A Rainy Afternoon in Bangor, Maine

We had a few things to do in Bangor and of course being spring, the weather can be quite unpredictable. It takes about an hour and half to get there from here and it started to rain about half way there. Despite the rain, we ended up having a pretty action-packed and adventurous day.

Our first stop was at Bull Moose, located in the Maine Square Mall. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a sea of new and used goodness. Bull Moose is a chain of stores that sells music, books, movies, video games, toys and gifts and all that good stuff. There are nine locations here in Maine and three in New Hampshire. This place has a great and wide selection for everyone’s needs and interests. I haven’t set foot in a music store in a long time and it felt like I was at a mix of a candy store and a playground. I remember music stores being a staple at the mall and now it seems those joyful days of sorting through different mediums of music was something of the past…..until today! How I have missed actually sorting through CDs in person and then getting home and opening the plastic wrapper and the surprise of discovering what awaits for me inside.

The Bull Moose sign.

The Bull Moose store front.

The Bull Moose neon sign.

A CD rack at Bull Moose.

CD racks in the store.

Music magazines inside the store.

New and used CDs.

We can only hope the next one will be better…….

The book section at Bull Moose.

Next on the list was a visit to Northern Kingdom Music on 349 Harlow Street. I was able to get a few great shots of this inside of the store and their wonderful selection of guitars.

The Northern Kingdom Music storefront.

The inside of Northern Kingdom Music.

A side view of guitars.

Playing the guitar.

A close-up view of playing the guitar.

A display of Epiphone guitars.

Fender guitars for sale.

Guitars on display.

When we were walking back to the car, we spotted this groundhog (Marmota monax) on the side of the parking lot.

We then made our way downtown and stumbled on the Mexicali Blues store located on 1 W Market Square. The store is named after “Mexicali Blues,” which was written by Bob Weir and lyricist John Perry Barlow. Once inside, we were greeted by the music of the Grateful Dead and a very friendly staff. The store has a wonderful selection of hippie and tie dye clothing, women’s bohemian fashions, jewelry, home decor, accessories and gifts. I would love to get back here on another day and spend more time exploring their great selection.

Mexicali Blues Storefront in Bangor, Maine.

Concert posters inside the store.

Statues situated in a window.

The front of Mexicali Blues.

The decorated ceiling of Mexicali Blues.

Clothing racks inside the store.

A view of the street from Mexicali Blues.

Merchandise for sale.

The last stop of the day was a very late lunch. We found this great Irish Pub called Paddy Murphy’s. The pub is located on 24 Main Street in the historic district of Bangor. We enjoyed a pint of Guinness, which is a must at an Irish pub and a wonderful lunch. Our waitress was very hospitable and I believe this place may have made it onto our list of favorite places to eat.

A pint of Guinness. My favorite beer!

The interior of Paddy Murphy’s.

A BarSTuARDS poster.

These are two of the CDs I picked up from Bull Moose as well as one of our favorite movies on DVD, we will be watching for our 19th anniversary this coming June. I had this Tool CD, but misplaced it during one of our several moves. I figured these CDs can tide me over until the new Tool CD comes out. It has been 12 years since the last one! The other CD I picked up is the new A Perfect Circle CD. These two bands share the same singer as well as another band called Puscifer. His name is Maynard James Keenan and he is one of my favorite artists. Maynard just keeps getting better with age, like a fine wine.