INDOOR PURSUITS

            As they say in New England, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute!” Sometimes you must wait a little longer and outdoor activities are not an option, unless you like shoveling snow or singing in the rain.  Fortunately for citizens and vacationers alike, Bethel has an abundance of indoor options for that rainy day.

            Bethel’s Main Street shopping experience offers the simple to the sublime.  Maine Line Products sells handmade birdhouses, Maine-made jellies and jams and “weathersticks” – balsam fir door ornaments that indicate changes in the weather.  Mt. Mann Jewelers offers fine handcrafted jewelry and a subterranean cellar, “The Crystal Cave,” for kids to mine the rocks for precious stones.  The Philbrook Place, a restored Victorian house and barn, houses a book store, toy store, yarn/fiber store, off-price deals, and an eclectic women’s & babies’ clothing and gift shop.  It is Bethel’s unique answer to Toys R Us, Reny’s, and Pier One Imports.  In addition, Bethel offers a second book store, a ladies’ dress shop, Scottish-Irish import shop, interior design and floral shop, gift and craft stores, antique shops, and Brooks Bros., not the haberdashery, but the local hardware store where you can buy anything and everything for that rainy day project.

            Other indoor options include a visit to the Bethel Historical Society’s Regional History Center with the Robinson House exhibits, museum gift shop, and a tour through the Dr. Moses Mason House period rooms.  Despite its small size, Bethel has a 20,000-volume library, four-screen movie theater, two video rental stores, and an entertainment center with Maine’s largest laser tag arena, blacklit bowling lanes, and a climbing wall.

            Last but not least, are the “eats.”  Per capita, Bethel may have more restaurants than any other town its size in the United States.  The choices range from over a half dozen options for pizza, natural organic dining, family fare, pub food, & Chinese to gourmet cuisine – American, Italian, Korean, Japanese, & British!  Add these options to local church and grange hall suppers, a summer farmers’ market, produce, wine and specialty food stores, and it is no wonder that Bethel natives and visitors must spend a good amount of time indoors.  

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