Waterville's Finest

Waterville, Maine is a summertime town full of family businesses and outdoorsy folk. Girls in white dresses and John Deere Tractors? These are a few of my favorite things in Waterville:

1. Riverside Cafe: This cafe/bakery/wine shop is at its best during Sunday brunch. Live guitarists and fiddlers play throughout the morning and lobster eggs benedict, scallion and crab quiche, molasses cookies and berry gelato are just some of the tasty delights on the menu. Don't leave without picking up a bottle of wine (or two) from the adjacent shop.

2. Yard Sales: Just drive down any residential road in Waterville and you are sure to pass yard sales that last all summer. And when the summer is over, many cover the table with a tarp and open again when the snow melts off from the winter. Why? Because one's trash is another's treasure.

3. TJ's Pool Hall: At this family-owned joint, you can play on one of the 30 pool tables, choose music at the jukebox and enjoy a pitcher of beer. Look for Tyler, the nine-year-old daughter in wheely sneakers-she's a real pool shark.

4. Line Dancing at Coyote's: Get out your cowboy boots and cut a rug at Coyote's. The local bar offers country line dancing nights that are a hoot.

5. Early Bird Cafe: Don't go if you are on a diet-The Early Bird Cafe is the best greasy spoon in town. The grilled triple berry muffin and number five are highly recommended.

6. Railroad Square Cinemas: The movie theater plays the best current indy films and is a host of a major film festival during the summer. Go on Monday nights when tickets are discounted.

7. Bootleggers: Waterville's watering hole with a roof deck. Get your free popcorn snack on the way in and enjoy a pint under the stars.

8. Freedom Cafe: This dining establishment is owned by a Colby College professor and offers plenty of Southern comfort food. The prix fixe dinner menu includes a vegetable, side, meat and dessert and the mac and cheese has quite a following. Wash it all down with the sweet iced tea. Gospel brunch on Sunday.

9. The Green Spot: This specialty grocery store offers perfect picnic fare. From fine cheeses and baked goods to blueberry jam and fiddleheads, The Green Spot has the freshest ingredients to offer gourmands.

10. Gifford's: Everybody's favorite! Moosetracks, Maine Black Bear and Caribou Caramel are some of the unmatched ice cream flavors that this ice cream stand scoops everyday. Make an evening of it with a game of mini golf and some hits in the batting cages.