Big shoes to fill

There's nothing that gives us a kick quite like the sight of extra large footwear along the open road. We've been lucky enough to spot a few along the way, so try these on for size (I take a 9 1/2):

 The big boot of the L.L. Bean headquarters store, Freeport, Maine.

 An extra large Timberland Pro series with the Titan Safety Toe, Pompano Beach, Florida

The Haines Shoe House of Hellam, Pennsylvania (being worked on by cobblers, er, contractors when we were there)

The Silver Slipper (size 0...you know how it is with ladies' apparel), at the Neon Boneyard, Las Vegas, Nevada

Beloved souvenir of the week

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...the Bar Harbor, Maine pocket comb.

It's a big world after all: The world's largest revolving/rotating globe of Yarmouth, Maine

Eartha is housed in this beautiful 3-story glass atrium.

I always hoped to see Cape Horn some day.

Eartha was down for renovations when we were there, so she was more like "The Day The Earth Stood Still".

Eartha is located on DeLorme Drive, just off of Route 1 in Yarmouth, Maine.

They've got a nice map store and gift shop, featuring these extra cool globes...

...as well as everything else in The World.

The DeLorme Company likes to call itself "the longtime leader in innovative mapping and GPS solutions for commercial and government markets." In other words, they make maps and world is their oyster. Their "world" headquarters are in the picturesque Maine coast town of Yarmouth, just down the road apiece from L.L. Bean's flagship store. To put their company on the, er, map, they built a honey of an eccentric roadside attraction: the world's largest revolving/rotating globe, housed inside a 3-story glass atrium. And it's not just a mook like me that says it's the biggest world in the world, it's got the Guinness Book of World's Records' seal of approval. The globe, known as Eartha (and built, one presumes, from an Eartha kit), measures 41 feet, 1 and 1/2 inches and it revolves on a specially designed mechanized cantilever arm. And just like the real thing, Eartha tilts at 23.5 degrees and rotates on its axis. Unlike the real thing, two electric motors do Eartha's spinning. All that largeness and rotating eventually take their toll, however, and Eartha has to be given a tune-up and makeover periodically. This was the case when we visited last fall, but we didn't mind. Even standing still, it was quite a sight to see. More recently, they say the renovations have made a world of difference and Eartha could be spinning again in world-class condition perhaps as soon as a couple of weeks from now.

So, if you'd like to see what the world is coming to, stop by DeLorme's. It's out of this world, it'll do you a world of good and you shouldn't miss it for the world. (And if you think those puns are awful, just be grateful this wasn't the world's largest Uranus).

Moose hysteria: Lenny, the Life-size Chocolate Moose of Scarborough, Maine

Two animals, the moose and the lobster, are beloved symbols of the great state of Maine. You can't drive down the highway very long without seeing a cheery "moose crossing" sign or "lobster on board" bumper sticker. Since 1997, one of the best and quirkiest tributes to the Maine moose has been grazing at the Len Libby candy store of Scarborough: a life-size moose made of milk chocolate. We love a good, groan-worthy pun and this 1,700-pound, 8-foot tall, 9-foot long one definitely passes the lit-moose test. You'll find decadent hand-crafted chocolate confections, ice cream and Maine souvenirs at Len Libby's, and they've got chocolate lobsters to keep the Libby lobster lobby happy. Lenny has company now, in the form of Libby, a 380-pound dark chocolate bear, and her dark chocolate cubs Cocoa and Chip, each weighing in at a svelte 80 pounds. Climate control is critical here, as Lenny and his pals require a temperature no higher than 70 degrees or else we've got a chocolate fondue the likes of which no man has ever seen. Not to visit this moosterpiece of eccentric roadsideabilia would be blasphemoose, and we are unanimoose in this decision.

Just deserts: The Desert of Maine (yes, Maine)

This great vintage postcard was for sale in the gift shop. Published by Bromley & Company, Inc., Boston, 15, Mass.

