After a bit of research on the World Wide Web about an area that has for long been on my list of places to visit, I could see my fall vacation beginning to take shape. I always had a fairly good idea of what I wanted to include in my itinerary, but a chance visit to this blog gave me a good place to start, and it also made some great suggestions that I quickly incorporated into my schedule. Visiting some places would've been personally gratifying so those were interspersed all over to make this trip my own. You end up adding a lot to itineraries based on individual preferences, and at some point, you have to make choices depending on how your day is turning out, weather wise and temperament wise.
After taking care of flight bookings, the next chore was to decide where the pit stops would be on the way. After careful planning, lodging and car rental were also checked off the to-do list. This was for real finally, after years of being pushed aside to accommodate shorter vacations.
Bags were packed, and we were soon on the flight to Boston. After picking up the rental car, we stopped at Costco for stocking up on water, and snacks. Then we were on our way to Portsmouth, NH. En route, there were a few towns that I thought deserved a visit. I had found routes to these away-from-the-highway places and had incorporated them into my google docs, so getting google maps to open directions was a breeze. Our first such place was Manchester by the sea and then Gloucester where stood a castle!
After parking the car in the nice sized parking lot, a few steps led us to the castle.
The castle was lovely. As you descended the stairs, this courtyard greeted visitors. It overlooked the sea, and a lighthouse at a distance made it real that we were truly on the New England coastline.
A moat with two lions at the entrance was on one side, and a nice garden on the other side of a fence closed to visitors housed the grave of John Hays Hammond Jr. Little details and especially the solid stone structure transported you to another world.
This was another such detail in the courtyard.
An inner area with beautiful archways on the side, urns with flowers adding an old world charm.
A lady we met on the grounds of the castle said she was visiting after many years with her mother, after being married at the castle several years ago. Being there made her so happy, she said, that she was sharing that information with the few visitors like us who were there that afternoon.
A tour of the castle was closed to visitors during the week, but one could look inside the building on weekends. The property remains closed during winter.
After spending some time there, we moved on to the town of Essex, and had dinner that at a charming restaurant called Periwinkles. The fish and chips, and a seafood platter there were great, and a lovely view outside was a bonus.
After a visit to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe earlier in the year, we wanted a different scene and this trip gave us just that! To discover a little bit of everything. From rustic beauty in a national park to historic cities, from beautifully curated museums and art galleries, to quaint towns and covered bridges, from an array of fabulous lighthouses, to fall foliage at its peak in the mountains- the trip covered it all!
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