels as though this town should be called LL Bean Town as it is everywhere! However, I’ve heard they are a good employer and a great community member so I guess it’s a good thing:) They certainly have a pretty campus and offer a wide variety of events and activities in the community. We checked out the Ben and Jerry’s, but they only offered Berry Berry Extraordinary and Lemonade flavours of Sorbet so we decided that wasn’t interesting enough to waste calories on. We saw the big boot and backpack art and had fun taking pictures with it and checked the menu for the 1912 Cafe which had lots of gluten free options listed for their sandwiches, salads and soups, but no seafood.
Eating #3: Coffe by Design which is in the LL Bean Store. They had a variety of coffee and chai options and provided soy, almond or coconut milk alternatives. They also had about five gluten free treat options. I went with an iced chai latte with coconut milk and an OAT ( Oats Any Time) blueberry tart ( though it looked and tasted more like a cookie) which were both very yummy,but also came in at $8 and change!
Stop #19: Great Foods and Gifts from Great Britain- I have to admit this store only got a quick look because it was freezing inside!!! It had a variety of things, including absolutely beautiful knitted and wooden garments, but everything also seemed quite expensive:(
Eating #4: Harraseeket Inn’s Broad Arrow Tavern- I had the Seasonal Tavern Salad (Demi size) and added lobster to it. It was just the right size for me and was delicious as it came with a champagne vinaigrette. My friend enjoyed the complimentary bread and butter and we both enjoyed the hunting lodge decor. The food came very quickly as well:)
we finally did something other than shop and eat lobster after dinner when we went for a walk along Main Street to West Street to South Street and then up Bow Street. We saw a statue dedicated to sailors and soldiers
and enjoyed the very quiet neighbourhood street.
Freeport didn’t disappoint in any way, but now it’s time for bed asstonorrow is another travel day!
Have fun!
AJ