L.L. Bean (and Bears!)

Jill's Journal: Most people (or at least those not from New England) think of L.L. Bean as a catalogue full of high-quality outdoorsy goods. Not so in Maine. Oh my. Need a kayak at 3am? Or how about a bedspread on Christmas Day? Or maybe hunting equipment or long johns or kids’ clothes or a bike or even furniture? A firearm? Skiing equipment? A couch? Holiday decorations? Or what about personally monogrammed jackets or an entire wardrobe for the whole family? Or maybe you want to learn how to hunt or canoe or camp or fly fish? L.L. Bean in Freeport is your answer for all of it and more. And it is amazing. (And that comes from someone who isn’t a huge shopper).

L.L. Bean’s flagship store at their home base of Freeport is on a seven acre campus. And it’s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It has everything but the kitchen sink. They even offer adventure tours and introduction to sport weekends where they provide all the equipment – you just need to show up with $20. I’ve never seen such a place. If you’re ever in Maine, it is well worth the trip. Here's the girls taking a break from shopping to play checkers.

The very outdoorsy Mr. Bean began the business in 1912 when he created a hunting boot to keep his feet dry during his frequent hunting and fishing trips in beautiful Maine. Of the first 100 pairs he sold, 90 were returned and he returned every penny while improving his product. He soon got it right. As demand for more high-quality items grew and frequent clients included President Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and Babe Ruth, Leon Leonwood Bean literally threw away the keys and decided to go 24 hours in 1951. I’m no expert in American shopping history, but I would guess that was pretty unheard of at the time. Mr. Bean ran his company until his death in 1967 at age 94. It is still a family-owned business with annual sales of over $1.4 billion.

One of the highlights of our time in L.L. Bean was a fishing demonstration at the trout pond inside. The demonstrator caught and released three very big fish in a short amount of time and the girls thought it was pretty awesome. Rob had already promised them he’d take them fishing this weekend and they might be in for a surprise if the fish don’t bite quite as quickly (nor are quite as big)!!

After we were shopped out, we went to the nearby Maine Wildlife Park. This government-run facility rehabilitates orphaned or injured animals and returns them to the wild if possible. Many have disabilities that would make them vulnerable if set free, so they live at the park full-time. We saw some beautiful moose, deer, all kinds of big cats, porcupines, eagles, foxes, peacocks, porcupines, and an albino raccoon. The highlight might have been the bears – the girls got to throw park-sanctioned food over the fence to them. When those guys stand up on two feet, they are HUGE!