Love of fiber arts

Probably due to Stephen King, the first Maine city I recall being aware of is Bangor. I can't say that I had much of a conception of what it might be like, but I did expect it to be bigger than it is. After a brief and busy visit, my impression is that Bangor is more like a big suburb of a large city, except in this case it's just a big suburb surrounded by wilderness.

Although I didn't have a lot of free time, I maximized what was available and tracked down a local yarn shop in nearby Orono, which is north of Bangor. This LYS is found on what looks like the definition of a quaint northeastern Main Street (even if it's actually Mill Street).

Like the Bemidji, Minnesota yarn shop I visited about three weeks earlier, Fiberphilia is pretty much the only local place to buy yarn in its area. Their selection is fairly typical of what I'm accustomed to seeing in LYSes--plenty of Cascade and Noro, for instance--but Fiberphilia does have some regional yarns that I don't expect one finds as easily elsewhere.

The person working on the day of my visit--the co-owner?--was very helpful and not only regarding the store's merchandise. He suggested the place where I ate lunch that day and the next. Both recommendations were splendid. I never would have thought to go to a bakery run by Franciscan monks or drive a little off the highway to get to a very popular diner in a small town.

After my nice visit I left with some Cascade sock yarn and those superb tips on where to eat. Not bad for an abbreviated amount of time in Bangor and vicinity.