July 4th in Freeport, Maine

Our day began with a pancake breakfast at St Jude Church.  We wore our festive hats to the 4th of July happenings.  We both had blueberry pancakes, sausage, and orange juice.  It was a great breakfast.  We had a lot of compliments on the hats and a few people wanting to know where we got them. 

Next was the parade, here you can see the bootmobile heading down the road.

They also had a 10K run and some other run/walks with kids.  It was very hot and humid so it was great that the run was done by 10ish, but it was still brutal even at this time. 

This is the Solders and Sailors Civil War monument built in 1906. 

The fire trucks are heading for the parade.

The Boot in front of the LL Bean Store in Freeport, Maine where it all began.  
In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean opened a store in the basement of his brother's apparel shop at Freeport Corner, selling the "Bean Boot" (or Maine Hunting Shoe). This store, L.L. Bean, became so popular that in 1951 it started remaining open 24 hours a day. Its retail and mail order catalog facilities expanded into Freeport's principal business, and a worldwide company with annual sales of over a billion dollars.

An avid outdoorsman named Leon Leonwood ("L.L.") Bean returned from a hunting trip with cold, damp feet and a revolutionary idea. L.L. enlisted a local cobbler to stitch leather uppers to workmen's rubber boots, creating a comfortable, functional boot for exploring the Maine woods. This innovative boot – the Maine Hunting Shoe® – changed outdoor footwear forever and began one of the most successful family-run businesses in the country.
L.L. began his business by working out of the basement of his brother's apparel shop. In 1912, he obtained a mailing list of nonresident Maine hunting license holders and prepared a three-page flyer that boldly proclaimed, "You cannot expect success hunting deer or moose if your feet are not properly dressed. The Maine Hunting Shoe is designed by a hunter who has tramped the Maine woods for the last 18 years. We guarantee them to give perfect satisfaction in every way." The public could not resist the commonsense logic and genuine enthusiasm of his appeal.

We went to the concert in the park.  The singer was good, but they have to have the bass so loud you can't enjoy the lyrics or music. He reminded me on some songs of Paul Simon and a ways into his set he sang one of Simon and Garfunkel's songs and it was good.  

Then we went to the fireworks show.  It was great.  But I have decided that I do not enjoy this anymore.  I will watch from a distance or on TV because the wait in the parking lot is just not worth it.