And Then There's the Southern Coast of Maine...

Ah, the southern coast of Maine in the summer.  Wall to wall tourists, ridiculous resorts, crowded beaches, amusement parks that make no sense, traffic, hokey attractions, and people wearing things that they just should not wear.  That's what I've always known as the southern coast of Maine in the summer.  I've avoided it for years, decades really.  I'm a traveler, not a tourist, and I don't like crowds of people who just want to spend money.  I like to see the places that I travel to, not just the attractions that were made for my entertainment.

By the way,  I loved Lenny the moose.  Who doesn't love a life size chocolate moose?

Then, there's Biddeford and the area.  The area is right in between Old Orchard and the Kennebunks but it's different.  It's the way life should be and is a true representative of Maine.

Biddeford Pools is a great seaside park.  The rocky shore, the lighthouse views, the Atlantic Ocean.  It is serene and amazing and everything that you should be looking at when on the Atlantic Coast of Maine.  Maine is a unique coastline full of seals, puffins, rocky shores, and lighthouses.  This is what I crave when I'm on that coast and Biddeford was a great place to get a peaceful natural look at it.  We spent hours walking the pebble beaches and the rocky shores and the grassy meadows.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  And best of all, the tourists were shopping in Old Orchard.  It was quiet and we only ran into locals out to get some air.  It was great.

Biddeford is a town in the process of reinventing itself.  The old days of the massive industry that used to sustain the area are over.  The mill complex is turning into the epicenter of the town with restaurants, condos, offices, and small business.  The town has made sure that the property is beautiful as they continue to refurbish it.  The downtown is full of small businesses that are flourishing.  It's a quiet, beautiful community that doesn't give you a headache.  It makes you want to move to Maine.

The art scene is growing in the area, as this boy talks to his female friend who reportedly is on another wall in Afghanistan.  Creative is the word for Biddeford.  And refreshing.

Biddeford also has a blooming micro brewery and food scene.  Good eats are available all over and the suds are great.  There are some wineries too, but it's Maine, so it's north.  It's not like Long Island up there.  You can find the chain restaurants and Walmart if you need to shop there, but they have some great small places that you can't beat and a lot of outdoor seating so you can watch the world go by.

Some other things that you will find in the area are the East Coast Greenway.  This is a project that is still ongoing that will make it so that you can walk or ride your bike from Maine to Florida on this path.  It's a cooperative effort between all the states and it runs from Port Kent, ME to Key West, FL.  This is the second part that I've discovered and I'm intrigued at the project.  It's a modern day Appalachian Trail.

Scarborough, a neighboring area has a Marsh.  The Scarborough Marsh is amazing.  It's more of a bog, with well defined water areas and peat like ground.  This place is amazing because, not only can you bike and walk the paths, you can rent a canoe or kayak to paddle around on the waterways.  It's a great place to get out, and only the locals seem to know about this one, because there were no crowds there either.

So, after an amazing visit with my dear friend in the Biddeford area, it was time to head home.  What did I do?  I took Route 1 south to see what the rest of the southern shore was like.  This is what I found out.  Most places are tourist traps, where no one is appreciating the beauty of Maine.  Kennebunk Port is the worst of them all.  I will never go back there.  Then, I found York.

York is a strange combination of everything I hate that goes on in Maine in the summer, and everything that I love.  They have a beautiful beach and a stupid amusement park.  They have a beautiful seaside park and a bunch of dumb shops and resorts crowded with fat people in summer clothes spending all their money on junk food and souvenirs.  What they have most is a great little lobster shack and a park with the Nubble Lighthouse.  What a beautiful place.

It's quiet, even though it's crowded.  It's beautiful in a perfectly natural way.  I climbed on the rocks, took my photos, and met some locals who were painting in the area.  It was a great place amongst the ridiculousness that can be the southern shore of Maine.

My best advice is to be like Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade and choose wisely.  I loved the southern coast of Maine...in certain spots.  Biddeford, Saco, Scarborough, York; yes.  Most other spots; no.  Most of Southern Maine is for the tourist.  Be a traveler and be more discerning.  Enjoy!

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