Saturday, July 13, 2013

Portsmouth

Recently I took a trip to Portsmouth, NH, with my mom to meet up with my brother, Joe, and his girlfriend, Susan. Just an FYI for those who may not be aware, I have a husband named Joe as well as a brother. Yes, it gets confusing sometimes, and yes, I frequently say not my brother, but my husband or vice versa.

Unlike the Montana trip, Portsmouth was not something I had dreamed about since childhood. As I got older, visiting New England became something I wanted to do for sure, but it wasn't something that consumed me like Montana. I have to say this was such an amazing trip. It is a tie between the Montana trip and this one as to which is the best vacation I have taken. Not only did I get to experience the quaint town of Portsmouth, but I also got to go to Maine! Maine has been on my list of places I have wanted to go since I was young :).

As with most of my vacations, this was a trip that had almost no plans to it. I really prefer to vacation like that. I like to get up and decide what's gonna happen rather than make plans eons in advance. While this was a trip that had very minimal planning, it was a busy one indeed. I went to an authentic lobster dinner in Maine, saw amazing lighthouses, viewed some pretty awesome whales, visited some great beaches, and got to watch some spectacular fireworks from the comfort of our backyard.

My mom and I took the train from Baltimore to Boston. I seriously love traveling by train. I enjoy seeing countryside, the rocking, and the leg room isn't so bad. After a 7 hour train ride, moms and I arrived in Boston and met up with Joe and Susan. From there it was about an hour drive to Portsmouth. We stayed at Susan's mom's house. She lives in this great old home she has renovated and really made beautiful. It was a mill house at one time and backs up to a mill pond. The view is truly beautiful. As soon as we arrived in Portsmouth, I was in love. It really is the quintessential New England town. There are homes that date back to the mid 1700s. The fact that they are still standing is amazing to me, and all I want to do is sell Small House Love and head north. I love old homes! I know they require a lot of love and care, but I say the older the better :-).
Our lovely accommodations 
Portsmouth or bust! 

One of the coolest things we did was go whale watching. I have always wanted to go whale watching. We went with the Granite State Whale Watching tours, and it was a terrific tour. We started our tour bright and early. It was a beautiful sunny day, with calm seas, and a full boat. On our tour, we saw 8 minke whales and one giant finback whale. The finback is the second largest animal on the planet! They can reach up to 80ft and consume one million calories a day! Minkes are a smaller whale coming in at a sensible 20-30 ft. Unfortunately, I only got about 1 or 2 pics, but I have the memories, and sometimes you just gotta live in the moment.

We also took a visit to Nubble Lighthouse in Maine. I did get lots of pics there :). Nubble Lighthouse is set on this beautiful cliff overlooking the ocean, as all lighthouses need to, and it is spectacular. Like Portsmouth, Nubble is the quintessential lighthouse.

The only thing missing from this trip was the hubs. We forgot that Joe can work from anywhere, so he got left behind :(.

Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure :)

Cheers!









Tides out

Lighthouse every where you turn!

Poor little lobsters....

Can you guess my plate??? Lasagna anyone??

Classic New England



Cheesing it up at Nubble Lighthouse




Moms, Joe, and me :)

Lovely Portsmouth street :)





The front view of our accommodations :) 


Downtown Portsmouth

Downtown Portsmouth

Downtown Portsmouth

Market Square





Susan! Our tour guide



Susan grew up in this house!