Sometimes the best adventures don’t start with a plan – they sneak up on you when you’re just standing around at work, coffee in hand, swapping stories with your fellow workkampers.
One crisp afternoon, a friend was telling us about this quirky little challenge at Reny’s – if you visit all their stores, you get to tour the factory and even a spot on their Hall of Fame Board. Very Maine. Very adorable.
But here’s where my brain did a little “oops.” Somewhere between laughing with friends and admiring those first pops of autumn color, I swapped Reny’s for Marden’s. Later that night, down the rabbit hole of Google, I was convinced our friend had said Marden’s… and that’s how I discovered the Marden’s Bargain Tour.
Here’s how it works: if you visit all 14 Marden’s stores scattered across Maine, you walk away with a t-shirt, a $100 gift card, and a swag bag. If you visit 7 stores, you still score a $25 gift card and a small prize. Basically: a bargain-hunting road trip in disguise.
Now, Maine is huge. Moose-postal-code huge. All 14 wasn’t happening this year. But 7? Totally doable. And just like that—while pumpkin spice was taking over the world and Jasper gave us his signature unimpressed look – our accidental side quest began.
Camping in Saco meant the Biddeford Marden’s was practically in our backyard, so it was the perfect first stop.
We grabbed our official Bargain Passports and got our very first stamp. It felt like we were in on a secret club. Layla immediately found a pair of fall leaf earrings that screamed cozy vibes, while I grabbed snacks for Jasper and Biscuit (because clearly, the cats are the ones running this show).
That same evening, we had plans to see The Roses in Sanford with Miles and Steven – so naturally, we squeezed in a stop at the Sanford Marden’s first.
And this is where we found the boots. Picture this: insanely bedazzled hot pink thigh-high boots that looked like they’d escaped from either a Vegas drag show or Prince’s lost wardrobe. Layla’s face in the photo? Priceless. Equal parts horrified and intrigued.
Once we stopped laughing, Layla managed to make some practical finds: a ridiculously soft Snoopy blanket she’d wanted at TJMaxx (but ten bucks cheaper here) and a pair of s’mores earrings to add to her growing foodie-themed collection.
Then we headed to the theater, and while the movie was amazing, honestly, those boots stole the night.
A few days later, we swung by Scarborough. But this stop wasn’t about quirky treasures – it was about survival.
Layla’s RV bunk bed had been torturing her, and for just $10, she found a mattress pad that turned her rock-hard bunk into a cozy haven. That night, she slept like a baby. Sometimes the best bargains aren’t flashy – they just save your back.
Next came a bigger day trip where we tackled multiple stores, starting with Gray.
This Marden’s was smaller, but still packed with deals. A lot of inventory repeats from store to store, but each one hides a few surprises. Layla’s find of the day was a sturdy Merrill tote bag, which she loves.
Then came Lewiston, and this one was a gem. The store was big, bustling, and had a fabric section so huge it could probably cover the entire state of Maine in quilts.
Layla scored her birthday heels here – cute, classy, and exactly her vibe – plus a pair of hoops to match. She didn’t just try them on; she gave them a full test drive by skipping around the shoe section like she was strutting a runway. The look on her face said it all: these heels were winners.
After Lewiston, we drove out to Farmington, the newest Marden’s location at the time. They were still expanding the space, but it already had fresh, grand-opening energy.
This store ended up being Layla’s favorite. She found a Merrill hiking bag that instantly became her everyday purse and, in classic Layla fashion, a bug zapper shaped like a tennis racket. Because swatting mosquitoes the boring way? That’s not our style.
Our final stop for the year was Waterville. We fueled up at Ruby Tuesday (salad bar love forever) before heading in.
Layla picked up some nail polish here, though it turned out a little disappointing. We were more excited about collecting our prize for hitting 7 stores, but the staff explained the goodie bags had to be shipped. Luckily, they offered to send ours to Biddeford, saving us another long drive.
When our goodie bag finally arrived, we tore into it like kids at Christmas. We had been guessing – maybe a keychain? A koozie? A hat?
Nope. Three stickers. That’s it.
Slightly anticlimactic, but hey – it came with our $25 gift cards, and honestly, the adventure was worth more than any prize bag could’ve been.
So, will we finish the Bargain Tour? Absolutely. Leaving it halfway done would feel like quitting a Netflix series mid-season. Next year we’ll tackle the other seven stores and claim that $100 gift card, the t-shirt, and the so-called “big” goodie bag (which I fully expect to be… more stickers).
But at the end of the day, this wasn’t really about prizes. It was about laughing together over rhinestone boots and turning a bargain hunt into a Maine road trip adventure.
And that, my friends, is a win every single time.
And don’t get caught saying – “I should have bought it, when I saw it … at Marden’s!”
Travel Turtles 