Just a southern girl's opinion

I would like to start this post by stating what type of person I am just so you know what I will be comparing Maine too. I live 40 minutes outside of Nashville in the country. I love to garden, fish, swim, ski, read, and camp. We own a boat so we spend a lot of time on the lake fishing. I love to cook and eat out as well. I love a beautiful sunset and a great bottle of wine.

Opinion of Maine. It is like the ocean (although, not as pretty as the gulf), Tennessee hills and lakes, parts of Colorado, and Gatlinburg (as far as Boothbay, Camden, and Bar Harbor) all rolled up in one. It is very pretty. We traveled from Boothbay to Bar Harbor and drove all over Acadia. The weather can be beautiful one day and rainy the next.

As far as the food, never ate a wonderful meal the entire time we were there. Lobster to die for, I don%26#39;t think so. If you are in the mood for lobster go to Red Lobster it will be cheaper and better, no kidding. Ahh, the lobster rolls, it is lobster with mayonnaise on a heated hoagie bun at $21.00 a pop. I will post on these places at a later date.

Places to stay. You pay for the view and that is it. Again, stayed at some on the really nice places, but everywhere we stayed smelled of sweat. I guess this comes from turning off the air on after someone leaves. I will post on these places at a later date.

Nightlife, there is not any. The harbors in Maine are very quiet at night, not anything like the harbors in Florida.

Shopping. Antiques galore, wine/coffee shops, sandwich shops and more sandwich shops, and bookstores. Everywhere you turn. In a earlier post I had read where someone had compared one of the harbor towns to Gatlinburg saying Maine was much nicer and prettier. Yes, Maine does not have all the roadside signs as you will see up in our mountains, but Boothbay and Bar Harbor are just another Gatlinburg. No difference.

People in general. They do not even acknowledge when spoken to, unless you are booking a room at a hotel desk or at a visitor%26#39;s center. We did not buy anything at most of the stores we visited just because they would not even say hello when you walked through the door.

I know I will probably get a lot of negative feedback on this, but I just wanted southern folk to know what they will be getting into when visiting Maine. We were raised to be polite when spoken to and to acknowledge someone coming through the door. We even spoke to a nice couple from Atlanta who felt the same. They said they were going to have some lobster shipped home, but after eating it at the local restaurants would not even waste their money on it.

Just a southern girl's opinion

Sorry you didn%26#39;t enjoy your visit - as for me (another Southern Gal) - I love Maine. I am not sure where you were eating, staying, or shopping, but my experiences have always been just the opposite of yours. We recently returned from our third trip, which was cut short because of a death in the family, but are already talking about ';next year';.

Just a southern girl's opinion

There is a reason the one Dead Lobster (oops - I mean Red Lobster) did not last here: what would be the point of going there? Maine lobster cooked fresh will always beat a reheated lobster precooked somewhere else. Since I can not believe any one would prefer RL to a native cooked lobster, I find it hard to believe the other comments r.e. perennially sweaty hotel rooms and completely unfriendly service.

It would be more helpful if you were specific. The reviews you post will not connect to this forum, so no one will know what you were talking about.

As to Maine hospitality vs. southern hospitality, they are just different animals. I have always enjoyed my trips to the south and find people to be very extroverted. Here in Maine, we are friendly, but more reserved. We tend to not want to bother people. (Of course, many of the people working in the summer are not from Maine - too many jobs and not enough natives.)

I%26#39;m also pretty sure Maine does not advertise itself as the nightlife capital of the USA.

I%26#39;m sorry you did not enjoy your vacation. Maine just wasn%26#39;t the place for you!

I don%26#39;t think that you should get a lot of negative posts. I absolutely hate Key West, FL and would never go there on vacation. That doesn%26#39;t mean that everyone will feel like I do.

Obviously Maine isn%26#39;t for you.

I%26#39;m sorry, but I think you stayed in some bad places while you were here. I know most of the B%26amp;B owner%26#39;s in Bar Harbor and I%26#39;ve never been in one that smells like sweat.

You are right that there isn%26#39;t any nightlife here in Bar Harbor. Most people come to this area to hike, bike, and walk. Frankly, I think most people are too tired after dinner to do any sort of nightlife activity. Believe me, if there was a market for it, it would be here.

Again, I%26#39;m truly sorry that your trip was so terrible.

I do think a few of your comments are unfair in that you generalize to the entire state based on very limited experiences. Otherwise, it seems that some things just weren%26#39;t to your taste. It was a good idea of yours to say a little about what your likes and dislikes are, so others can get an idea of whether your opinions might apply to them.