The great state of Maine is known for its piney terrain, rocky coast, cold weather, moose, lobsters, and a desert. A desert? Ay-yah, a desert. The Desert of Maine, to be precise, in the small coastal town of Freeport (home of L.L. Bean), a little north of Portland. But unlike the Mojave, Gobi, or Kalahari, this desert is the result of man's folly. If you go back 10,000 years (the good old days), glaciers left a sandy silt all over southern Maine. Then, over the next centuries, topsoil formed, allowing vegetation and agriculture to grow. A Mr. William Tuttle bought 300 acres of this land in 1797 and farmed it successfully for decades, but eventually, poor crop rotation and overgrazing by sheep ruined the soil and caused it to erode -- so much so that that layer of Ice Age silt became exposed and claimed the farm and its buildings despite the Tuttles' best efforts. Having lost the farm, they tried using the sand for brick making, but the sand was lousy for that, too, and the bricks fell apart. In 1917, a Mr. Henry Goldrup bought the place and hit pay dirt by turning it into a tourist attraction. In 1925, The Desert of Maine opened for business and it's been a thriving mecca for eccentric roadside attraction fans ever since, bringing in 30,000 curiosity seekers a year in recent times. A guided half-hour trolley tour takes you across the 40-acre property, a lot of which has been reclaimed by grass and trees. You're riding on a 50-plus-foot sand dune, reminiscent of a ski slope, but with sand instead of snow. Our friendly guide Nate gave us all kinds of information about the geology and how the sand basically took over the place like a slow-moving tsunami. Originally, and in keeping with the desert theme, live camels roamed the place and greeted guests, and employees dressed in Bedouin garb. Unfortunately, camels are not the most hospitable animals, and when the stink and spitting became too much, they were given to a local zoo. Donkey carts were used for tours and this proved successful until local officials insisted a full-time veterinarian was required for any business employing animals thusly, so they were replaced by today's truck-pulled trams. An added bonus for today's tourists is the Sand Museum located in an adjacent barn, featuring vials of sand from as far away as Figi and Alaska. They also have a retro-tastic gift shop and campground.

So if you find yourself in Freeport, Maine, don't bury your head in the sand...check out the Desert of Maine. I double dromedary you.

Bean there, done that: Freeport, Maine's L.L. Bean flagship store

I love a good "ruined" picture. Here are a few of me in front of the giant boot at L.L. Bean.

Boot cookies (a sweet deal for not a lot of dough).

Bear with me on this.

Mmmm...I thought I smelled buck nip!

Come 'n' git it!

Mrs. Bean's trout, caught at Moosehead on July 8, 1953.

Just keepin' it reel.

They've got some cool exhibits of vintage merchandise. These items are from the 1930s.

This unclaimed personalized bag is for sale at the outlet store. It's an especially good bargain if your name happens to be Patti Hall.

Leon Leonwood Bean, founder of the company...

...not to be confused with that other famous Mr. Bean.

In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean (L.L. to you and me) was tired of getting his feet wet while moose hunting in the woods of Maine. He came up with a boot made up of lightweight leather uppers and rubber bottoms, set up shop in his brother's Freeport, Maine basement, printed up some fliers and thus began one of the nation's most successful mail order businesses. Almost 100 years later, the L.L. Bean company is still located in Freeport, with a giant campus of clothing, hunting, fishing, boating, skiing, camping and furniture stores on Main Street. And the Bean boot, or Maine Hunting Shoe, is still a popular item, as the giant 16-foot photo-op model outside their door will attest. Inside the store, you'll find a trout pond, aquarium, stuffed animals, and lots of friendly, knowledgeable employees to advise you on the proper weight of waders or gauge of Gortex. I'm not exactly what you'd call an outdoorsman (roughing it for me is a motel room with only 10 channels on cable), but it's still very entertaining walking through a retail temple to the great outdoors like this. Orange dog safety vest? Right over here. Swarovski Z3 rifle scope? Behind you. Under Armour Evolution ColdGear leggings? You just passed them. And if all this isn't enough, there's an outlet store across the street with clearance items and markdowns on unclaimed personalized tote bags (where are you, Patti Hall?). If you can't have a good eccentric roadside time here, well, you just don't know Bean's.