Coastal New Hampshire

After our visits in southern New England I had planned for us to stay on the coast of New Hampshire for a week. I first visited the area 4 years ago and really, really loved the rocky shorelines, the beauty of the town of Portsmouth, as well as the history and old forts scattered about the mouth of the Piscataqua River. However, I failed to take into account that our visit this time would coincide with the height of tourist season; we found ourselves in the midst of craziness, from the constant traffic to the crowded coastlines. I also failed to check that the activities I had planned would allow dogs, assuming that Abby would be allowed on leash in open spaces. Though I lived in New York and New England for most of my life, I had forgotten just how restrictive dog laws are there, and so we found ourselves unable to visit ANY of the state parks or forts along the coast for example, and even some of the city parks within the town of Portsmouth! This put a big damper on our plans to be honest, and I cursed myself for not doing more research before making a week-long reservation.

Despite our disappointment, we found a small beach north of Rye Harbor that allowed dogs before 9am however, and we took advantage of that. We also came across a beach just south of Odiorne State Park that didn’t have dog restrictions posted; here we found hundreds of cairn stacked on the point, and a nice stretch of rocky coastline beyond to explore. We also, of course, visited one of my all-time favorite breweries, Smuttynose, and had lunch at another of my favorites – Earth Eagle – while walking around the town of Portsmouth. Both these were happy to accept Abby.

Three days after our arrival I got really quite sick, and so the rest of our time in New Hampshire was spent with Tom hanging out in the RV while I slept most of the hours of the day away. I don’t get sick often nor do I know what it was that hit me, but I do know I have no recent memory of sleeping so much for days on end. The day before we left I started feeling more like myself however and was completely recovered a few days after. Me being sick did prevent us from needing to find alternate plans while we were there though, so I guess it worked out.

Walking around Portsmouth:

beach and cairns: just south of odiorne point