L.L. Bean

Happy 100th Birthday L.L. Bean store.  My experience with you hasn’t been that long, but boy you sure make an impact in my life.

Just over a year ago, my husband and I decided to retire from our jobs, and to downsize and travel the country, living in our RV.  We put our home on the market, listed most of our household belongings via the internet and started sorting those things we had to take and what we’d get rid of. Several charities received some of our items - several of my L.L. Bears were donated to a Boy Scout troup that was collecting teddy bears for the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. 

Prior to selling our home, we lived fairly close to the L.L. Bean Flagship Store in Freeport and frequently shopped there or the outlets.  When traveling the East Coast to visit friends and family, I’d always find a way to visit whichever L.L. Bean store was closest to our destination.

As we’ve traveled I’m often amazed at what items we kept and how many came from L.L. Bean. I’d estimate 75 - 80% of items came from L.L. Bean. 

We don’t know where are travels will take us or what the weather will be; we kept winter coats and boots which came in handy during a snowstorm last October.  We have several raincoats and rain pants, along with storm chaser boots which proved useful during several rainy spells.  We have Buzz-Off and Insect-shield clothes, well needed products at many campgrounds.  Our general attire are L.L. Bean jeans or chinos, polo shirts with fleece or flannel jackets.  PJ’s, slippers, robes, bathing suits, silk underwear, socks, hats, gloves; the list goes on and on.

Even the linens in our bedroom and bath: flannel sheets, down comforter, flannel blankets, thick bath towels, you guessed it, all came from L.L. Bean.  In the kitchen, our percolator and travel coffee mugs have the L.L. Bean logo on them.  We have several wind up radios and flashlights sold by L.L. Bean. Our cribbage board is from L.L. Bean.

Our BBQ grill is the O-Grill carried by L.L. Bean.  Marshmallow/hot dog campfire forks, yep, they’re from L.L. Bean too.  The folding chairs we use near the campfire? And don’t forget the 2 kayaks on the roof of our pickup truck or the 2 bicycles on the back of our rig. We even have an L.L. Bean weather sensor for indoor/outdoor temps.

And it’s not just the humans in our household who are in to L.L. Bean products.  Our two dogs have dog beds, leashes, doggie rain coats, dog toys, training collars, and a crate. We bought a tote bag just to carry their items.  

And speaking of tote bags, we’ve got several different sized L.L. Bean tote bags from the largest for laundry to the smallest for a purse. We also kept some L.L. Bean luggage.

Wonder what my home would look like if I didn't have all these L.L. Bean products.

Dad

Two months ago my father died. He was 80 years old. For 30 odd years he had lived with an Adult Onset form of Muscular Dystrophy which destroyed the muscles in his body, leaving him a quadriplegic for the last 10. It was very hard watching a once extremely active and physical man become a physically challenged person. It was also hard to watch my mother's health deteroriate as she continued
to administer love and care to her husband. Mom really stood by her marriage vows of in sickness and in health.

A few years ago, we kids received word that Dad was in the hospital and the prognosis was not good. Those of us that could drop things and come were urged to do so. I was the first to arrive at that time and was included in a discussion about Hospice with one of the doctors. My folks set up a formal meeting with a Hospice representative and all my siblings were able to attend that session. At the time, my Dad, and we as a family, decided Hospice was not the choice for him. But it gave us all the sense that his time was running short. As he had so many time before, Dad got over his respiratory ailment and was sent home where Mom continued to provide care.

This February, Dad got pneumonia and was hospitalized again. Once again, the call to all of us to come as it looked ominous was made. This time, however, I was not a 2 hour drive. I was now 1500 miles away, and flew back. We were optimistic with how Dad looked and behaved but in the back of my mind was, this really could be it. The next morning, the hospital called my Mom to say Dad had indeed taken a turn for much worse and that it we should come in soon if we wanted to be with him.

Dad never did awaken that day. All my siblings did arrive to be at his bedside that morning and around noon, after several discussions with doctors and reviews of his lab work, honored Dad's decision to not prolong his life with any heroics. A few hours later Dad passed from this life to the next, unknown to us, but believed to be wonderful by his Christian faith and upbringing.

A few weeks after Dad died, we held a memorial service for him. While the service was very nice, for me the moving event of the day was before the service. Those of us who were participating in the service went to rehearse, my siblings and I were doing scripture readings, while 3 of the grandchildren were providing special music. When my niece sat at the piano to run through her peace, I was moving about the sanctuary, trying to decide on a location for my video camera - oh how I wish I had it on. The notes from the piano started and my brain clicked in. Wait, what's that she's playing? That doesn't sound like a restful, classical piece, that sounds like the Theme from James Bond. Oh my gosh, is she going to play this during the service - that would be weird but so appropriate. (My father, and several family members, myself included, are James Bond fans), Sure enough, my brother had prompted his daughter to play that particular piece at that moment in tribute to Dad. Even now, 6 weeks after the service, what chocks me up the most from that day is that simple music line - da da da da dat da da,

What a wonderful way to remember Dad.

Old Stomping Grounds

Because we have been staying relatively close to our old stomping grounds and would be passing thru our former town, we decided to take advantage of some of the services we use to use. We scheduled a grooming for the dogs with Sandy and a vet visit on the following day.

Our travels brought us back to Maine before "tourist season". No campgrounds are open in the areas we'd be staying giving us plenty of opportunity to boondock.

Two nights were spent in Cabela's parking lot. There was a super Walmart a mile away, but most RVers know this Cabela's has a dump station - a greatly appreciated feature for those living on the road.

We're now heading to our next destination. Our overnight options include the local Walmart and a Lowe's. Depending on how long we stay there we may be stopping by Cabela's on our way south.

View from my side of the mountain

Last Summer, we stayed in Trenton Maine, with Mount Dessert Island and Acadia National Park just across a bridge. Every day when I got up I’d look towards Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the island and kept feeling something wasn’t quite right.

Looking across Frenchmens Bay, the waterway that wrapped around MDI, the views of Cadillac Mountain felt very comforting and I reveled in the view and scenery. But something seemed amiss.

It took me awhile to realize that the mountain was not in the direction I expected it to be, that is, it was to my south when I kept wanting it to be to my north. In my mind, the sun rose and set on the wrong sides. In Trenton, the sun moved across the sky from left to right.

This winter, while recently visiting family, we drove in to town and I had my epiphany to the mountain dilemma. As we drove in to town, numerous views of Mount Wachusett kept appearing ahead of us. About a mile from home, we’d cross a causeway of the Wachusett Reservoir and my mental image of Cadillac quickly flashed through my mind. Growing up, my hometown was just to the south of that mountain and I spent

most of my life seeing a prominent mountain towards the north.

I decided no matter which side of the mountain I’m on, the view is comforting.