Anyone familiar with Old Orhard Beach
 

We will be staying there in July. Don't know anything about the area. Good restaurants? Things to see.

Old Orchard is very honky-tonk with a long strip of motels punctuated by an amusement park at the end. Kids love it. The area is a favorite vacation spot for French Canadians; the closer you get to the amusement area and pier, the more French it becomes.<BR><BR> O.O. has made an effort to clean up its act in recent years. It's not a terrible area; our son loved it when he was small. We always stayed at Pine Point however, a long walk via the beach or road from OO; much nicer and quieter IMHO. The long, wide beach is great - just don't plan on swimming. The water is usually COLD! There are often fireworks shot over the water at night from the pier. <BR><BR>My family always enjoys the Schoolhouse Restaurant in nearby Saco, surprisingly good for a buffet restaurant, and very affordable, especially at lunchtime. The Clambake in Pine Point,owned, I think, by the same company, is also good. Neither of these choices are fine dining - more places you can be comfortable in dressed in shorts and sandles, with salty hair. <BR><BR>What do you want to see? Interests?

I was born and brought up in the area and Molly2 described it well. Lots of high school memories there including being there the night of the big fire in 1969. Definitely a blue-color playground...then and now.<BR><BR>Clambake definitely has good seafood as does Ken's up the road from there. If you travel up to Portland one night, check out the restaurants in the Old Port area. DiMillo's Floating Restaurant is good choice too.

Forgot to mention things to see:<BR><BR>Maine Mall is nearby...highly congested area but everything is surrounding Route 1 that time of year. Also nearby is the history Portland Lighthouse...definitely worth the trip if you're going to be in the area.<BR>Up the pike (I-295) in Freeport is a shopping outlet haven plus LL Bean. Plan on several hours in this charming quaint town. WARNING: If you choose to go here on a rainy day, the traffic will be brutal as everyone who's not on the beach is probably heading there.<BR><BR>If you head south visit Kennebunkport, another charming town and take in Ocean Drive where you'll see the Bush compound. Continue even further south and you'll soon come across Wells, Ogunquit and eventually get to the York-Kittery area and there's another lighthouse there, the Nubble. <BR><BR>We take it all for granted, so for now I can't think anything else. But I'm sure I will

We stayed in Scarborough/Pine Point when my daughter was young. She didn't mind cold water. There are several mini golf attractions in the area. <BR><BR>For seafood, the Clambake and Ken's are good, as is Huot's at Camp Ellis. Walk out on the jetty while you're there. For pizza, it's Ricetta's in S. Portland. For Maine atmosphere, you can't beat the little restaurant on the cliff near the lighthouses in Cape Elizabeth - crashing waves, soaring seagulls, dining on picnic tables or inside. Don't forget Beal's awesome ice cream; there's one near Ken's and another in Portland's port area. They have flavors like banana cream pie and Black Forest. <BR><BR>Scarborough Marsh is nice. Rent a canoe from the shops there and sail past egrets. <BR><BR>The 7-mile long beach is great for walking. <BR><BR>You'll certainly want to visit Portland, esp. the port area. You could take a day cruise from there out into the Calendar Islands, past lighthouses and sea lions.<BR><BR>If you're there July 4, Ocean Park has a charming parade. You'll think you're in a Norman Rockwell painting.

We love walking on the beach. Also looking at the ocean. Are there any antique shops around? We will be spending five nights. Plan on looking into Portland also

Spacea, you might do a search here for a posting of a few weeks ago asking about Hampton Beach, NH, which is similar to Orchard Beach, Maine. There's a lot of good information there about both areas, as well as other places to go/see.

spacea - the restaurant near the lighthouses in Cape Elizabeth is called, simply, The Lobster Shack. I think it's on Two-Lights State Park Road. From what I remember, the view is incredible.<BR><BR>As for antiques...in my opinion, the best antique shopping is about 3 hrs away on Route 1 from Searsport to Rockland (vice versa if you're coming from the south). Now that area is as Americana as it comes. If you head that way, be sure and stop in Camden. My favorite place in Maine!<BR><BR>Antiquing in the OOB area...I would head to Biddeford (about 5 miles away) and stay on Route 1 and pass thru Five-Points. Just before the overpass bridge, there's a place on the right. After the bridge drive about 2 miles +/- and at the corner of Route 1 and the Log Cabin Road there is Village Antiques and Antiques USA or something similar to that. To me, this is more flea market-like but they call it antiques. And as long as you're on the Log Cabin Rd you might as well head to Kennebunkport and Kennebunk Beach that I mentioned earlier. <BR><BR>

Stay at Pine Point or Ocean Park, which are at the far ends of OOB. Much nicer, cleaner, quieter at night. Not a carnival atmosphere.