New Hampshire, (August 28-30th)

Although we only spent a brief period of time in New Hampshire, what we did see was absolutely beautiful.  We setup camp just across the New Hamphsire border in Hampton Falls, not far from Portsmouth, NH.

Wakeda Campground, Hampton Falls, NE

The campground we stayed in was very unique, in that although it was over one mile long and hosted over 400 sites - you would have never known it.   In fact the immediate area we were located in seemed to only have a handful of campsites among tall pines - with our site being over, get this... 140 ft long.

Of course we did become a little concerned when we noticed all the "Halloween" decorations rampant throughout the entire campground, and it was only August...  Yikes!

Thankfully, we soon discovered that the campground actually celebrated Halloween in the park for campers the last weekend in
August (prior to kids going back to school after Labor Day).   Now how neat is that??  (I don't know...just sounds like something that we would do).


The surrounding neighborhood was absolutely gorgeous, with well manicured homes of all different types of architectural designs and colors.   And...nestled perfectly down the road was a wonderful orchard farm with its own marketplace.

Applecrest Farm Orchards, Hampton Falls, NH

Although we did not pick our own, we did stash up on fresh fruit, veggies, and other groceries.

Downtown historic Exeter, NH

The nearby town of Exeter, was also quite charming.  We had dinner in a wonderful little pub where the proprietor shared all types of New England travel information with us.  (Hey - he even halfheartedly offered, twice, for us to stay on his parents property in Connecticut, if needed).    He also treated us to a family brewed/owned, old fashioned Root Beer, which was wonderful.


Even the local pet shop had stunning architectural character, as it was housed in what used to be an old fashioned pharmacy.  The wood work and cabinets were magnificent.   The proprietor was a sweet, cheerful lady who graciously spent time telling us all about the local area.

We quickly discovered from everyone we met, that Exeter's "main claim to fame" is that it is home to prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy, (the third largest prep school in the country), founded in 1781.    Among those to have attended is Abraham Lincoln's son, Todd, and none other than JFK.  We were also told that it cost somewhere around $60K a year to attend.

Phillips Exeter Academy, Hampton Falls, NH

The following day we set out to tour downtown historic Portsmouth, as well as to visit an impressive, living history museum known as Strawberry Banke.

Similar to Williamsburg, Strawberry Banke is interactive with role-players, traditional craft demonstrations and select guided tours.  Fun trivia is to notice that the flags in front of each historic building matches the era in which it was originally built.

In the photo below, you will notice "The Grand Union Flag" (also known as Continental Colors, and other names).  It is the one on the left, sporting the Brittish union flag in the canton, along with the thirteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white.   This is the first American flag in our heritage.  It is really interesting, and not well known.  I encourage you to look it up on Wikipedia.

Historic Strawberry Banke, Portsmouth, NH

Rather unluckly, we picked the hottest day of the year to tour this wonderful place, so sad to say - we did not get to spend as much time here as we would have liked.  If you get the chance, don't pass it up.

Directly across from Strawberry Bankes is a beautiful bay-side park.  If you look closely, from across the bay you can see the Navy Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

To complete our history tour, we ended the day with a visit to the site of Fort McClary, in Kittery, Maine.  What was interesting about this Fort was the change over time for each period needed (from pre revolutionary war to world war II era).

Fort McClary, Kittery Point, Maine

So, the final analysis is...like Vermont, New Hampshire is one of those states that we wish we had more time to explore.

Next up...Massachusettes here we come!

See add'l links for:
Exeter/Hampton Falls, NH
Portsmouth, NH
Strawberry Banke;