So upon finding my suitcase was filled with a lot of purple clothing, inappropriate for the weather conditions, I did manage to dress and we spent most of the day in Portsmouth, NH.
{Image source here.}
Let me tell you, that was a majorly good decision. Portsmouth is, #1 adorable; #2 delicious; and #3 pretty darn walkable. I highly recommend that you visit. I’ll tell you how we spent the day, but I’m sure there are loads more fun things to do that we missed out on.
We started our day off at the Friendly Toast. I tried to get some photos to show you, but honestly, it was a little dim and I was way too busy nom-noming on some of the most amazing pancakes I’ve ever had.
So when you go, remember–you need to go to Portsmouth–start your day here. These beautiful photos are from their lovely website. You should go and look at their other spiffy photos. And their menu while you’re at it.
After breakfast we took a stroll around town. We didn’t make it too far though. Just a few doors down from The Toast. A little place called Diversions. AKA–our paradise.
You guys, it is a game store! Not a game store like those places that call them game stores, but really just sell Dungeons and Dragons stuff. This is a legit board game a puzzle store. It is so amazing. Games that we thought were discontinued, games that we’d never heard of, games we added to our Christmas list. We like games. And the best part of all, was that they had a big shelf with “demo games,” and tables set up. So you could try out a new game before committing to buying it.
AND–they have weekly gaming meet ups. So. Cool. We spent 90 minutes playing games and left with just one–only because we flew and didn’t have the space for more.
Next we walked the town a little more. We took a stroll through the Book Bar. Way cute and a must-stop for book lovers.
A big highlight for me was Prescott Park. Although we were there pretty early in the season, and not all the flowers were blooming it was still breathtaking. No matter how fancy my new smart-phone is, it really didn’t do it justice. And I left my “fancy” camera in the car {WHY?} So I got these photos from online sources to show you the park in all it’s glory. Click the images to see their original sources.
From Portsmouth we continued our journey, after all, we did travel east with the intention of going to Maine. We crossed over to Kittery, ME, which proved to have something for each of us. Outlets for me, since I packed like an idiot. And, historic Fort McClary for Derek. {Little did I know at this point we were embarking on a fort tour of Maine…}
Oh, and while we were doing the military history thing…we went ahead and toured the USS Albacore, a retired experimental submarine. Even though it smelled really weird, it was pretty interesting {and cheap.} I don’t know–Derek and I are easy to please, so it’s hard for us not to have a good time.
It was a great way to kick off the trip. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about our days and nights in the Boothbay Harbor region…and my new understanding of what defines a “summer cottage.” Stay tuned!
Amy
PS–looking for more fun in Portsmouth? We got some of our ideas from this article–and I’d bet the rest are just as fabulous.
