We took the slow more scenic road rather than the interstate and it was great. We were sort of on the look-out for the Congdon doughnut shop....we found it and was it ever busy....not sure I've ever seen a KK that busy. We went inside got a few things and sat in a booth...the people watching was a blast. The line at the counter was never-ending...it was amazing...the fritters were very good, and I'm not generally a fritter girl....this poster was hanging on the wall...60yrs of doughnuts....not bad.
They had everything and lots of flavors...3-4 behind the counter all the time could barely keep up.
After a little break we got back in the car and headed a little further north. Not too far up the road we passed a Chocolate factory ...offering tours...oh yeah....Wilbur's has been in business since 1884. A local favorite
A Cacao Bean.....
What's inside it in different forms...... How it looks when you cut it open
These were chocolate covered almonds.....yum...we had sevral samples during the tour and we were the only 2 on the tour, love it when that happens...small town and off season.
They were making lots of fall and Halloween items....
Lots of goodies on racks cooling.....
They do not make their own chocolate, they make original things with it as well as their own fillings. The chocolate comes to them in these huge bars that weigh 15lbs each....
The bars are then melted in this pot and used in the candies
She is filling molds with milk chocolate....a very efficient and quick process.
Then things go into this refrigerated area to cool before packing.
This was caramel being made, and they had just come up with these new candies, homemade marshmellows covered in caramel. Didn't think I'd be to crazy about them, but we got to try a really fresh one from here and it was delish!!! Bought some of these to being home and share.
Dark chocolate being melted to use in making something.....I could have done a nose dive into this pot!!!
Now for packaging...they make candies for many places, even LL Bean, and allow them to put their name on it even though they don't make them...and this was the case here...these were going to LL Bean and some local stores.
It didn't take long to reach Kennebunkport and our hotel. It was very early so we could not check-in but we did stop in, and let them know we were in the area. We drove thru town and around to where you can see the Bush Compound....we stopped at this beautiful church. We came to find out that the Bush's attend here and in fact back in June they held Barbara Bush's 90th birthday here....too cool
They only hold church here in the Spring/Summer and very early Fall...it would be way too cold in the winter. It had stone floors and stone walls...it was beautiful.
The stained glass, rock work and wood work were just amazing.
The entrance and the front door were wow!!!
Before walking over to the outside worship area we chatted with a couple that had been married in this church several yrs ago. They had their son with them they wanted him to see it. They were not locals, but had seen the church on a vacation and wanted to marry here...so they booked it a few yrs in advance and made it happen. I believe she told me there was a 5yr wait for weekends.....wow.
There was a lovely parsonage next door.....I'm sure he stays busy....but don't think this is too tough a duty.
Then we walked over to the outdoor worship area....much of which it appeared The Bush's help fund. This was Daddy Bush's brother.....
You can see the church in the background, it was a short walk....
HUmmmm.....not sure he's qualified to preach...but he does lok good back there...what a view
This is Daddy Bush's mother and George W's Grandmother.....
We had no idea we'd find this, but so glad we did...driving without an agenda is sometimes lots of fun.
We decided to head towards Freeport and do some shopping at LL Bean..I love that store.
They had these huge boot outside..this is really what started LL Bean...and is what they are famous for....this waterproof boot.
And this Boat Tote bag is now a signature of theirs as well.
There was a wall inside of all the former catalog covers....love it...the one below really made me think of a Norman Rockwell painting....
And this is why they are so successful....they live by this "Golden Rule". I think LL Bean and Truitt Cathy might have had many things in common..
We walked through all the different stores...household things, sports, clothes...and over to the outlet. There were many other stores here as well, it's just lots of LL Bean.
After lots of walking we split a yummy lobster roll and some lemonade and headed back towards Kennebunkport. This time we took the interstate, we'd taken the slower scenic route up so was time to just get back. We got checked in and setled and decided to go back to The Maine Diner for dinner. It was once featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and from the parking lot it was very popluar.
We were seated right away ...the menu was HUGE!!
We slept great and late....we'd been up early for several morings so we took it very slow on Tuesday. Denny is a breakfast guys and really wanted to go back to the diner for breakfast, which he'd been told was really good...so I got Lobster Benedict w/o the english muffin...YUM. It was better than the lobster pie from last night. Yep I ate lobster every chance I had. It was sooooo good.
After breakfast we drove to Kennebunk...yes, there is a Kennebunkport and a Kennebunk....
Kennebunkport is very touristy....Kennebunk, not so much and there wasn't much to see. We learned about an old drive-in theatre so we decided to go find it and see it we could go to the movie that night, but it was closed during the week now.....a draw back to doing things during off-season....but that's ok. So we just did some driving and found some great small towns. We walked out on a beach and sat on a bench for a while, the water was cold and if the wind blew it was chilly, but was nice to sit for a bit. We found some small towns we thought we might come back to some time. We found a wildlife refuge and walked a little, and we drove through a monastery....it was fun to just explore. We had both decided we want beef for dinner...so we headed to The Steakhouse. But first we had a glass of wine on the beach...how delightful. The Steakhouse has been around 25yrs. We had about a 30min wait but it was worth it. It's in an old converted barn...
The decor was all about boats...some of them were huge and built very well...the food and the atmosphere were great, so glad we found this place,
Dinner was great and just what we wanted....stuffed and happy we headed back to the hotel. We checked out some literature we'd picked up to se what we wanted to do tomorrow....a city trolly tour....and of to sleep we went.
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