Back in the late '90's, an obviously-bored Biddeford cop illegally detained me for almost an hour…read moremerely because --- after stopping me merely because I had salvaged a discarded-and-smashed-and-obviously-much-weathered TV set and was carrying it to my aunt's car to take it home and strip it for parts --- I did not have any ID and my name didn't come up when he ran it. The cop really had an arrogant and artificially-suspicious attitude, claiming that he didn't believe me regarding who I said I was because "You're a young man, and young men automatically have a criminal record, so you must be lying to me about who you are." What planet of prejudiced MORONS was HE from --- is it actually a DISADVANTAGE in the eyes of the law if I've simply BEEN GOOD ALL MY LIFE?! He even went so far as to run the plate on my aunt's car to see if anything about IT came back as a problem. He should have been GLAD that I was cleaning up the environment, not make me feel scared and humiliated for doing so! They also seriously need to upgrade their street-markings --- on one side-street, they had a confusing double-headed arrow painted at the end of it where it intersected with the main drag, seemingly indicating that it was a one-way street where you were supposed to change to the left or right lanes respectively if you wanted to turn left or right; I nearly got head-onned by a huge SUV that barreled around the blind corner on the left-hand side! What we pay taxes for, and they can't even mark their streets properly or train their officers ethically!

Round numbers have always been a big deal at Yelp. Back in the day, we would all celebrate each…read moreother's 100th and then 200th reviews. That's not as important as it used to be, but this is my 1000th review and we tend to pick them carefully. I suppose that I'm the first to commemorate number 1000 by reviewing Biddeford, Maine but it's no accident. Biddeford is an amazing little city. First, an incredibly abbreviated history lesson. Skip this paragraph if you understand mill towns. Biddeford's mill town community was the workplace and home for generations of immigrants. They came to the mills looking for employment and they started at the bottom, being poorly paid and working under conditions that we would never tolerate today. The mills were busy for years but became obsolete due a new technology called electricity. The old mill buildings became run down and abandoned, the towns were stuck with massive unemployment, crime increased, and it was really bad. Biddeford was luckier than many other mill towns because it became a bedroom community for Portland's workers and because the mills were re-used to make Vellux blankets, but downtown was still depressed. I first saw Biddeford in the 80's and it wasn't pretty. Not only had it been depressed for quite a while, but a huge incinerator called MERC was built downtown and it stunk. And it stayed that way into the 21st century. Fast forward to now and Biddeford is changing fast. The abandoned mills were bought by people with a vision. MERC was finally closed. People have been attracted by the cheap rents in the mills and they're being refurbished at an astonishing rate. I haven't been able to confirm it, but about one-third of the million-plus square feet of mill space has apparently been renovated. There's a group of people who give tours of the old run down mill buildings and they say that in a year or two here won't be anything left to see because it will all have been rebuilt and occupied. There are art galleries, coffee shops, concerts in the local parks, all kinds of ethnic restaurants, and new businesses seem to be opening almost every day. In the last few months, the city has gotten curbside recycling and a new supermarket. This is good stuff for a city that many had written off and I'm glad to write about it for my milestone of review number 1000. I'm giving the city of Biddeford four stars because there's still work to be done and more than a few local politicians act like they prefer the good old days of urban blight. Some bigger businesses have been unable to move to Biddeford because there's not enough parking and there's a big debate about whether the city should build a parking lot. A bright future for Biddeford is within reach and I'm excited to have a ringside seat in my artist studio, located in one of Biddeford's nearly-full mill buildings. And no, I'm not running for office. I'm just excited about where things can go.

Shevenell Park is a small park in downtown Biddeford that apparently came into existence when a…read morebuilding was taken down. For many years it was little more than an empty lot with broken glass and the usual garbage that accumulates when no one's watching, but a few years ago some grant money appeared and the lot was cleaned up. Trees were planted, benches were built, and some tables and chairs showed up. Now it's a spot where there are concerts every Wednesday in the park, people drop by to eat their lunch, and the police frequently walk through. There's nothing about the park that's going to put it on the cover of Architectural Digest, but it's one of a hundred little things that can turn a small downtown from a dreary and depressing wasteland into a place where people want to work and live. Not all of those 100 things have been done yet and there's always some guy within a few blocks asking people for spare change, but it's nice to see progress. If you're near Biddeford between 5:30 and 7:00 on a Wednesday night in the summer, check out the music and then walk to one of the nearby restaurants for dinner. Shevenell Park is okay, and that's worth three stars. Actually it's a little more than okay but Yelp won't let me give it 3.5 stars.

