New State!

It has been a busy couple weeks here in the northeast. The weekend before last I took a day trip up to New Hampshire and Maine. I had never been to Maine so it was very cool to check another state off my list. Plus it was beautiful! On a gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon I headed north on I-95 towards New Hampshire and Maine. I drove about an hour to get to the Massachusetts border and into New Hampshire. The state whose motto is "Live Free of Die". Or if you prefer Maine's motto "The way life should be". Both I believe are equally awesome. The feel and attitude of the northeast is very different than OR and it is very cool to experience. So anyway, NH lasts about 15 minutes on 95 with the main city being Portsmouth. Then you hit Maine. I stopped in Kittery, Maine which ended up being a town with a tons and tons of outlet shopping...this probably should have been left undiscovered. Now I know where it is. :) From Kittery I headed north on the shore road along the coast of Maine through York and Ogunquit and Wells. It was stunning! Very cold breeze but sunny and quiet. I think it will be quite the opposite in just a few months. Warm and crowded. Homes along the water were boarded up for the winter and my guess is protection from the horrible winter wind.

The feel of the towns along the coast are hard to describe. All the comes to mind is this is exactly what I picture when I picture the northeast. The towns are so cute and feel "like home". They remind me a bit of sisters but with a definite northeast flare. I cant wait to get back and visit again. I think it will be very soon!

On the drive back home I stopped in Portsmouth to visit a friend from Antarctica. It was so great to see him. I spent the afternoon and evening there catching up and exploring the town. It is a town of 40,000 people or so but has such a small feel. It is very cute with shops lining the downtown square and a huge white cathedral in the center. We went to a pub that used to be an bank a hundred years ago. The vault doors were still inside and a huge glass dome sat overhead the tables. I love how eveything has some story to tell that go back hundreds of years.

Here are a few pictures from the trip:





This past weekend my mom came to town and we explored Boston...more to come on that.