Ironically, no recession-inspired, Yankee-thrifty vacation in Maine would be complete without a spending spree. I'm talking about outlet stores, for which a couple of towns -- Kittery and Freeport -- are famous. Hey, you're probably going to buy gifts for the holidays anyway, so why not get them for 40 percent off?

On a September trip to our $700-a-week cottage an hour from Bar Harbor, my husband, David, and I decided to stop in both towns to see what all the fuss was about.

Kittery, on the southernmost tip of Maine, just across the New Hampshire border, was a pleasant little place. We popped into J.Crew (cashmere sweaters 30 percent off), Polo (polo shirts 30 percent off) and a couple other stores, including the Kittery Trading Post, which is not an outlet but a huge sportsman's shop that Esquire recently named one of the best guy stores ever, or something to that effect. There are three floors of apparel, footwear, gear and gadgets for those who love the great outdoors. There was even a tent sale behind the store -- a great big tent in which they were selling, well, tents.

We had a quick and tasty lunch of fish and chips at The Original Shack, a little counter-service place that is part of the Weathervane Seafood Restaurant just across the road from the Trading Post. Then it was on to Freeport, about an hour north on I-95.

Here, we discovered that Kittery is just a decoy outlet. For those retail hunters truly determined to bag great buys, Freeport is mecca. First, it has more than 200 outlets, shops and restaurants, all within walking distance of one another. Second, it's a historic village, and every shop looks like a quaint little New England boutique.

In that cute boutique you are likely to see the jacket that you bought last year for your kid, but here's it's 40 percent off. A sampling of our faves: North Face, Cole Haan, Burberry, Brooks Brothers, J.Crew, Polo Ralph Lauren and Hartmann luggage. Sprinkled among the shops are places to refuel, like Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's.

Freeport is also home to L.L. Bean, which has an outlet store in the village, but we found that outlet to be somewhat disappointing (the one in Ellsworth, for example, had a much better selection of merchandise). Perhaps this is because it wants you to spend your time in its main complex, which is a beautiful and almost overwhelming collection of stores: the L.L. Bean Flagship Store; L.L. Bean Hunting & Fishing store; L.L. Bean Bike, Boat & Ski Store; and the L.L. Bean Home store. The first three are connected to each other, but each is a vast two-story space filled artfully with everything from kayaks and tote bags to fur-lined hats and Bean boots. Almost everything is priced as it is in the catalog, but here you can feel textures (my husband found the perfect pair of socks, at last!) and see true colors (the new plaid tote bags are eye-popping!). Plus you can try things on, which is, of course, half the fun, especially when what you are trying on is a red plaid hat lined with rabbit fur.

The new Home store -- packed with hooked rugs, New England-style decor, Adirondack chairs, croquet sets and the like -- lies across a green space from the rest of the complex, creating a kind of town-common effect. In the green space and on the plaza outside the flagship store, vendors are set up under umbrellas and tents, selling lobster rolls and other treats. The Bean people also use this space for demonstrations, sporting expos and outdoor concerts, creating a festivallike atmosphere. Add to this the fact that the place is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a week; the staff is unusually perky and pleasant; and the vast parking lot always seems filled, and you've sort of got a retail version of Disneyland, Maine-style.

We spent an afternoon and then a full morning in Freeport, and by lunchtime, we were completely shopped out. We stopped for lunch at Linda Bean's Perfect Maine Lobster Rolls, a little outdoor stand attached to the L.L. Bean Bike, Boat & Ski Shop. They were pricey sandwiches at $15.50 a pop, but they were pretty darn perfect with a quarter pound of melt-in-your-mouth herbed lobster meat packed into a buttered, toasted hot-dog roll.

But it was time to leave Freeport and move on. If we kept on grabbing great recession-priced bargains like the ones we'd already snagged, we'd go broke.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.