LL Bean -- A Great Pit Stop

America's most famous outdoor store makes a great 24 hour destination for family travelers. Fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping gear galore. As well as just about anything else a Maine traveler could need...

We're in New Orleans right now. Last week we were in Belfast, Maine helping the city of Belfast celebrate my Grandfather's 100th birthday. They named him Citizen of the Century, which is quite an honor.

On the way home, we stopped in to LL Bean's store. We normally avoid Freeport to keep out of the traffic, but it really is a cool store worth visiting every so often. When I was a kid, my Mom would stop there every time we drove to Belfast. "It's open 24 hours kids, no matter what time you stop there, they'll be open!" I don't know if she was just trying to get us excited about it or if she was genuinely excited about that, but that's what she'd say. Every time. And we'd stop.

The store was renovated since those days, now there's an indoor fish pond, aquarium, and climbing rocks for testing out the boots. And there's a big kids section. All in all it's a pretty cool stop for kids, as long as they understand it's a store, not a playground.

And when you're in Freeport, buy an ice cream at Derosiers, just a wee bit south on RT 1 from LL Bean.