Spring Break 3: From Portsmouth, NH, to Portland, ME

Pffuuhh, two days no writing while driving up the coast of New England. Too much to make up for. We'll have to work with some summaries here. Leaving Seabrook, NH, on Sunday, we drove 15 miles into Portsmouth, NH. I guess Portsmouth is a nice town if you wanna see a mid-sized New England seaport. It has several large bridges (at least two of them lift bridges) spanning the Piscatasqua River which forms the natural border to the great state of Maine. We spent some time at the port and downtown where we found some interesting things:

These are gambling skeletons.

This is a beer ad.

The is a cupcake on a swing, with a cherry.

This is a fancy cake.

   

  

   The first place we visited in Maine was the Nubble Lighthouse at Cape Neddick. It sits on a tiny black rock island maybe 20 feet away from the mainland and even somewhat connected to it by a kind of ford made of washed up cobbles and and scree. The clouds hung deep in the sky and the day was very gloomy, so that the entire scene seemed kind of sombre and dismal, which is ,of course!, the perfect setting for a lighthouse. 

Nubble Lighthouse at Cape Neddick, Maine

   That evening, back in Portsmouth, we had some good seafood at The Common Man. The restaurant's interior seemed to be made more for less "common" people, like they'd cater more for the upper middle class. But it wasn't as pricey as it appeared, so we could feel like Russian oligarchs at a reasonable price.

   Getting up early again the next morning, we drove 26 miles north to Kennebunkport, ME (another nice, very small fishing and seaport town) and then farther up the coast for 44 miles until we came to Maine's largest city, Portland. See some scenes from that trip here:

   Portland is an interesting city. Had temperatures been above freezing, I'm sure it would have been what advertisers like to call 'vibrant.' Situated on and around a peninsula, Portland has dozens of wharves and docks. And you know how it is with such cities--not every building that used to house industry is still maintained for that purpose. Art seems to have found its way into Portland. Also great downtown redbrick buildings, old and new, fancy seafood restaurants and more affordable comfy pubs--Portland has em.

It even has--who woulda thought?--three segments of the Berlin wall! Oh, and, of course, lobster ads everywhere!

If I'll find the time to write tomorrow I'll address our trip from Portland to the Acadia National Park today. Four hour ride along a beautiful coast on a beautiful day. Then the Park with lots of snow, some summits, an incredible beach, and nice views on the blue Atlantic. And then three hours back west through Maine's hilly and thickly forested hinterland while the dark night creeps in, to the state capital Augusta. From here, tomorrow, we'll drive to New Hampshire's White Mountains.

Thanks for reading!