2 Best Sights in The Southern Coast, Maine

Ten miles east of Biddeford lies Ocean Park, a vacation community founded in 1881 by Free Will Baptist leaders as a summer assembly with both religious and educational purposes, following the example of Chautauqua, New York. The 1881 Temple, in an unusual octagon shape, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Today the community hosts an impressive variety of cultural events, from concerts to sand-sculpture contests. There's even a public shuffleboard area for vacationers not interested in the neon carnival attractions in Old Orchard Beach just up the road. Get an old-fashioned raspberry-lime rickey at the Ocean Park Soda Fountain, at Furber Park.

Surrounded by forest, this popular zoo has more than 50 species of exotic animals, including lions, kangaroos, ring-tail lemurs, zebras, and numerous monkeys. There's a nostalgic charm to the amusement park, which includes bumper cars, food, and games, and a Ferris wheel with an ocean view, and offers discounts for kids under 10.