Rosy was here this week and Friday found us restless and ready to roll. We had been thinking of an overnight trip to Maine, or a day trip to the beach, or something, but timing and weather and ambition failed us, so when Friday arrived we had the desire to go but no real plans. Sometimes that’s the best way! It was a chilly day, so we headed first to the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire in Dover. We’ve never been there, but I have a museum pass that gets us into many different museums and that’s one of them so I figured it would be a good first stop.
The museum was small, but it had a some fun exhibits and it was perfect for our day trip.
They had a huge K’nex contraption that carried plastic balls around. It was fascinating to watch.
The gears are turning.
Me and Eve wearing African masks.
A 5′ tall pin-board. Tons of fun!
Unfortunately they had a plexiglass panel in front of it, which made it difficult to take pictures. :/
Eve took a nap on a submarine.
This exhibit was neat. Just by touching the wooden pieces on the wall you completed electrical circuits that light up the lights on the other wall.
This is the back of the pin board.
Lex from the front.
I tried to make a video of it because it’s cool to watch, but unfortunately the plexiglass made it hard to see. If you watch this in full-screen you can mostly see Lex coming through.
After the museum we went on a hunt for lunch. It was around 2pm, so we were all hungry and ready to eat! We found a nice bagel place by the river and we sat out on the deck to eat. It was lovely.
We found a neat water fall on our search for lunch.
Dover, like many NH cities, is full of old mill buildings.
During lunch we made a plan to drive to the coast and look for lighthouses. With a little help from the Internet we found lighthouses on New Castle island off the coast of Portsmouth. We headed that way!
Whaleback Light, a light house off the cost of New Castle Island.
When we got there we discovered that not only were there two lighthouses, but also Fort Constitution, which used to be used to guard Portsmouth harbor and the Piscataqua River. To get to the fort we had to follow a blue line through a Coast Guard base, with lots of warnings to those who dared stray. We explored the fort for awhile and wished we could get closer to the lighthouses (which apparently I didn’t take any pictures of!)
Follow the blue line…
Welcome to Fort Constitution.
Eve, peeking out at the harbor through the guard windows.
After leaving the fort we decided to head south to Wallis Sands beach to dip our toes in the ocean. The day was too chilly for swimming, but we didn’t want to get that close and not touch the Atlantic!
I was amazed at how low the water was around these NH coastal islands. Some of the docks couldn’t even reach the water.
As we drove I made a last minute decision to head north instead, towards York Beach in Maine. Globe-trotting Rosy had never been to Maine so we decided to make it happen right then and there!
We stopped first at another lighthouse, one we’ve been to before several years ago.
Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine.
It was a chilly day on the Atlantic!
We always love coastal rock climbing.
This is a totally silly picture. Rose and Eve are pretending to row, I’m apparently no help at all, and Lex is holding my camera and Rosy’s camera side by side and simultaneously taking pictures with both. Pure silliness.
We found several tide pools among the giant rocks by the shore.
After a little exploring there we hopped back in the car and drove directly to the beach! However, on the way we remembered the taffy shop at the beach and decided maybe we needed some taffy in our bellies before hitting the sandy shores.
Taffy time!! This guy is putting in a new chunk of taffy to be rolled, sliced, and wrapped.
Then, finally, we headed for the water. By this time it was about six o’clock and only 65°, and breezy, of course. The tide was coming in and the waves were crashing.
York Beach – Short Sands
“Ummm, Mom, did you bring any extra clothes for me?” she asks, already half way soaked.
Late, cold, windy… but nothing can stop these two!
The ocean is calling to them.
The tide was coming in and waves were great!
He’s an ocean boy.
We really need to spend more time at the ocean. Next summer I’d love to stay for a few days. Maybe we can get a house at a less popular beach and just chill with the ocean for awhile. Who’s in?!
They went all the way in! Soaked from head to toe.
I gave them about a half hour then made them get out.
Aww… mom, can’t we swim some more?!
Although I packed suits, towels, and extra clothes at the start of our trip, by the time we reached the beach I didn’t expect them to actually swim so I only brought one towel down to the shore. Luckily they are good at sharing. Eve kept laughing and running away, which made the rest of us laugh because she was the chilly one.
I love these two!!
This scene made my heart happy.
I was like the paparazzi, following them around trying to get that perfect shot! (Lex thinks this one is it, but I like the first one better.)
When we got back to parking car I got more towels and dry clothes for them. Then I remembered that I should get a picture of me and Rosy! We were there too! :)
Sisters!
A nice lady offered to take a picture of all of us. Can’t say no to that!
By this point it was late and we were hungry, so we walked over to a local pizza place. On the way we saw a bowling alley and Lex decided he really wanted to go bowling. He really, really wanted to go bowling. We got done with dinner around 8pm, but he had been so nice and so sweet all day I couldn’t bring myself to say no to bowling, so bowling we went! Rosy and Eve opted out of the fun and went in search of ice cream instead.
This was the tiniest, oldest, low-techiest bowling alley and it was exactly what we needed!
These crazy girls weren’t chilly enough so they got ice cream while Lex and I bowled a round.
One quick game and we headed for the car, everyone happy and exhausted!
