When I was a teenager, fifteen or sixteen, I visited Old Orchard Beach in Maine for the very first time with my best friend from high school. She was going away for a week – a tradition she’d told me about and one that had happened every Summer since she was little – and wanted to know if I would join her that year. Although it took some convincing (my friend and I were very mischievous whenever we were together – always playing pranks and getting into relatively minor trouble!) my parents ultimately relented and we made the hours’ long drive up North one sunny morning shortly after the school year had wrapped up for us.
My friend’s parents had laid down only a few rules for that trip – back in our motel room by 9PM, no alcohol and no boys – but other than that, we were essentially left to our own devices every day for a week. My friend’s parents would get up to go to the beach early, then meet up with their motorcycle club friends for most of the day. We’d meet them to have dinner together each night, and then they would leave again to visit the local bars and clubs until it was time for them to come check on us at 9PM sharp before they retreated into their own motel room next door to ours.
For the duration of the trip, while mostly unsupervised, my friend and I simply got to be free-spirited kids. We spent hours at the ocean, in the amusement park, the arcade, on the pier hanging out with other kids, eating unhealthy snacks and saving up whatever of our daily allowance we didn’t spend on skee-ball and slushies to buy cute clothes at the seaside boutiques as the week drew to a close. We didn’t have cell phones, not good or reliable ones, anyway – and the only way to contact my parents or our mutual friends back home was on the landline in our motel room during the rare instances we were hanging out there for any extended period of time.
It was, at that point, the most independence I’d ever experienced – and I fell in love with Old Orchard Beach and how untouched it felt when compared to other seaside communities I knew of that were being built up, and out, and losing their historic charm. Nowadays, we call it gentrification. Back then, I simply called it a place “becoming boring.”
And Old Orchard Beach continues to maintain it’s old fashioned beach town charm, even now, which is why I try to spend part of my Memorial Day Weekend there each year as a way to not only honor that incredible Summer of carefree freedom from when I was a kid, but also because it’s just a really nice place to visit, have great food, and take in quite a few spectacular views for the duration of a stay.
This past weekend, I booked a night at The Gull, which is about a ten minute walk from the pier but most importantly – a twenty second walk from the ocean. My room was big, clean, and had a small little balcony overlooking the water and surrounding properties. It was far enough from the action where I could get a good night’s sleep without a lot of noise, but not so far that it took me any great amount of time to get anywhere or do anything.
And despite the weather not being particularly ideal during my overnight stay (another Memorial Day Weekend tradition here in New England!) – I still managed to enjoy myself and enjoy some great food, including a box of famous pier French fries and a lobster roll and pina colada from Johnny Shucks.
I also grabbed some uniquely flavored fudge for my mom at the famous Dickinson’s Candy, and splurged on some clothes and home décor while shopping at places like beachology & happynest and another location I’m saving for my next “Local Loves” installment because I simply love it so much!
Of course, I left some time in the day to hit the skee-ball section of the arcade and check our the waterfront amusement park once it was all lit up for the evening. On a whim, I even rode the Sea Viper roller coaster – for the first time since I was fifteen/sixteen, I think! – which was just as fun as ever and was the perfect way to close out my night before it was time for me to head back to my room to catch some sleep since I was leaving for home early on Sunday morning.
Sunday’s forecast was looking to be even worse than Saturday’s, so I made sure to get up early to get one last look at the ocean and head back towards the main strip of shops and restaurants by the pier to visit one of my favorite cafés in OOB – Café 64. I’ve definitely written about this place here on ‘Coffee & Chiffon‘ in the past, since they make a mean breakfast sandwich (and burrito!) and one of my favorite lattes of all time, “The Salty Seal.”
If it didn’t take me nearly three hours to get to/from Old Orchard Beach each way, I’d be there every day for breakfast!
And as soon as I left the café, full and energized, it started to lightly rain – which eventually turned into torrential downpours as I continued driving home, so I’d say my timing was pretty good!
All in all, this past weekend was a great way to kick off the Summer season – and that’d not including the plans I have for a little later on today, too! I love a good long weekend, and I’m excited to extend this one for as long as I possibly can!
Later on this week, I’ll have a look at some of my favorite things from this past month before I dive into my full recap of May in it’s entirety. It’s been a very exciting and fun month so far, but June is quickly approaching and I have to be ready to greet it.
See you all soon!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 
That’s my hometown. I can assure you, its changed some. Not as revoltingly as Portland and Scarborough, or the rest of So.ME.
So! Use your blogging reach to convince Maine’s tourism board to fight data centers, Amazon plants and housing developments and the rest of us will be at your service!
As to breakfast there every day, my dear, be prepared to make fat pants a permanent wardrobe accessory. The OOB food is particularly rich. And, I’d be curious if you’d frequent the GFB.
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