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Old Orchard Beach - Part 2
Written by: Stacey Stern
If you're looking for a "family friendly" vacation with fun-filled adventures, shopping and local excursions, then look no farther than Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Friday
Friday arrived with rainy and chilly weather. Amanda woke us up yet again, so my husband, Sal, took her to get breakfast, allowing me and my one-year-old, D.J. to sleep in a bit. We opted to relax in the room until the weather improved a bit, while Sal went to change a broken headlight on our conversion van.
Once on our way, we headed about a mile away to Old Orchard Street, the center of town. Amanda was "starving," so we stopped at Bill's Pizza for a couple of slices. Bill's is a walk-up takeout place located one block from the beach. They have been serving their jumbo pies since 1949. The pizza was hot, fresh, with a nice mild sauce, and the perfect amount of cheese. I believe this might have been the first pizza that did not cause me to have heartburn in years.
The weather was clearing up, so we decided to go to Funtown/Splashtown, 5 miles away on Route 1 in Saco. The Antique Car Ride was the first attraction we came to. Amanda and I went for a ride, and then Sal and Amanda were able to go immediately after. We rode the small Ferris Wheel, Bumper Boats, and the Carousel. Even D.J. rode the Carousel! Then, Amanda and I went to the Kiddie rides, while Sal took D.J. for a hot dog since he had slept through the pizza stop. We all shared an order of fried dough, which is which is like a flat Zeppole. Amanda rode the Carousel, Helicopters, Swings, and Cars in the Kiddie area.
The gift shop in the center of the park had surprisingly few items with the park name, area name, or state name printed on anything. Amanda bought Bubble Tape from the candy area. Next, we went to the Red Baron Ride followed by a few games of Skeeball. We needed to score 180 points for just one ticket, and for a small prize, 24 tickets were needed, so needless to say, we did not take home a stuffed
animal!
As we walked past the Galaxy Roller Coaster, Amanda announced she wanted to go in it. Sal nervously took her on her first real roller coaster ride, since I am not that brave. She came off the ride ecstatic and wanting to go on again. Sal, on the other had, was glad it was over, and we quickly shuffled her off to the milder Canoe ride, which she rode twice in a row.
A great moment of this event was the friendly customer service we received. After a quick bathroom break, Sal had bought some ice cream. Amanda accidentally dropped the cone, so we went to buy another. The woman at the stand saw what had just happened and gave us a new cone at no charge. You can't beat good customer service! Everyone was happy, including D.J. who got his favorite snack, a big pretzel.
After our snack break, Amanda and I jumped on a ride called Casino without looking at it first. We spun around in the air with the wheel dipping forward then backward. When we got off, Amanda and I were laughing and sick to our stomachs! She didn't even finish her ice cream! All four of us then went on another Antique Car ride.
We spent about three hours at the park in sunny 70-degree weather, so we decided to leave. On our way out, we took a look at the Log Flume, the big Swings, and a few of the other bigger rides. Amanda and I went on the Bumper Boats again, since that was her favorite ride.
As we exited the park, one of the employees told us the Excalibur Roller Coaster was recently ranked in the "top ten wooden roller coasters in the world." Also, the 12-story Dragon's Descent ride was added to the park just last year. The park was clean and well maintained. I was surprised at the number of rides there are for young children, and that they are located throughout the park between the rides for older children. All ages can enjoy the entire park this way. The staff was friendly, pleasant, and courteous. But most significant for parents of young children, there was stroller (and wheelchair) access readily available to every ride.
We left Funtown with smiles on our faces and headed back to the motel to relax. The air was still too cold to go into the pool, so we went for a walk on the beach. There was a light breeze coming off the water as we walked along the ocean shore. The sand is soft, light, and fine. The beaches are exceptionally clean. There were a few children building sand castles, and one brave woman went for a swim in the ocean. Sal carried D.J., and we looked for pretty shells. I was giving Amanda a little science lesson about seaweed when Sal found half of a sand dollar. The three of them went back to the room, while I continued to walk down the beach hunting for whole sand dollars. As the tide was going out, I found one in the receding wave. I was excited to show Amanda. Then I found a second sand dollar. I walked back to the room and showed them to her. She can't wait to bring them to school to show her class.
Dinner time arrived, and we drove to The Clambake at Pine Point on Route 9 in Scarborough. Patrons place their order at the counter and wait for the order number to be called over the loud speaker to pick up the food. We ordered two Fisherman's Plates, one batter-dipped and one crumb-covered, which included fried clams, shrimp, scallops, fish, surf clams, french fries, onion rings, and choice of salad bar and bread. Amanda ordered grilled cheese, and D.J. had chicken tenders. While we waited for our number to be called, we found a nice table on the porch overlooking the slat marsh. There were many seagulls waiting for a free meal. The kids found them fascinating. Sal and I went to the salad bar for a choice of iceberg or romaine lettuce with Caesar or Italian dressing, cole slaw, and rolls. When Sal brought our dinners to the table, I couldn't believe the pile of food. We shared the plates, and once we were full, there was still enough food for at least two more meals. We brought four containers back to the motel! After Amanda chased the seagulls a few times, we walked to The Nesting Duck gift shop next door and browsed for a while. The kids actually went to bed at a reasonable hour, and Sal and I started watching Harry Potter on the VCR before falling asleep.
Read part 1 | Read part 3
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