How would you feel if somebody generalized about all of Tennessee based on a trip to Gatlinburg? That%26#39;s what you do when you imply that Mainers are impolite, based on your experiences in the summer in tourist-oriented towns, in stores that are likely heavily staffed by non-Mainers. And your sweat comment is truly bizarre. I think you could spend a long, long time reading reviews on this site and elsewhere and never come across anybody saying anything like that. But if that truly was your experience and you feel you have to warn people about that, then I%26#39;m sorry it happened to you.

You are right that it%26#39;s very quiet here at night, at least in general. (Though if you%26#39;d wanted nightlife, you could have gone to Portland, for example.) We Mainers like the quiet life, and most people visiting Maine are looking for peace and quiet as well. Sorry you apparently weren%26#39;t well informed about that aspect of the state. You might want to do a little more research next time you visit someplace new.

You certainly won%26#39;t find many people agreeing with your view about Red Lobster versus Real Lobster, but each to her own taste.

Sorry you didn%26#39;t enjoy your trip. Most of all, I%26#39;m sorry you didn%26#39;t experience the Maine that so many people love.

Our friends just returned from Tennesee and said that the there was nothing but little church after church after church, The BBQ sandwiches are better at Arby%26#39;s, and all the rooms smelled like feet.

Luckily I had a better time there myself, but everyone has their own experience.

No difference between Boothbay and Gatlinburg....well, guess you came a long way for nuthin%26#39;, then! Sorry.

Please don%26#39;t hold Miss Tennessee%26#39;s post against everyone with a Southern drawl. I%26#39;m a Southern Gal, too, and I have nothing but rave reviews for Maine.

I was born in Georgia, raised in Alabama, and had been working for 13 years in Mississippi when I took two weeks off for a trip to Maine. I immediately fell in love and started looking for a way to get back. By the next summer I had a full-time job here. And, now it%26#39;s 14 winters later and I am still very much in love with Maine, moreso than anyplace I%26#39;ve lived before.

I regularly host visitors from the South as I have lots of relatives Down South and I%26#39;ve never had anything but compliments from my visitors. And, up here I%26#39;ve run into my share of like-minded Southern transplants, folks who were raised down there but live here now and very much enjoy it. I also run into lots of tourists from the South who I do speak to and share information with if they ask for help, and I find lots of folks having a great time on their vacations.

It suspect that Maine just isn%26#39;t Miss Tennessee%26#39;s cup of tea--she seems to prefer sandy beaches and night life. Could be she didn%26#39;t do her research and didn%26#39;t pick well when it came to lodging and restaurants. Could be she hasn%26#39;t traveled a lot and doesn%26#39;t like any locale that isn%26#39;t like home. Whatever the explanation, we failed to meet her expectations.

Her loss. :)

Michele, I was hoping we would hear from you. Thanks for your post.

I can%26#39;t imagine anybody would hold the original poster%26#39;s views against any other southerners. I know I meet a lot of tourists from the south when they drop into the library bookstore where I volunteer. I%26#39;ve had many nice chats with them. (Oh, by the way, I also say hello when they walk in. ;-%26gt;)

Though I%26#39;m a native, I lived in other parts of the country for many years. When I got the chance, I was thrilled to come back to Maine. Some people are quite reserved, but you can really count on your Maine neighbors. We plow each other%26#39;s driveways, pet-sit, share garden vegetables and canned goods, drive each other, do errands, and so on.

The thing about store personnel not being polite or friendly amused me. I have a couple of Boston cousins who constantly complain that the store people are so chatty in Maine that it makes their quick errands take too long!

I debated on whether or not to even respond to this posting. I%26#39;ve lived all over the country including Charleston SC, California, Michigan, NJ and Eastport Me, and now NH.

The lobster comment is ridiculous. That is like saying you%26#39;d rather go to the olive garden than eat in Italy. But I guess that is why the chains do so well, some people are convinced that microwaved and reconstituted food is gourmet. To each his own I guess. I suppose if you think that Red Lobster is good/real, you may not enjoy fresh lobster.

I do agree somewhat with the Lobster roll, I%26#39;ve just never understood peoples fascination with ruining perfectly good lobster with cheap mayo.... I%26#39;m pretty sure however that Lobster is fairly inexpensive right now, of course if you go to tourists places, you pay tourist prices.

