Well, the weekend is coming to a close. The sky is clear, the sun is out, and another stellar day beckons. What a fun weekend. On Saturday, we had breakfast with our friends like we normally do. Then, at 11:30, our neighbors, Linda and Peter, arranged a boat tour and invited us to ask our friends. Jim and Sue came and so did Erik and his entire family.
This was a new tour to Wally and I, as Lowell offers several. Each is only 8 dollars and in this economy, that is a bargain for over an hour and a half of interesting history on the coolness of the water. Wally, Jim and Erik compared their lenses. You know, it was that size thing again. It was a nice photo shoot for all of us, me and my tiny Canon PowerShot.
Oh, and Erik sweetie, don't forget to take the lens cap off dear! Mwah!
This section of old burnt out buildings will be refurbish in the next few years. Today, it is a reminder of better days. For the pictures of the tour, and the lock system for the Hamilton Canal, click here.
After the tour, all of us walked over to Viet- Thai. It is a nice restaurant in downtown Lowell. It was a nice way to end a day with friends. It was getting late and Wally and I had reservations in Portsmouth, NH. We dashed off to gather our things and then dashed off to NH.
Our first evening in Portsmouth was great. Yes, dinner was at the Brewery. I had their steamed mussels and a small Caesar salad. Wally had their amazing hamburger. We drank Old Brown Dog. Their beer is amazing. We shared a berry cobbler.
The hotel is very nice. We stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. It is elegant and has great beds and pillows. We get lost in the king size bed. It is always clean and does not feel overrun with kids. They have a new pool and spa system that uses salt water instead of chlorine, so the hot tub was a dream.
The next day we had breakfast and a walk. Then we were off to the outlet malls where the sales were too good to pass up. I got some nice summer things. Then we came back to the hotel and walked to Gilleys, a diner car dive around the corner from the hotel that boasts the best dogs and burgers in NH. The Razzanos recommended it...haha. Linda, I am still wondering why? haha. It was ok. Amazing how a place does just that and does so well. Nice help, decent food. Fries looked good, but we kept it light.
We walked to the candy shop for an "evil chip." This is a chocolate, carmel, potato chip thing that this chocolate store makes. OMG, it is evil. The rain started and we begged off to our room for a bit. Then we head out for the Lilac Festival.
Wally found this and I was so happy he did. I ADORE Lilacs. Next to Roses it is in my top two list of flowers. They are pretty and their perfume fills the air. Apparently, Lilacs came to the US through a former Governor of New Hampshire. His name was Wentworth and he imported them from England. Now I knew who to thank for lilacs and I was able to wander a bit on his historic estate. I was hoping they were selling bundles of lilacs but all I could do was pose with a few bouquets. They were lucky I did not walk away with these. OMG, so pretty.
We came back to the hotel, lost the car and wondered to downtown for more walking. Took in a few shops. The sun had come out and so we found a restaurant on the decks that had outdoor dining. It was perfect. We started with beer and whole body clams that were cooked to perfection and decided to have a nice lobster roll. It was cold and this sandwich easily had an entire lobster worth of meat on it. This was perfectly prepared. The sun, the walking, the beer...haha. We were tired...and we went back and relaxed at the hotel. Another amazing trip away from home.
Colin, this one above is for you. I think of your shrimp sandwich, with that special sauce. I think I should make this sandwich with your sauce and see what that is like.
Today, we will have breakfast and likely head home. We have real world things to do like shopping and paying bills to name a few. This has been another lovely weekend here in Portsmouth, NH.
NICE :)
Posted by: Bruce (Abe) | May 25, 2009 at 10:52 PM