Top notch experience! They are very well organized from the instructions you receive after…read moreregistering to the check-in process and parking for $5 for the duration of your trip. It was great that it was a live narration rather than a recording. So many interesting facts along the way. We took the shoals island tour that included 1 hour at Star Island. The option to take a 1/2 hour tour or explore on your own for about an hour was available. Plenty of time to look around. Snacks and drinks available in boats are affordable or you can bring your own snacks. Overall a great experience.

We paid for a steam boat but bc some company bought the steam boat for the night, they crammed us…read moreon the boat from jaws. Same price. If they say challenger, don't book. It's a tiny boat with limited seating. It looks like a fishing boat.

We went on a private lobster boat tour of the bay including seeing the beautiful lighthouses and…read morewildlife of Maine. They also provided binoculars and blankets if needed. We had a great afternoon on the water. The staff was absolutely wonderful and down to earth. I highly recommend Casco Bay Custom Charters.

I highly recommend Casco Bay Custom Charters…read more We sailed with them for a special family event in July 2020. We gathered to release our father's ashes at sea. The team we worked with to plan the event were flexible with our plans including location, departure, and the actual release. They provided helpful information about purchasing a biodegradable urn and how to structure our minimal program - especially as we had young children participating (ages 4-11). They will work with you to create your ideal experience.

Food was great! Service lackluster. Ambiance ok- our original waiter was gracious enough to get a…read moreseat indoors as it was too cool for outdoor dining ing. After that service was not great

Good food *veggie quesadilla outstanding! Tasty, fresh and…read morefull of flavor *fish n chips was crispy and fries were hot *lobster club was excellent Good price *dinner for 2 with an appetizer for under $75 Good service by Gavin! Food: Solid A Service: A+ Ambience: B

When Norm heard that we wanted a photography tour, he did not disappoint. From moment one he had…read moreplanned out an itinerary of bucolic and iconic Maine sites. From the famous Portland Head Lighthouse to off the beaten path locations that no tourist ever attended, he found spots to take gorgeous photos and videos. Although the weather on the day we visited was overcast, Norm even planned for those weather contingencies and had multiple locations ready for us to film from. He helped to structure the tour so that lighting was best for the specific shot. Prior to our tour, Norm had also location scouted a variety of different locations so that he could recommend specific spots from which to film rather than us wasting time looking for a spot to shoot from. Norm was also extremely hospitable and friendly and epitomized Maine hospitality. Norm and his company have the flexibility to cater the tour to your exact specifications: You want local only food places for foodies; you want a tour in Cantonese or Portuguese; You want a tour of all lighthouses -- nothing was a problem. Norm also took us to a local restaurant that had some of the best clam chowder in the east coast, and the absolute best lemon mascarpone cheesecake that I have ever tasted in my life. Thank you Norm. We would never do Maine without first booking a tour with you.

Maine Day Trip's drivers drive recklessly--running red lights and swerving through lanes.read more

Free parking and a nice short trail to a cascade. It was dry when we went so the cascade was a…read moreletdown tbh but still a fun time

I have noticed this trailhead many times on our trips to Old Orchard, but never had time to stop in…read moreand check it out. Today, we did! I'm so glad! The trail is beautiful, and easy for anyone (except a wheelchair, sorry) I have a bad knee with limited mobility, and this was doable for me! I'm so glad we made it out there today. The waterfall was at full force, and was so gorgeous. The little landing area at the bottom was full of downed trees, but the kids were having so much fun climbing and navigating. There were people flitting about in every which way, miniaturized by the big waterfall. The bridge was washed out, looking to be repaired, so I think one access from the loop was cut off. But people were navigating over the downed trees and on rocks. Nobody seemed to care. It was a blast! HIGHLY recommend this trail.

Wonderful time as a shore excursion from Portland Maine cruise port. Just a short walk from cruise…read moreterminal. Great for family with teenagers, and children. We rented a 2 person kayak. Staff was great.

Portland Paddle is exceptional! We did a 3 day private camping trip with our awesome guide Kyle and…read moreit was amazing! Booking was super easy and if I every had a question leading up to the trip, they were there. The trip itself was so gorgeous- camping on rock face overlooking the ocean is really special. The gear was all great, and if we ever had an issue they fixed it right away. And Kyle was an excellent guide- providing lots of helpful tips, information on the islands we were passing, and just an awesome job of navigating the trip based on what we wanted to see and do (we're not super paddlers- more chill). He made the trip easy and fun, and the fact that he is an amazing cook just took it to the next level. Perfectly seared salmon with crispy skin on a bed of broccolini and super tender short rib Thai curry while camping is insane. Could not recommend their overnight trips more highly.