Northeast Vacation - Day 1

Sorry for the delay!  The internet at our apartment isn't fast enough to download pictures for blogposts.  So, yet again, I would like to thank Starbucks for providing me with excellent internet.  And cake pops.

This past weekend, Don and I took a mini vacation to the great Northeast!  We visited Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.  I took so many pictures, so bear with me as I post day-by-day.  There are just too many pictures to choose from!

The very first day, we left early to make our way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Portsmouth is a small town on the coast, only about an hour north of Boston.  The downtown area is quaint, and we enjoyed learning about the history of the town.

Here I am, quite excited to leave our apartment.

We visited an area of the city called Strawberry Banke.  Strawberry Banke is the site of the first British settlement in Portsmouth.  The area is now an outdoor museum, with cabins and small shops set up much like it would have looked back in the early 1600's. 

The crew was building a new wooden ship in the shipyard!  It amazed me to watch the process.  I kept imagining Nephi building his ship with little or no experience under his belt.  Quite an amazing task, if you ask me.

We visited a handful of historical houses.  This picture is in the backyard of Governor John Langdon's home.  It was built in 1784, and apparently it was quite well known in its glory days.  George Washington was a guest on several occasions.  In his journal, GW wrote, "Portsmouth, it is said, contains about 5,000 inhabitants. There are some good houses, among which Col. Langdon’s may be esteemed the first". 

Don and I thought these were cool.  Tons of the houses had these ancient/remodeled-to-look-ancient rain gutters.  I suppose this is what they looked like back the day.  All wood!

Every summer, the city of Portsmouth plants a "trial" garden near the harbor.  This means they invite botanists to plant over 500 different varieties of flowers.  The flowers were stunning.  We really enjoyed walking around the gardens. 

The picture below is the Portsmouth Harbor.  It turns out Portsmouth is very industrial.  I think this is the only background section that didn't have metal beams in it.

After Portsmouth, we drove another hour or so to Portland, Maine.  Don had an interview in Portland last year, so it was fun to go back and explore.  Portland is a lot like Portsmouth, except it is much bigger, and much less industrial.  It is known for its lobster and seafood.

We spotted these donuts in a shop window.  We quickly came to the realization that they were made of glass!  By the KGB, of course.  

Portland Harbor.

There is a section of town called "Old Port" that is excellent for meandering.  As its name suggests, it is the "harbor" area of the town.  It has all of the seafood vendors, small ice cream shops, ferry stations, and docks.  As we were wandering, we randomly peaked down an alleyway and found this seafood vendor. 

Seriously, when you walk in, there is nothing but smelly fish and lobster buckets.  Oddly enough, this was one of my favorite stops.  It was really cool to experience the livelihood of Maine-ers. 

Don HELD A LOBSTER!!!  YUCK!  He just asked the guy if he could hold it, and the lobster captain (I just nicknamed him) said sure!  Haha, my favorite is when Don asked for tips about how to hold him.  This was the following conversation:

"Well, just don't hold it too near the tail.  They flip their tales up and they can get you."

Don proceede to ask, "So...what does it mean when they 'get you'?"

The lobster captain nonchalantly answered, "Well, I mean, they'll puncture your skin for sure.  You'll be fine.  Don't hold him near the tail."

They asked me if I wanted to hold it after.  Yeah.  No.

Fish.

Fish Parts.  I tried to edit out the actual fish parts when I took this picture.  They were super gross.  But I wanted to capture the sign...because this is Maine.

For dinner, we drove out to a famous restaraunt called "The Lobster Shack".  It was literally on the water, right on the rocky coast.  Very cool atmosphere.  We took some pictures on the rocks before going in to eat.

We tried to self time some photos.  :)

At The Lobster Shack, we both ordered the famous lobster rolls.  It's just lobster meat with mayonnaise, stuffed inside a piece of toasted white bread.  Served cold, apparently.  We weren't actually too thrilled with them.  Especially not when the cold, chewy lobster costs you $34 dollars...

Apart from the lobster rolls, however, the day was very fun.  We enjoyed visiting the small coastal towns and learning their history.

Day 1 complete!  Day 2 is on its way!