Portsmouth, Part Deux

A very eventful weekend! Roger was post-post-call Saturday morning, but he was up and ready to make the most of the two days off from the hospital.

We started the day, which was bright, beautiful and clear, with a quick trip into Norwich. The previous weekend - was it just last weekend? - we spent a day in Boston looking for ski pants, and sweetie Roger thought I should get some accessory-shopping time as well. We stopped by the J List, a very cute store where Roger had purchased my sock monkey pajamas for Christmas. I really wasn't intending to buy anything, but there was a very cute turquoise handbag that would be perfect for plane trips: it had three sections, two snapped outside sections and a zippered section in the middle. Roger and I also went to Zuzu's next door to look at the cool state mugs and glasses, and other kooky, girly trinkets.

From frou-frou to flannel, next we headed north to what we thought was the main event for the day: Farm-way. Farm-way is a UV legend. Apparently you haven't shopped until you've shopped Farm-way. It's a down-to-earth rugged gear and clothing store in Bradford, VT, just an hour from Hanover and Wilder. It definitely has a huge selection of fly-fishing gear and duckshoes, but there's also a lot of high-end stuff like Dansko clogs and Patagonia sweaters. They opened up this huge shoe section: we'll take note for next winter's boots. I also found a nice purple synchilla zip-up, but resisted the temptation. It's going to be summer soon, so they tell us.

After a lunch of "Bear Tips" at the nearby Hungry Bear - questionable on the outside, very nice on the inside - we found ourselves very sleepy from the carb and meat overload and were torn between driving on or going home to take a nap. And it was only 2:00PM!

Fate intervened and Roger's sister Anita called. She and Avi had been driving all morning as well. They had headed south the previous day, visiting Plymouth and were on their way to Salem, MA. After some hemming and hawing - we didn't want to make them drive all the way up here and we weren't sure about making the trip all the way to Salem - we decided on meeting halfway at Portsmouth.

Looking quickly on the internet, Roger found us a really great place to stay - The Port Inn. This is probably one of the best deals we've ever come across, up there with The Bee-Hive in Rome.

The Port Inn looks like a motel on the outside, but it's so much more: well-appointed, spacious rooms with marble bathtubs, free cable, and FREE WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS. It's a little farther away from town center than the Martin Hill Inn (the b&b we had stayed in for our last Portsmouth trip). But we felt we already did the b&b thing here, so we were out for the good price. Our experience at the Port Inn was quite similar to our best stays at Hilton Garden Inns. This a very clean, well-designed inn with the most courteous staff, and a great price. We managed to get a two-room suite (one king bed and two double beds) for less than what we spent for one night in one room at the Martin Hill Inn. We are so happy about our find, although part of us wants to keep it a secret too. ...

Anita and Avi arrived shortly after we did - perfect timing - and we took them on a quick night tour of the town. Portsmouth is compact, but filled with nice haunts. It has a good arts scene and more one-of-kind stores than chains, which is refreshing. Avi and Anita quickly won over the staff at Bull Moose Music, where we got some tunes for the road trips home. We walked through the center of town a bit before heading up the hill for dinner at the Blue Mermaid, where there was no wait. Our waitress, Hannah, was very nice and attentive, and we could hear the pretty decent cover band that was playing in the bar downstairs as we ate. Good conversation and food all around.

It was late when we headed out to find dessert - we may have been the last party on the second floor - but good thing this was Portsmouth, not Hanover. We walked over to Breaking New Grounds cafe for slices of cheesecake before returning to the Port Inn.

We like Portsmouth because there is a healthy population of young professionals, not just college students or grad students. They seem less cliquey and more laid back than the people in the Dartmouth area, where you feel more like you're wearing a label, or necessarily associated with only one or two groups - e.g., med student, b-school student, etc. It's also fun being near the water and having more than one street for window-shopping and midnight-strolling. Good company also sweetened the experience for us this time around.

We hope to see you again soon, Seacoast!