The unofficial start to summer brought large crowds to Old Orchard Beach amid questions of how the economy and U.S.-Canada relations will impact the season ahead.
OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine — A sunny and warm Memorial Day kicked off the summer season in Vacationland.
“It’s beautiful. Maine is beautiful,” Cindy True, with her toddler by her side at Old Orchard Beach, said Monday.
“The sun’s finally out, so we wanted to be near the ocean,” Andy Arsenault of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, added.
The warm weather and long weekend brought out crowds, signaling the return of a hectic but lucrative season ahead for local businesses.
Summer St. Louis works at Bill’s Pizza, a staple in the center of town, and said the flood of tourists this weekend marks the beginning of a surge in customers.
“It’s usually extremely busy. In the summer, we’ll have a line past Dairy Queen, and it goes …