Staff Writer

 When it comes to summer vacation in Old Orchard Beach, the sun is always welcome.

Old Orchard Beach business owners said a sunny summer was enough to push away memories of last summer, when frequent rains put a damper on the tourist season.

At Powder Horn Family Camping Resort and Hid’n Pines Family Campground on Cascade Road, the Ahearn family saw a successful season with lots of happy tourists.

“Everything lined up this year to be as successful as we could be,” said Jason Ahearn, who manages the parks with his brother, Ryan. “It seems like there was a strong blend of both New England traffic and Canadian and Quebec clientele.”

Even forecasts predicting Hurricane Earl would swirl into New England just in time for Labor Day weekend did not cause a flurry of canceled reservations. The hurricane blew out to sea and left the state with only a little rain and no widespread power outages. Ahearn said many campers called ahead as they struggled with whether or not to head to Maine for the weekend.

“In the end, as far as Labor Day weekend goes, we were probably off just a bit,” Ahearn said. “I feel bad for the people who decided not to come.”

Cindy Gurry, who owns Beach Villa Motel and Cottages with her husband, Bob, said the hurricane forecast resulted in two cancellations at their 20-unit motel. They were able to rebook two nights and Gurry said overall the season was strong.

“We had an excellent summer season. The weather definitely helped that,” she said.

Unlike last summer, Gurry said it was not uncommon to turn away as many as 20 groups a day looking for a vacant room. Many of their customers book longer stays because the units have a full kitchen and are larger than many in the area, she said.

Bud Harmon, director of the Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce, said business owners indicated they had a strong season, though many people also told him tourists are still budget conscious. Though people still come to the beach for vacation, they may not go out to breakfast every day or spend as much on souvenirs, he said.

“I think overall the summer went extremely well. In general people did quite well. I haven’t heard any complaints,” Harmon said. “I just think it was a great season. It was nice to see business owners smiling and happy.”

At Beach Bagels, employees got a breather Tuesday morning as they waited on regular customers trickling in for coffee and a bagel. Owner Guy Loranger said his sales were up 12 to 15 percent over last summer, which he dubbed a “washout.” Sunny and warm weather attracted more people to the beach, he said.

Lorraine Lemire, who lives at Cider Hill in Old Orchard Beach, said she likes the town both before and after Labor Day.

“We like it both ways. We like it when it’s hectic, but when it quiets down we love it,” she said as she headed to an outside table for breakfast with friends.

Maine Turnpike Authority Spokesman Bruce Pelletier said overall traffic on the Turnpike was down nearly 5 percent from last Labor Day weekend. On Friday night, traffic was down 19 percent from last year, which he attributed to uncertainty about the hurricane. Traffic on Saturday increased slightly, though the total number of cars was down 2 percent from last year.

A total of 1,071,859 vehicles traveled the turnpike between Kittery and Augusta, down from 1,113,316 for the same four-day holiday weekend in 2009, Pelletier said.

Even as his crews clean up after a long holiday weekend and the last holiday vacationers rolled out of town, Ahearn said he is looking forward to the rest of the season – however short it may be. For the second time in about 40 years, Powder Horn will stay open through Columbus Day weekend for people headed to Maine for autumn activities. Ahearn hopes that, like summer, the rest of the season is full of happy campers.

“Every day people were just smiling and laughing and happy. It was full of fun in the sun all day every day,” Ahearn said. “Everything was just excellent all summer long. It was an ideal summer.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213, or news@inthecourier.com.