LL Bean has announced that it is opening a new store in the Chicagoland area. YESSSSSSSSSS!!! The Grand Opening will take place in September of this year, and I am SO going to be there.

Not that I don't love Freeport, but really - back and forth to Barrington? That's a day trip. A long day, perhaps - breeze in, buy the khakis and the Bean boots, and hit the road again - but do-able.

I hope they have a trout pond!

Cabela's offers a good alternative, but it is just NOT LL Bean. We discovered Bean's when we lived in Maine, and although we couldn't afford anything except Lobster Pops the year we lived there, I have been a steady customer ever since. Their camping gear is truly outstanding and I totally love the clothes. If I never bought a single garment from anywhere else, I would not mind.

I'd better go alert Barb to my impending arrival . . . :)