The LL Bean Experience

Before we moved to Maine, my friend Rene wanted to get me a going away present. She asked if I had a pair of slippers for the winter. I can't remember if I said yes or no, but the truth is that I do have a pair of slippers. Pink, terry cloth, old as all get out. Kind of embarrassing seeing as how I've probably had them since I was in high school. So maybe I said no because I could use a new pair of slippers...some wicked good slippers to be exact.

Wicked Good Slippers are the slippers that LL Bean makes. They're made of "superior sheepskin" and insulated with shearling. Just looking at them makes me want to curl up with a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Rene tried to order these online, but they were sold out during the holiday season. As they should be! Ever since, I've had these slippers on my mind. LL Bean's website has their customers' reviews of the Wicked Good Slippers, and with 849 reviews the rating is an incredible 4.7 out of 5 stars. And we all know how the math goes on reviews...you really have to have a LOT of good feedback on the product to keep the rating up that high.

For those of you who don't know, LL Bean is all Maine. The names of their products are taken from local towns, bodies of water, and recreational areas. The flagship store is about 20 minutes north of where I live. I drove up there yesterday, but was unable to find it due to GPS error (that's a whole other posting). What I did find in Freeport was a ton of outlet shops. They have some nice shops too: Coach, Banana Republic, Jones New York, and of course, an LL Bean Outlet. That place was a zoo! Customers were sifting through the racks to find the perfect deal, whether it was clothing, shoes, camping necessities, and those classic canvas tote bags. I, however, found nothing. I'm still holding out for the flagship store...if and when I finally find it.

Am I Back in Houston??

This past weekend when Spike's parents came into town, we spent it walking around the Old Port of Portland. We saw the first cruise ship of the season, hundreds of tourists, ate some wicked good clam chowdah, and braved the heat and humidity. While a high in the upper 80s and around 80% humidity might sound like a breath of fresh air to some of you in Texas, a home on the second floor does not tend to agree. The air is stifling hot, there is no breeze to cool off the apartment, and surprisingly it feels better outside. I don't even bother to look at the thermostat on these kind of days because it only depresses me to know that the air inside my home is sometimes warmer than it is outside.

We took a trip to Wal-Mart because Spike needed a few things before he was leaving to go down to the Gulf Coast. Air conditioners were in the main isle near the check-outs just waiting to be snatched up by Mainers who'd held out as long as they could. I picked up our first window unit for $98. It's nothing special, but it helps cool the living room. And by that I mean that it makes the space tolerable. Not cold, but cooler.

We dealt with heat a few days like that about a month or so ago, but there was no humidity at the time. I consider that a joke now. Humidity just keeps the warm air warmer for longer making the joy of going to sleep a nightmare. I'm the type of person who likes to sleep under a sheet, cotton blanket, and the lightweight bedspread. I like the weight of the blankets on top of me. Not this past weekend. I went to sleep with not even a sheet covering me up. We opened one of the bedroom windows trying to get some sort of breeze coming in. That helped and I ended up under the sheet by the morning.

This type of weather reminds me of Houston. Except in Houston we have air conditioners. True, Mainers only need the a/c for about a month out of the year, but boy could I have used that central air over the weekend.

The "Mainer" Leagues

Is there anything more American than baseball? Basketball was invented by an American. Football? No other country plays it like us...and not the soccer kind of football. With the NBA finals going on (go Celtics!), it makes me wonder what dictates whether a city gets a professional sports team. I know it's all about money, but the majority of the states around this country have no professional teams to speak of while others have a surplus - New York Yankees and Mets? LA Lakers and Clippers?

I've never lived in a city that didn't have a major sports team until now. Houston, Dallas, and San Francisco/Oakland all have some respectable and championship teams attached to their names. The closest that we have is Boston, which is two hours away. You'd think we were in Bean Town from the way people represent the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins here. I guess Mainers make due with what they have.

I grew up in the Nolan Ryan era of the Astros, the Warren Moon era of the Oilers, the Hakeem Olajuwon era of the Rockets. I was fortunate enough to go to countless Astros games, one Oilers game, and maybe one or two Rockets games. Do you know what Maine has? The Sea Dogs, a farm team of the Red Sox. The Red Claws, a basketball team that just started playing last year, is part of the NBA Development league, whatever that is. Do you get my drift? You've never heard of these teams. You've never even heard of the players either. But I guess that's what you get when you live in a city with half a million people in the Portland "metropolitan" area and one and a half million people in the whole state.

I Don't Run on Dunkin

Donut shops around New England seem like they'd be everywhere as Dunkin Donuts' competition. Not so. Surprisingly enough, I saw more independent shops in Texas. Spike and I used to make fun of these places because the name of the business was simply "Donuts". If the name was just "Donut", we'd made fun of them even more for being too cheap to buy an "S" to show that they sold more than your standard glazed.

Dunkin Donuts is everywhere here in Maine - even in Wal-Mart. It's easy to get your sugar fix in the morning - or late afternoon for that matter. That's the other thing about this chain. They're open long past any other donut shop I've ever seen. Maybe that's why the independent places can't survive. That and people are loyal to their Dunkin Donuts like they are to the Red Sox (see the previous blog posting to understand).

I've been to Dunkin twice, and I can't say that it's impressed me all that much. It's better than Krispy Kreme, which is just plain disgusting if you ask me. But nothing beats Texas' own Shipley Do-Nuts. They literally melt in your mouth. They're not dense like Krispy Kreme...they're light and airy like I think a donut should be. Shipley has more than donuts. They have kolaches, warm bagel-like bread enveloping ham and cheese or sausage and cheese. It's a step up from a pig in a blanket, and I'm often torn on whether to get a a donut or a kolache when I go to Shipley.

All this talk might make you think I'm a donut fanatic. I'm really not. Donuts are those things that are saved for special occasions. Plus if you know me, I love salty more than sweet. I can only take so much sugar before I hand everything off and am looking for some popcorn. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wallow in sadness because Shipley doesn't exist in Maine.

Flashbacks of Texas - Part 2

This comic does not apply to you, Monica! : )

Texas Roadhouse was on the dinner menu tonight because my co-worker, Jenn, told me they now have fried pickles as an appetizer. I've been looking for fried pickles since we moved up here because I feel that they really resonate Texas. I introduced Jenn to the idea of fried pickles, and she seemed a little intrigued by the idea so when she saw them on the menu at the Roadhouse she had to try them. Her report was a good one - salty, but good.

As we walked in, the restaurant looked like every other Roadhouse we'd been to. That typical chain "everything-looks-the-same-so-you-know-you're-in-the-right-place". Olive Garden or Chili's much? The joint was playing country, of course. And about every 10 or 15 minutes, the Texas Roadhouse theme song played. Did anyone else know it existed? I do now! The worst news of the night was that they were out of fried pickles. WHAT?! That's the whole reason we showed up with the free appetizer coupon! It was all good. We ended up getting rattlesnake bites - fried cheese jalapeno balls. I went with the ribs as a an entree and Spike got the New York strip. The place was feeling like Texas - beer posters with the state outline, line dancing to Gretchen Wilson, and peanut shells littering the floor. That is until I saw the Boston Red Sox neon sign before we left...then I snapped back to reality.