we drive to Maine for lobster rolls

and who wouldn't? LOL- TB had never had a traditional lobster roll and so as i was painstakingly describing the special split top bun and the fresh lobster we decided to search for a nearby lobster shack- what I wanted was the Harraseeket Lobster pound or Red's in Wiscasset and so we pulled away from the tourist infested Portsmouth Waterfront and headed with google directions to Perkins Cove.  LOL joke's on us- the Perkins Cover Lobster Shack (a mere twenty minutes away) was possibly more tourist infested than Portsmouth - but it did have REAL lobster rolls....

here are some historic photos from Harraseeket and Red's - both excellent places to stop in Maine for lobster rolls-  the food for there place with the lobster rolls in Harraseeket and then their actual pound- right on the dock-

and Red's a Wiscasset classic-  and right next door you can get really good ice cream in the basement of the hardware store- LOL- gotta love it!

but back to our day- we drove to the Ogunquit area and followed the directions that "the lady" gave us and arrived in the tourist infested waterfront of the over the top cute Perkins Cove... giving meaning to the out of the frying pan into the fire cliche -LOL - but we found it, it was authentic and good- so good we bought an extra roll to split and TB had a second bowl of chowder....

while I was waiting for TB to arrive after driving to northern Maine to park the car- the pedestrian bridge  went up and down and I decided to duck in to the shack and order in case a horde rushed over the bridge and got in line in front of me- LOL (OK I was hungry)

shortly after TB arrived - our food did too- at least the chowder and then shortly the food- (actual lunch shown below)

with the cole slaw opened (LOL)

and the half sandwich that we sent a photo of the Phil - it was sooooo mouthwatering he went out and had a lobster roll that very evening in Chicago!

after lunch we hiked back to our parking spot and headed back to New Hampshire... here some Perkins Cove photos of things along the way---

so we took back roads to NH and landed across the state line in Rochester NH (who even knew they had a Rochester? LOL) and followed some scenic by ways all up along Lake Winnipesaukee, the large lake in NH (through Center Sandwich - which we somehow missed LOL) and on back to Concord where we knew we could find a room at the hour we arrived.  We had dinner at Newick's Lobster House now being fully in "New England seafood mode" after the exemplary lobster rolls at lunch-

I started with some PEI oysters - yum- and as usual they were gone before I took their photo- boohoo - that ALWAYS happens!!!!

TB had the lobster newburg(h?) and I had the seafood Cobb.... TB finished up with a dessert - I skipped that - for once...LOL

the next morning we were up and out for breakfast at the local Corner View in Concord- the location of recent political glad handing by Chris Christie and Marco Rubio (thank god we missed that - DARTs being a politics free zone) - a credible corned beef hash for me and ton-of-starch and protein for TB in the Farmer's Breakfast which came with toast and pancakes and potatoes!

From there we were off to the north for our day's adventure - recounted in the next post.....

by the sea, by the sea

After a modestly late start - we headed out of MHT and over towards the Atlantic via back roads... arriving at the ocean in Hampton Beach NH.  We took the coast road up the length (short) of the NH coast and into Portsmouth.  Our number one choice for "attractions" in Portsmouth was the Strawbery Banke Museum...

Strawbery Banke is an outdoor history museum located in the South End historic district of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is the oldest neighborhood in New Hampshire to be settled by Europeans, and the earliest neighborhood remaining in the present-day city of Portsmouth. It features more than 40 restored buildings built between the 17th and 19th centuries in the Colonial, Georgian, and Federal style architectures. The buildings once clustered around a waterway known as Puddle Dock, which was filled in around 1900. Today the former waterway appears as a large open space.

The neighborhood's history traces back to 1630, when Captain Walter Neale chose the area to build a settlement, naming it after the wild berries growing along the Piscataqua River. Strawbery Banke existed as a neighborhood for four centuries from 1630 to the late 1950s. The neighborhood's buildings were saved from 1950s urban renewal by the efforts of a large group of historic preservationists. Strawbery Banke opened as a museum in 1965 (above from Wikipedia)

the first settlement here was known as Strawbery Banke (for the wild strawberries in the area) then later known as Puddle Dock and was a neighborhood until the area of "urban renewal" when it was threatened with demolition and the locals got together to save and rehab the area - which is now a superb museum.

the map of the grounds of the museum - many houses were open and usually a docent was FULL of information about the house history and artifacts- We also met all three of the role players along the way- the garden lady, the tavern lady and the neighbor minding the 1940s store.

 

a table of puzzle games in the tavern-

Since this community existed for centuries the Museum has several later period buildings- here a store from the war (WWII)  era when rationing was taking place-

the tomatoes looked very good but a sign requested they not be picked as they are grown for the heritage seeds -

this is the oldest surviving house in the Museum and in New Hampshire- 1695

and the final house we toured had two periods in one dwelling as it had been subdivided for multi-family use... one colonial (a store) and one from the 1950s- which of course we found all too familiar- LOL

the paint by numbers "original" oil paintings-

the swing-away can open on the wall-

the Ouija board and Yahtzee! LOL

and some toys survive the generations and centuries as well- a 50s era Hula Hoop and the colonial hoop and stick that kids rolled in that era....at other houses I saw both men and children giving the hoop and stick a try- it certainly does take skill as many of them had only limited luck keeping it rolling before it toppled over--- LOL

next up- we drive along the Portsmouth Waterfront and find hordes of people and then search for lunch....