Epic Summer Road Trip 2019 (Days 27 - 30): Portsmouth, NH & Boston, MA

A couple of years ago we hosted a close childhood friend, Ben Otis, and his family in Seattle for a few nights and we were able to give them a decent tour of the area along with lodging.  I think the main message from Ben and Kristin (Ben's wife) was that "you have to come visit us in New Hampshire!"  I definitely had them in mind as I was planning out this summer trip and was probably the first places that I pinned on the map and worked the trip route from there.  Look out Otis's, here we come!

Before we left Cape Cod, I got a text from Ben/Kristin to make an early start since traffic gets really bad through Boston starting around 2pm especially because of it being a Friday.  They certainly weren't kidding!  By 10am it was gridlocked going INTO Boston!  I told Kristen later that driving through Boston is the trifecta+1 of road craziness being congestion, lots of curves, terrible roads, and construction everywhere.  Holy lord it was stressful!  We arrived at the Otis's in Portsmouth, NH around noon and I had to use my feet to pry my hands off of the steering wheel.  Good thing Olivia and Drew know that I'm ticklish under my armpits.

Authentic 17/18th century architecture

Kristin and her sons, Sully and Trey were there to greet us and treat us to lunch.  Kristen took off a a little later to pick up her eldest son, Carter.  These kids are nice boys, but they certainly give their parents a run for their money!  Carter is the quintessential role model son.  At age 13 he greeted me by offering his hand while looking me straight in the eye, "Hello!  It's so good to see you again!"  which he ended with a firm handshake.  I think he'll soon be running for the state senate by age 15.  Sully and Trey love each other and they love their parents, but their love runs pretty much hot and cold.  They're funny, energetic, and rebellious which keeps Kristen and Ben on their toes.

Ben arrived shortly after Kristin got back with Carter so we decided to brave the heat and take a bike ride to a New Castle beach to wade in the very cold water (though must of the Otis boys jumped in with Drew because they're used to the water and Drew is Drew).  We arrived back at the house to be treated with a nice sausage dinner where I was chastised by Kristin for putting ketchup on my sausage.  I didn't realize it was a faux pas to put ketchup on sausage.  Those that knock it, should try it first.  That's all I'm saying.  After dinner, the kids hung out at the house while Kristin and Ben took me on a walk through downtown Portsmouth (pronounced Portsmith which is like half the places in New England that don't spell things the way they're pronounced!  i.e. Worcester = Wusster/Wussta) which is quite the up-and-coming town even though it was founded in 1623.  I guess it takes some places quite a while to peak.  There is a vibrant night life in Portsmith.. err.. Portsmouth with lots of restaurants, breweries and bachelorette parties.  Everyone keeps their properties clean and tidy even though most of the buildings are well over 200 years old.  It is easy to feel safe there even walking around neighborhoods at night.

The next morning Ben made coffee that could have probably woken up some of the 18th century dead that litter Portsmouth's grounds (#undercoverpun)!  He then declared that he and I would be going on a run around the community for a few miles.  After 13 or so years, Ben has turned into a walking (or running) historical encyclopedia of facts about Portsmouth so I got a great running tour of the area while he also greeted every person who walked by or rode a bike.  If anyone has ever met his mother, Sally Otis, Ben is definitely his mother's son.  I learned that Humphrey Bogart was once a guard in the now abandoned and haunted prison that resides on Jamaica Island.  Apparently an inmate attacked Humphrey at one point and that is where he got his signature scars.  I told Ben I guess there is hope of those of us how change professions mid career!

We made our way back to the house where the boys were setting up a lemonade stand just outside the parking lot of a local farmer's market.  Ben, Kristin, and I had plenty of suggestions to bring in profit, but pretty much all of them were subsequently ignored.  The boys still ended up with about $9 a piece in profit after paying Kristin back for supplies.  The boys immediately blew all of their cash at the farmers market.  I asked Drew what he bought since he didn't bring anything back.  Apparently, he bought 1/2 a dozen doughnuts and ate them all with the other boys on the way home.  At least he shared, I guess.

After the farmer's market, Ben, Olivia and I made our way to a seafood shop and Ben bought REALLY good clam chowder for lunch.  It was really good even in 95 degree heat!  The plan that day was to explore Boston for the day and then pick up Wendy who was flying in to spend a week with the kids and I on our trip.  After the clam chowder, all of us were just sort of dreading going into Boston because no one was excited about walking Boston streets in this heat especially with whining kids in tow.  We eventually loaded up Kristin's car (Kristen pronounces it cah) and headed in where we did a vehicle/walking tour of Fenway Park, Boston Public Garden (1st public park in the US), and then the downtown historical section.  Wendy eventually made her way out from the airport to the subway station which happens to be under the Old State House where the Boston Massacre occurred.  All of the historic buildings in the area are completely dwarfed by the modern buildings in the area, but it gives you a good idea of how big the city was back in the mid eighteenth century.  We sweated through a couple more buildings and made the decision to head back to Portsmouth before everyone completely melted.

Kristin took off soon after arriving back at the house to buy some lobster (pronounced lobsta - Ben says writing lobsta with an "h" at the end is too pretentious).  Fortunately, Ben and Kristin's house has air conditioning so we were able to reform all of the kids into their original shapes from the puddles they had formed in to after walking through Boston.  That evening Drew, Olivia, Ben, Kristin, and I enjoyed lobster and oysters (hand-shucked by Ben) for dinner.  Yum!  Wendy kept her distance from the table we were eating at because she "doesn't like sea bugs".  There was even enough lobster left over that Ben harvested the meat and made Olivia and I the best lobster roll for lunch the next day.

After dinner, we headed out for another walk through town.  We lost all of the kids to a neighborhood game of "manhunt" while the adults made our way to Kittery, ME.  I finally set my foot in Maine and only have a few more states left to enter!  We gabbed and walked our way through Portsmouth and eventually made our way back to house, but not before getting a call from Carter calling us to see where we were.  All of the kids were back at the house and he was worried about us.  I'm telling you, state senator by age 15.

The next day we decided to stay in the Portsmouth for bike rides, beaches and the best doughnut I have ever eaten (actually called a cruller).  It reminded me of sweet Yorkshire (pronounced York-sure) Pudding which my parents would make as part of Christmas dinner as a kid.  Delicious!  Kristen drove us over to the local WWII albacore (submarine) with no air conditioning and an irritable ticket salesman who quickly became overwhelmed with in influx of customers.  That evening we sat around a fire while the kids practiced the art of roasting the perfect marshmallow, Kristin served homemade blueberry pie and ice cream, and the parents participated in trying to figure out the perfect occupation for me post-trip.  I think we'll need a few more discussions to solve for that mystery.

Ben left early the next morning for work before anyone else got up, but we eventually made it out of Portsmouth by about 9:30 for a long day of driving toward Central NY (6.5 - 7.5 hour drive depending on weather and if you take a wrong turn).  Ben and Kristin are wonderful hosts and I would encourage everyone to invite themselves over for at least a week to take advantage of their hospitality.  You probably don't even need to give them advanced notice!  Ha!