50 STATES: Maine

WANT to learn a lot about a state? Check out their license plate. No, not the color scheme — though that Vermont green sure is pretty — but the taglines stamped below the numbers.

Think of these mottos as how the states want to be seen in an ideal world. New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” is as intense as Missouri’s “Show Me State” is folksy. They run the gamut and say something essential about a place in the process.

Mainers stamp “Vacationland” on their plates. It’s a whole identity based on luring visitors from somewhere else, and this year, that’s a dicey proposition. Down East, in particular, it may look like fire, but hotel operators and businesspeople from Kittery to Portland aren’t panicking. In fact, they’re surprisingly calm about the just-beginning summer season.

Their optimism transcends price points, too — Maine’s coastline is famously diverse. Old Orchard Beach’s carnival atmosphere is just a few short miles from the madras-panted crowds in Kennebunkport. And yes, you’ll probably take Route 1 to get there. Wherever you go, though, the story was much the same.

I recently spent a few leisurely days driving along the Down East coastline and the mantra for everyone I spoke to was that that the region is “just a tank of gas away.”

That’s true; it is an easy drive from Boston, and a manageable six hours from the Tri-state Area, unlike Bar Harbor and Deer Isle. Still, getting good mileage may not be enough.

“It’s not a matter of gas,” says Bud Harmon, Executive Director of the Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce. “People are losing their jobs. What can you do?”

Old Orchard Beach is not the kind of Maine summer retreat that swells with investment bankers when the weather warms up. Rather, it is Maine’s answer to Coney Island; the pier is jammed with shops selling fried clams and toe rings while the amusement park overlooks the beach and the Atlantic. The town feels anachronistic, but pleasantly so. It’s tacky enough to be fun, provided you don’t overdo it on the funnel cake. And their big stretch of sand is big lure along Maine’s predominantly rocky coast.

“It’s our saving grace,” says Harmon.

He’s halfway right; the shore is lovely, but what will save Old Orchard Beach this year is the province of Quebec.

French-Canadians flood into town every summer, as they have for the past 30 years, and this season looks to be no exception.

“The Canadian business is staying strong,” says Harmon. “They’re booking ahead of time, and it seems like they’re not feeling the recession the way that we are here.”

American tourists, however, are holding off arranging their travel plans until the last minute. Compared to last year, “the booking window seems to be getting even shorter,” says Rauni Kew, the public-relations director for Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth. She says that it’s happening across the board — shortened stays or, worse, cancellations from loyal past guests.

Towns to the south of Portland like Cape Elizabeth and Ogunquit don’t have a guaranteed influx of visitors from across the border, though, so they are forced to improvise a bit.

Ogunquit attracts foreigners with a seaside walk called the Marginal Way that ends in a cluster of shops selling handmade gewgaws.

In town, the Americans browse the sweatshirt shops and search for parking, another classic aspect of the Maine seaside experience. Passing through, Ogunquit doesn’t feel like a trend-setting destination but rather a place where people go because they’ve always gone. That’s comforting for visitors and business owners dependent on tourists alike.

Up at Inn by the Sea, the property is hoping to capitalize on a 2008 renovation by pushing the themes of sustainability with solar panels heating the pool and organic bath products in the bathrooms. Sometimes, though, this fit is not so easy.

The Inn’s executive chef, Mitchell Kaldrovich, sources local ingredients, but unless it’s lobster (which comes from down the street), he says, Maine’s climate makes it tough.

Despite the complexity of keeping things current (and tasty), the timeless quality of Maine’s seaside is what allows many of the properties to survive a down cycle.

In the tweedy enclave of Kennebunkport, where Mabel’s Lobster Claw hosts former President George H.W. Bush for dinner when he’s in town, the posh Hidden Pond Resort opened last July to considerable fanfare.

Though the property, by Goose Rocks Beach, is beautiful (and pricey) its newness can be a detriment, especially when the economic chips are down.

“The established properties have seen it before,” says Tina Hewett-Gordon, General Manager of Kennebunkport’s Nonantum Resort, “and they know how to get through these times.”

This may be a unique recession, but Downeasters have seen tough times before and know that there are some things that can’t be controlled.

As at the Inn by Sea, advance bookings at the Nonantum are not as strong as previous summers.

“I look at our forecast and I throw it out the window. It’s a scary number,” says Hewett-Gordon.

How long are the guests waiting to reserve rooms? Hewett-Gordon told me that many of her guests wait for the 10-day forecast to organize their trip to ensure that value for their dollar includes a healthy dose of sunshine.

Explains Old Orchard’s Bud Harmon: “A lot this year will depend on the weather. That’s just not something we’re used to depending on.”

Some merchants in Kennebunkport even barter their services with each other to save money. Early in the season before the Nonantum opens their kitchen for breakfast, for example, they direct guests to a restaurant in town, and in return that restaurant is listed in the hotel’s guest-services directory.

And, of course, everywhere, guests are hunting for bargains.

“People are conditioned not to pay the rack rate,” says Hewett-Gordon. But a carefully targeted promotion on a discount travel web site like Travelzoo, she says, can bring ten times return on the investment.

Then there are the towns that make bargains of a different sort their calling card: there was no sign of the recession among the outlet shops of Kittery two weekends ago. The stores were jammed with bargain-hunters looking for cut-rate clothes from companies like J. Crew and Banana Republic. At the Brooks Brothers outlet, I saw a particularly august gentleman purchase a brand-new brass-buttoned blue blazer with three crisp hundred-dollar bills.

The flipside of having “Vacationland’ printed on the license plate is the experience that comes with it. Survive a few recessions, and you don’t push the panic button quite so readily, especially when it feels like there’s something that can be done, whether it’s promotions or just remaining optimistic.

“We’re hammered with bad news every day and it makes you feel helpless,” Bud Harmon mused. “But we’ll survive.”

LEARN MORE
www.visitmaine.com

CRAVING CRUSTACEAN? HERE, 5 GREAT STOPS FOR LOBSTER

1) NUNAN’S LOBSTER HUT Outside of town (and quite near to Hidden Pond), this lobster shack is a favorite among locals. Lobsters come pre-cracked and yes, they’ll give you a bib, too. (9 Mills Rd, Kennebunkport; [207] 967-4362)

2) THE CLAM BOX Don’t want to leave town for your lobster fix in Kennebunkport? The lobster rolls here are made with butter (though you can request mayo), but either way they contain all the meat from a one-pound lobster. (“On the Bridge,” Kennebunkport; [207] 967-3321)

3) MAINE DINER It’s an evergreen, but this chrome palace on Route 1 is still the best place to eat in Wells. The lobster pie, topped with browned crumbs from crumbled Ritz crackers, is justifiably famous — and thankfully, hard to mess up.

4) BOB’S CLAM HUT While the fried clam strips are miles better than Howard Johnson’s, the lobster stew is excellent for those Maine summer days where the sun feels like a distant memory. (315 Route 1, Kittery; [207] 439-4233)

5) THE LOBSTER SHACK AT TWO LIGHTS Just down the road from Inn by the Sea and right on the water, the picnic tables at Lobster Shack come with a beautiful view to match the quality crustaceans. (225 Two Lights Rd, Cape Elizabeth; [207] 799.1677)