The nightlife thing is a given for the majority of Maine with the exception of Portland and a couple of the larger cities, but it is never going to compare to Florida, and we wouldn%26#39;t want it to. Nightlife in Maine to me is sitting with friends and family on a porch and talking and telling stories, sure theres a pub here or there, which is great too, but I don%26#39;t go to Maine to Disco.

I find the people in Maine to typically be very friendly, honest people, there are bad apples everywhere, and I like it that the shopkeepers don%26#39;t hound me, typically, I get a ';let me know if you need help';. Of course if you do ask for help you usually get sidetracked into a 20 minute conversation and walk away knowing something new.

I%26#39;m sorry you didn%26#39;t like Maine, but in fairness, perhaps you should list the specific places you had issues with so that we can identify the problem and people can make informed choices on whether to go to these places or not, instead of generalizing the whole area. Although as stated a couple of your comments are ludicrous (i.e. Lobsters, nightlife).

Just in case anyone who has been to Gatlingburg but not to Bar Harbor, believes the poster that there is ';no difference';, I would like to point out some of the very real differences.

First, thank you for noticing that there are no billboards in Maine as there are in Tennessee, and espcially along the highway approaches to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

Gatlinburg is at least four times as large as Bar Harbor. If one includes all of Pigoen Forge and the strip development along the four-lane highway that leads into the Pigeon Forge area, then Bar Harbor is dwarfed by this Southern tourist area by a factor of maybe 20 to 1.

Unlike Gatlinburg, Bar Harbor has no ski lift, no aerial tramway, no space needle. There is no mini-golf course in the village, no go-karts anywhere nearby, and no water slide park on the entire island.

Bar Harbor does not have the huge outlet shopping malls of Pigeon Forge. Nor does it have Dollywood or a Haunted House or a Ripley%26#39;s Believe or Not or a Hollywood Wax Museum.

There is no Chalet Village on the slopes of the mountains in Acadia National Park. There is no Cherokee Village hawking the heritage of native Americans.

I could go on and on. But one begins to understand the difference. If one loves the circus atmosphere of Gatlinburg, then one will be utterly bored to tears in quiet, quaint Bar Harbor.

This forum was set up so people could give there personal opinion of places and serves for no other purpose. I respect each and everyone of you for sticking up for your hometown, as I would do the same for mine. I never once said Maine was not a beautiful state. It is fascinating to sit and watch the lobster boats, sailboats, and driving Acadia is equally beautiful. I did read lots and lots of forums and also purchased Fodor and Moon travel guides, so yes I was informed on what there was to do in Maine.

I did refer to some of the people we met along the way as being rude, but I was not only referring to your locales I was also referring to the tourist. Usually people on vacation tend to relax and cut up, but we did not find that to be the case in Maine.

Another fact I was trying to point out is if you pay $26.00 for a meal, you expect it to be a decent meal. You also expect the same kind of service the locals receive, but we never received it. There are lobster pounds at every turn, but after a few bad meals you no longer are enthused by the sound of lobster. Just name a few places we ate at while were there The Lobster Dock, Sea Basket, Taste of Maine, and the Top of the Hlll restaurants which I will post on when I get a chance.

Second if you pay $170.00 a night to stay in a place, you expect it to be a 3 1/2 to a 4 star motel/hotel. Out of the two places we stayed one was rated number one on this forum (was not a problem), and the other was highly recommended by a woman at the Bar Harbor visitors center for Southwest Harbor. Most of the motels I seen recommended for Bar Harbor on this forum was on the outskirts of town, in which you will likely have to walk a long way or drive and park in a very congested area. So be sure and check the location. Just for our elderly folk.

I refer to it being just like Gatlinburg because it is a very congested area with lots of shopping, but without all the amusements a child would thoroughly enjoy. I say this for all the ones traveling with small children. I as a child loved the Smokey Mountains and I can say the same for my children even with all the silly amusements.

I am not a party girl, but I do love sitting out at night listening to live entertainment on a harbor watching the sun go down. We did not find this to be the case in Boothbay Harbor, just so people will know. I assume this is because the weather tends to be cooler in September.

This is a hiking, biking, and kayaking kind of state, as well as Colorado. I knew this going in, but I went to enjoy the scenery and for the lobster. The scenery did not fail, but the lobster and the people we met along the way did for the most part. What makes a vacation is the people you meet, places you stay, food you eat, and the scenery. Tourist I know can be a hassle, but tourist are what make our economy strong and spend their hard earned money just like your locals do.