New Hampshire - Day 23 - Portsmouth & coast

Wellington Camping Area
Monday, 23 July 2018

As I was driving into Newmarket on my way to the coast, I saw a highway sign that said "Intensive Traffic Enforcement."  I concluded Newmarket takes these things seriously.

In Newmarket I saw a Sinclair gas station just like they were when I was growing up, with the green sign and dinosaur logo and everything.

Also in Newmarket I got lost (as usual) and ended up in a sort of upscale alley where I found the clubhouse for American Citizens of Polish Descent, the club established in 1923.  That was surprising to me for some reason.

today's route - sort of

I highlighted two wrong roads on the map today: the road I took was on the coast, Route 1A, aka Ocean Drive; it mostly runs right along the ocean the length of New Hampshire's coast line with the Atlantic Ocean.  New Hampshire has the shortest seacoast of any US state, clocking in at 18 miles.

We drove down to the southern end and then came back north.  We stopped in Hampton Beach to walk a bit.

seaside residences, Hampton Beach

Hampton Beach

All along the coast, the towns are typical seaside resort towns.

Farther down the beach from where I took this photo on the left were breakers on the sea wall and people trying to surf where the Atlantic started kicking up a fuss.

In North Hampton Beach I saw some very large beach houses.  Large as in one looked big enough to house the Kennedy family; another looked like a small palace with columns and huge green front lawn and a closed gate at the entrance - I'd think the salt air would make it hard to grow grass but they could clearly afford to try.

I passed a scuba diving class getting out-of-water instruction.

Farther north I started seeing salt marshes - at least I assume they're salty, given their location right next to the ocean.  These photos are sort of representative of the marshes I saw.

the front white dot is a gull, the rear one is an egret

this is the same marsh as the other, facing the ocean

This hotel is Wentworth-By-The-Sea, built in 1874.  In 1905, Pres. Theodore Roosevelt had the delegates to the negotiation of the Treaty of Portsmouth housed here.  The treaty, signed at the Portsmouth Naval Yard (located in Kittery, Maine, not Portsmouth, for some reason), ended the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War, earning TR the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

The hotel, by the way, looks like it's 5 star and yet it allows dogs!

next to the fort, lighthouse still functions

I also stopped at Fort Constitution, which may be the only US fort to garrison soldiers during every national conflict from the American Revolution to WWII. fort info I suggest you look at the link, because it describes an interesting history as being the site of one of the earliest acts of war in the Revolution.  Considering its age, there's still a staggering amount of it left.  It's actually in the middle of a US Coast Guard Base, and they've left open a little chain link gate with signs for tourists to follow the blue paint line around to the fort.

this is the front gate and part of the wall

by the front gate

facing Portsmouth Harbor

detail on an inside wall

The hotel and fort are in New Castle, NH's only town situated entirely on islands.  It is also NH's smallest town, physically (not populationally) covering only .8 square mile, 500 acres.  It's so close to Portsmouth that the boundaries are imperceptible to drivers.

Portsmouth was settled at the same time New Castle was, in 1623.  New Castle now, though, looks like what it mostly is - a recreational haven for the wealthy.  Portsmouth, on the other hand, looks like a very very old city.  In the main part of town, houses sit right on the street, separated not even by a sidewalk, and the streets are very narrow, mostly one-way, and don't even allow parking due to the lack of room.  These are clearly the streets as they were laid out in the 1600s.  But everything's very clean and bright, the houses are well-maintained, for the most part, and there were people everywhere, even on a Monday.  In fact, there were so many people out in the afternoon that it looked like a sunny Sunday.

Portsmouth has only 21,000 residents, nowhere near the 10 largest NH cities, despite its perfect location at the mouth of the Piscataqua River, where it stops being the boundary with Maine and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.  Maybe it simply can't grow any larger in the main part of town, or spread its boundaries outward because of all the smaller surrounding towns.  Anyway, Portsmouth seems a vibrant town that's comfortable with itself as it is.  I liked it.

I'd hoped to be able to visit some of the old houses, now museums, but the utter lack of parking even for a car let alone my RV discouraged that idea.  I couldn't even stop to take photos.  But I did find the oldest - and it is indeed old.  The Jackson House was built in 1664 and what is still standing is the original.  It's been shored up and reinforced, but it hasn't been moved or rebuilt.  It's the real deal.  I took 2 different angles because I couldn't find one that showed both the house and the incredible slope of the roof to the road.

My original plan had been to come back and tour Portsmouth on a separate day but I've given that idea up, thanks to my look at the zero parking near the museums I wanted to see.  But that's okay.  They won't be the only old houses around and my glimpse of life in Portsmouth was well worth my time.  I really liked the feel of the town.