Apparently I'm on a shout-outs-to-places-I-love kick. This past weekend, Dan Yaz.;,.;sky ;) & I took a fun road trip to ME.
That's Maine in case your shorthand for states is a bit rusty...just can't get enough of that little play on words.
First suggestion: go to Scarborough Beach en route to Portland. Nice sandy beaches, sand bar, cool shells to collect and calm water. AND the best part is there are not too many people because it is sort of a 'secret' beach.
Second suggestion: go to the "arts district" in Portland. Portland is a very healthy lively city with tons of great local stores and art galleries and restaurants (and no empty store fronts that I saw (Worcester, take note). Walk along Congress Street to satisfy your senses with this great ME treasure.
Our first stop was YES Books, a used bookstore with a maze of hand built book shelves, giant 5 foot tall clay vases made by a local artist and of course a great book selection. Dan always judges a bookstore by its Horror book selection. If they have a Horror section = good bookstore. If they answer hunh? when you ask for the Horror section = not so good. I just like to poke around looking for surprising books in any genre.
After we had or literary fix, we filled our bellies at Wild Burrito. These are the biggest most tasty burritos ever...and the decor is quite distinct (love it!) I wish I had snapped a photo. I snagged The Bollard Magazine during lunch to inform myself on how cool Portland is once I got back into the car. This Trip culminated 4 hours later in Lubec, Maine - the easternmost town in the USA!
Be sure to check out The Bollard's website as you can view a PDF version of the magazine. There is a great article on one of the neatest stores on Congress St., Strange Maine. It's a treasure trove of used albums, obscure books and trinkets from my youth. It's not to be missed on a Portland excursion.
We were also some of the lucky first customers at the Grand Opening of thrift shop upstairs of Strange Maine. I apologize cool new thrift shop...I don't recall your name and did not jot any notes down. But, I will say that Dan wanted to buy all of the CD's & DVD's they had as they were all in his taste and I fancied the majority of their vintage clothing...tried several things on but alas only the buyer for this store can fit all of the XS vintage treasures she has for sale. Do check it out if XS is your calling card.
As we continued our stroll down the street, we wandered into SPACE | Gallery. This is a very edgy gallery with a fantastic modern artists on display! Both of the images depicted here are featured at SPACE. Be sure to read the background on the artists!
And finally, as an Encore to the afternoon, we visited Encore! A vintage & consignment shop that reminded me of the Skidmore College Costume Shop! I fell in love instantly! Racks and Racks packed to the max with exquisite specimens of vintage fashion joy! I indulged my vintage fashion tooth and bought a mint apricot '70's belted shirt dress from France and some black fully embroidered in red and gold fitted pants by Nicole Miller. MMMMM Vintage Fashion makes mouths happy...
Also, I want to tell you a vintage secret...I don't give many of these out. I was chatting with the Proprietor, Ms. Rita Prout-Farley and she informed me that only a few days a week she opens the upstairs of the building and it is a huge clearance sale where she sells groups of clothing for very cheap just because they have cool fabric. A designers dream come true. Unfortunately we didn't get to partake as they were not open Friday and we were on the road to Lubec Saturday. GO please enjoy this vintage treasure chest!
All images are copyrighted by the artists and available at SPACE | Gallery today.
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