Camden Summer, or Ducks Keep Out (please)!
Have I said recently how much I love living in Camden, Maine? It is a lovely, friendly town, and the locals know the back way from here to there (and where to find parking during peak tourist season). That means we know about the back doors of some of the shops, like Rockport Blueprint, and the footbridge over the river. There is a new ice cream stand in very bright colors near the bridge–I love walking on the bridge and over by RiverHouse hotel because the owner loves his gardens:
One of the picnic tables comes with a water dish for thirsty doggies who happen to be in town:
To get from the parking lot behind French and Brawn to the Library or the the front side of the shops on Main Street, you can go over the footbridge or in the back door of Rockport Blueprint (our wonderful local art supply store), then out the front to Main Street. Here is the sign next to the lime green ice cream stand:
This is the back entrance…definitely a workroom, receiving area for shipments, etc.:
And here is what you frequently find in between the sign and the door, at the bottom of the steps (which also runs around the side of Rockport Blueprint to the back door/kitchen entrance to Boynton McKay (deli, coffee shop, great salads, breakfast, sweet treats, coffee, homemade buttermilk donuts…..wonderful place!): DUCKS. The river runs under some of the buildings out to the falls and into the harbor, and the ducks like to hang out here because the tourists crossing the footbridge have a propensity to FEED the ducks.
And the view from the deck/walkway to the river:
When the weather is warm, Rockport Blueprint likes to keep the back door open for the breezes (almost no place here has air conditioning…all but a few days a year we don’t need it!). Here’s the solution to the duckies (in case you can’t read it in the photo, the paper says “Duck Gate”):
When you’re walking on Main Street, across from the park honoring the fallen of the Civil War, the Library and the grassy park/hill overooking the harbor, this is the view up the river toward the footbridge–the tall chimney is from the now-offices-former-Knox Mill complex:
Yes, I love Camden! Dog bowls and ducks…yeah!
July 1st, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Wish I could stroll around with you again! Maybe one of these days …
jq
July 2nd, 2010 at 7:39 am
Local Americana at its finest!
July 2nd, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Sarah. A lovely read! But now we all know the secret places of Camden, Maine. You’ll have all the tourists using those back entrances. I did enjoy seeing all the photographs and your story. Regards, Dorothy in Canberra, Australia.
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:51 pm
We have only been there once but remember it like it was yesterday. I loved the water under the store and the boats in the harbor.
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:13 am
Would love to be strolling through town with you! Looks so picturesque and relaxing.
July 5th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
thanks for sharing Camden with us – I love these little tours!
July 11th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Sarah – love the “tour” and the photos. Looks a lovely place to just “be” in.