Two in the morning. Friday night. The four of you have been to a movie, then to a party, but now you're bored. You've wandered through the Square, but every place is closed except Tommy's and The Tasty; and you're sick of those. Harvard is soooo small.

As wanderlust hits, your roommate suggests you go for a ride in his car. On the spur of the moment, the four of you hop into the car and head northward to the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.

Nowhere is Freeport, Maine. Until barely three years ago, Freeport was a sleepy New England town, a spot on a map just off the interstate with a post office, a gas station, and an ice cream store on Main Street. At that time, the town's only distinguishing feature was a world famous mail order company--the nation's only L.L. Bean store.

Today, however, Freeport has become a discount shopper's mecca.

In the early days, most travelers ventured to Freeport only to shop at Bean's. If outdoorsy families wanted to buy a tent, a kayak, moose hunting equipment or a just a pair of duck shoes, they piled in the station wagon and made the road trip through Massachusetts and New Hampshire to Freeport.

But to New England college students, the pilgrimage to Freeport is now fast becoming the weekend equivalent of Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale.

All kinds of students--from die-hard preppies to rugged mountain climbers, and from the merely curious to the nomadic--have made the three-hour trip north from Boston. Many choose the wee hours of the morning for the scenic drive and find Bean's open and doing business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Store hours haven't changed since 1951. There aren't even locks on the doors.

Some students voyage northward during the day to escape the winter doldrums and view the pine tree-filled beaches characteristic of the Maine scenery. Others have friends at Bowdoin College, just half an hour up the interstate in Brunswick. Quite a few unite the twin attractions of a road trip and shopping spree.

There are, of course, the less obvious reasons. "It's the beef jerky if you really want to know," says one student traveler, who bought several packages of the meaty delicacy last weekend before leaving the store.

For students with hectic academic schedules, a clothing and outdoors version of Store 24 is a real convenience. "I don't really have a lot of time to do a lot of Christmas shopping, so I can get something for everyone," says a student from Bradford College in Bradford, Mass.

At the Harraseeket Inn, a lodging just down the street from Bean's, acting manager Penny Gray describes it differently. "They buy a tent, but what they really buy is a [rugged] state of mind."

Bargain Hunting

A state of mind isn't the only commodity available in Freeport. Although Bean's is the only store open all night long, the town now boasts a daytime line-up that might make even Manhattan proud.

In the last three years an explosion of outlets has turned Main Street into a name-brand heaven. For those inclined toward dapper preppiness, Polo-Ralph Lauren has opened a factory outlet which sells at drastic discounts. Hathaway shirts, Bass shoes--and its competitors Dexter and Timberland--also have joined the crowd. Even London Fog raincoats can be bought in this once-sleepy village. For those interested in kitchenware or furniture, there are Corning Designs and Dansk.

Benetton has followed with a sweater store, although it sells clothing at full price. A few of the local salts at Benetton claim that Perry Ellis and Sergio Valente may also open stores soon.