New Hampshuh revisited

As we were planning this trip, whenever New England was mentioned, Emily brought up a few things she would like to experience – fresh lobster, camping in Acadia, and seeing lighthouses. It was our assumption that every town along the coast of New England would have a rocky coast with a lighthouse. You can only imagine our disappointment when stop after stop, we saw “Lighthouse Motel” or “Lighthouse Gifts,” but never an actual lighthouse.

Then we got to Portsmouth.

Portsmouth is one of the oldest cities in New Hampshire, there's a lot of Revolutionary War-era history (Paul Revere rode here!) and has since become a "popular summer tourist destination" according to Wikipedia. Portsmouth also happens to be the home of our friend Kelly, who graciously took us into her home and showed us some of the highlights of her town, including...

Built in 1771, rebuilt in 1804, and finally re-rebuilt in 1878, the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse is a fully-functioning lighthouse which has been under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard since the late 1940’s. Luckily for us, a few lighthouse enthusiasts started up the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and they agreed to a deal with the Coast Guard – they will work on the upkeep of the lighthouse, and they also get to give tours of the lighthouse. We (obviously) took the tour.

The stairway leading up to the top of the lighthouse.

After the lighthouse, Kelly took us on a whirlwind tour of the rest of the city of Portsmouth.

Our hostess and tour guide, Kelly

Lunch was a phenomenal jumbo lobster roll from Petey's

Kelly and Emily exploring the rocky shores of New Hampshire

The rocky shores of New Hampshire (that's Whaleback Lighthouse in the distance)

Downtown Portsmouth

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying good food and good company, and a great view from the dock outside Kelly's house. Tomorrow we begin the trip home - next stop, New Jersey!

Our New England vacation is finally complete!