Despite the warm weather, there had been signs that summer was coming to an end. The Higgins Beach Market transitioned to opening only for morning coffee this past week.

There’s a ritual to this seasonal business, owned by Phil and Debbie Parker. In season, you’re hard pressed to pay a visit to this little farm stand and not see Debbie there. Always wearing a friendly smile, Deb knows her customers, and can punch the keys of the cash register for the items you will buy before you actually place them on the counter. From reserving the New York Times to remembering the eating patterns and preferences of her customers, she knows what she has to keep in stock and what she’ll need to special order. The Higgins Beach Market is more than a market. It’s an experience, with a humble personal touch, a treasured place unique unto itself.

During summer you can’t chat much with Phil and Deb. A long line snakes to the checkout, as Phil hurries about keeping up with homemade breads, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, roasted chickens and locally grown fruits and vegetables. Come fall, we chat. And sometimes it gets cold in that little farmstand this time of year. Deb begins wearing layers. I find her huddling by her electric heater, counting down the days until closing. Despite the temperatures, her smile doesn’t vanish. It’s all part of doing business in Maine.

She has a lot to smile about. Soon, she and Phil will have seven months off. They would have it no other way. They like their hard work and enjoy their time off, too.

Wearing a sleeveless shirt last Friday, I marveled at the extended summer we were having as my husband and I made our way to Bar Harbor for a mini getaway weekend. Stopping in Searsport for dinner on the way up, I was surprised that even the evening temperatures weren’t beckoning me to put on the sweater.

In Bar Harbor the next morning, the fall breeze and the color of the foliage assured me that summer had surely passed. It was time to put on my layers, too. Cool temperatures didn’t stop the crowds from coming. A cruise ship was in town, and the streets, shops, restaurants and Acadia trails were crawling with people. Local shops catered to this crowd, welcoming visitors with friendly smiles in classic Maine style. Business was booming.

On the way back home, we decided to stop in Freeport to shop, something I normally don’t like to do. Freeport was crawling with people, too. Waiting in line at the L.L. Bean checkout, a couple from Massachusetts was requesting that their merchandise be shipped home to them so that they could avoid paying the Maine sales tax. I chuckled.

Though the temperatures outside may have cooled off, tourism in Maine is hot. Maine should take stock in its people – hardworking, humble, and hospitable, blessed to live in a state abundant with diverse landscapes. It is a place that is scenic, friendly and unassuming – an experience in itself. When it comes to economic development, Maine’s signature brand is tourism. We should capitalize on these assets and give it our authentic personal all. What I witness day in and day out at the Higgins Beach Market, and in my travels last weekend, is authentic hospitality.

Mark Muro, policy director for the Brookings Institution, which authored the report called “Charting Maine’s Future,” said it best: “Harnessing Maine’s quality of place is about Maine realizing the full potential of its own unique place and assets – about Maine becoming more itself.”