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Kennebunkport Recovers From Bush-Putin Summit

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

July 15, 2007

There’s still plenty of buzz about the high-level meetings, held at the Walker’s Point mansion occupied by former President George H.W. Bush.

The first President Bush remains highly visible, driving a sleek blue-and-white craft called Fidelity III with visible support in the form of gray raft-type vessels belonging to the U.S. Secret Service.

Just yesterday, Bush the Elder went fishing with two friends just off the Walker’s Point peninsula and acknowledged a crowd of onlookers perched above the rocky shore on Ocean Avenue. As his boat fired up its engine for the noontime return to the mansion, he took off his white cap and waved it in the air as amateur photographers seized the unexpected photo op.

At a nearby restauranted named Mabel’s Lobster Claw, owner Robert Fisher remembered a late-night visit from nine Russian secret servicemen, two of whom spoke English. Fisher, who often entertains the Bush entourage, described the Russians as "heavy eaters."

Elsewhere in Kennebunkport, things are typical for mid-July.

Hotels, inns, and B&Bs are filled, traffic snakes through town with a wary eye on pedestrian crosswalks, and restaurant reservations – especially at a small but popular place like Mabel’s – are a must.

Because of the short tourist season that runs from late April through mid-October, shops, bistros, and boutiques have their best wares in their windows, with prices that range from $5 T-shirts to the $895 jade necklace for sale at Abacus.

Guests of the 49-room Kennebunkport Inn, a former sea captain’s home, have the best proximity to Dock Square, a cluster of stores and restaurants just over the bridge that separates Kennebunkport from Kennebunk. Dock Square has a coffee house, chocolate shop, pharmacy, and plenty of places to find lobster rolls, clam chowder, and ice cream. Yes, it gets hot in Maine too – though the state retains its reputation as a cool place to be in summer.

To make maximum advantage of limited time, out-of-towners can hire a horse-drawn carriage or jump on a bus painted to look like an old-time trolley. There’s even a real trolley museum less than three miles away (with rides on real streetcars several times per day).

Although the ocean water is cold, most hotels and inns have pools. One, the White Barn Inn, even has the only five-diamond restaurant in the State of Maine.

There’s no doubt about the fresh seafood: the steamers, chowder, and lobster eaten at dinner might have been caught after breakfast.

Area beaches, lined by wild sea-roses, are beautiful on both sides of the bridge. Sunbathers can see the Walker’s Point peninsula from several vantage points.

When it rains, visitors can head south for the Kittery outlets or north to Freeport, where there are even more outlets plus proximity to Portland, a historic city that is also an air and sea gateway.

Getting to Kennebunkport by car is easy. It’s about five hours from New York and less than two from Boston.

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