Leon Leonwood’s Empire

Thursday morning, we packed up the RV and headed out stopping briefly at the office to top off the propane tank. We had Freeport and L.L. Bean in our sights. Jane called ahead for directions and we easily found the RV parking lot. A few blocks away we discovered the L.L. Bean outlet store. We weren’t impressed with the merchandize (nor prices) so we walked around what was an outlet shopping center. As we were searching for a place to eat lunch, we saw a huge L.L. Bean store, the anchor store for the L.L. Bean CAMPUS! Before embarking on that adventure, we stopped for lunch at Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern. We were seated outside upstairs. Jane had a grilled cheese lobster panini sandwich and I had a lobster roll. Both were delicious.

Entering the huge three-story L.L. Bean main store was overwhelming. I don’t enjoy shopping, but this was one store that easily held my interest. In addition to all the camping merchandise and clothing, there were wildlife displays and even a pool of native fish. The most impressive display was one of two moose locking antlers. The antlers were taken from the remains of two bull moose found near New Sweden, ME, that had died after their antlers had become locked in battle during the previous falls’s rut.

The main store had its own coffee shop and cafe and transitioned into another large L.L. Bean Hunting & Fishing store. On campus there were also separate buildings for the L.L. Bean Home Store, the L.L. Bean Bike, Boat and Ski Store and a Discovery Park suitable for outdoor concerts & events (not to mention the L.L. Bean Outlet Store that we had first stumbled on). Jane also managed to stiff out the nearby Ben & Jerry’s and indulged in a huge cone of her favorite ice cream flavor, chocolate with chocolate and more chocolate. I was too stuffed with lobster & onion rings to partake.

We reluctantly found our way back to the RV, Jane took the wheel, we drove to a nearby town to fill-up with diesel, I discovered I was Discover cardless, we drove back to Linda Bean’s restaurant, I retrieved my card, and we were on our way to Bar Harbor. The drive to Bar Harbor was pleasant and took less than three hours. By the time we checked in and set up the RV at Hadley’s Point Campground, it was getting dark, so we reviewed all the literature about the area that we had been provided, discussed options and went to bed early with visions of moose and lobsters in our heads.