To Grandmother's House I go...

I live in California now, but when I was a little girl, I lived in New Hampshire, and some of my fondest memories is going to Grandmother's house for Christmas.

My grandmother was Ukranian, but she married a Polish guy and adapted his ways. She liked to be called Bopshie (Polish, I'm told for grandmother) but we grandkids just called her Bopie. She lived in a small rural NH town on the NH/VT/MA border called Hinsdale and the wintertime, it sure got snowy.

I lived in the big city, Manchester. The drive was a 2 hour drive through rural NH on state roads and over a hill. It really was a journey out of a postcard.

We started in Manchester and took the 101 WEST toward Bedford. Bedford was still like Manchester, haha! We went through Amherst, Milford, and Wilton. It Wilton we had to take a turn and go over a bridge. Hey, that was excitement to a little kid!

After Wilton, we went up Temple Mountain. Our ears would pop every time! I can't be sure of the elevation now because it's been over 20 years since I've taken the journey, but for ears to pop, I think it was pretty high. We traveled through Peterbourgh. We traveled through Dublin, Marbourgh, and then hit Keene. Keene was considered a city, like Manchester was, but it was considerably smaller.





After Keene, we switched highways went through Swanzy and Winchester where we hit the 119 state highway and took that through to Hindsale. The pictures I've found where of winter scenes along the way. One is the town gazebo in Ashelot, the town before Hinsdale. In the winter time, it would be very snowy. (As I'm sure the pictures relate) Icicles would hang off the trees. It would be cold, but that cold captured a beauty that is almost impossible to put into words. On the way to Bopie's house we'd sing Christmas songs knowing our gifts were snug in the truck.

Winter in New Hampshire certainly brought out the "heartidiness" in a person. Wherever you are, treasure your winter memories.

Smiles
Steph

TOMORROW: THE DESERT BREEZE SCAVENGER HUNT comes to MOLDAVIA!! Be here while I gush about my Desert Breeze release, "The Hungarian," and get the next clue for the Hunt!

Sunday Trip - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Ah, Portsmouth! I have fond memories of this little town, but not from my childhood, from my years as a 20 something. hehe.

The picture in my blog is a view from one of the Isle of Shoals. This set of islands are off the coast of NH and Maine. There are 9 island and 4 belong on NH and 5 belong to Maine. Cpt. John Smith of Ponchahotas fame introduced the islands to the Western World in 1614. One lives year-round on the islands. A famed double-murder took place on Smuttynose Island in the 1800s (the basis for the book and movie "The Weight of Water"), and New Hampshire's most famous poet of the 19th Century, Celia Thaxter, was raised there, the daughter of lighthouse keeper Thomas Laighton.

I had a chance to visit the islands when I was younger, about 20 something. I had just married my husband. ( I was young when I got married - 23) and I wanted to show him the rich variety of my New Hampshire home, so with my friends, Idgy, Karen, and my sister, Christine, we set off. I remember we caught the boat in Portsmouth and sailed right on over. It was a lazy summer day with not much to do but enjoy the view. I did get to see a bridge where it lifted up between the two towers and I enjoyed watching that. I had never seen that type of bridge before.

One of my most treasured personal pics is of me, Brent, Idgy, Alyssa, and Christine on the island looking out. If I can span it, I'll post it a little later on.

As a side note: I think the isles would make a great romantic setting for a story.

I never visited Portsmouth when I was a kid. Portsmouth has a rich history, though. I didn't actually getting around to visiting it until I was older. I would come home from military leave and go up with my friends, Idgy, Karen, or Alyssa. I remember one time, Idgy and I explored Strawberry Banke, an old neightborhood that was a reinactment from colonial days. Very cool.

Portsmouth has a rich history of being a "navy" town. It also was the home of Pease Air Force Base which has since been closed.

Interesting Historical Note: Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth from Boston to tell the residents that "the British were coming."

Portsmouth even has a bewery which I visited. I love the local/regional beweries. The beer is always so much fresher, but I can't remember the name of it. Redhook, I believe?

I haven't been to Portsmouth in years, but I have fond memories. Anyone else have a thought on Portsmouth?

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little about this NH gem.

Steph

NH Sunday - Hampton Beach

Hampton Beach - I'll always remember it as fondly as a remember a New Hampshire summer. Sigh...

Did you know? New Hampshire has the smallest coastline in the USA - only 9 miles. Trust me, Rhode Island has much more. But Hampton Beach has a part of that coastline. It's a place many in the state flock to during the summer time and back in the mid to late 1970's, my family did too.

I'll always have fond memories of Hampton Beach. They also give me good memories of my family. Just like Bear Brook, my family would pack up the car, stuff the ice chest, pack the chairs and beach umbrellia and we were off. It took about an hour to get to Hampton Beach using the state highway. I think it was the 101 but I could be wrong. During the peak season in the summer time, I remember that traffic would get backed up leaving and arriving. My dad always wanted to leave early to get there and then stay late to avoid the "rush."

Of course my granny and grandpa would be there. Most of the times Auntie Sue was there with Uncle Gary, Emily & Matt. Uncle Mark or Uncle Rusty would come sometimes.

Ah, the 1970's. The world seemed carefree to a little butterfly like me, but even back then it was complicated. Fleetwood Mac rocked. Vietnam was just ending, and everyone believed that Jimmy Carter would be a great president. Poor Ford. Inflation was crazy, and drugs, well drugs were avaliable back then just like they are now.

We'd get to the beach, park, and usually we used the public parking. I remember the public parking was relatively inexpensive, but I could be wrong. Sometimes we used the parking lots for $5.00. We'd lug our stuff down to the beach and set up the chairs, blankets and beach umbrella. Sometimes we'd rent one.

After a cooler packed lunch it was time to play in the water. It was usually cold, but not umcomfortly so. We'd play frizbee. Auntie Sue and I would make sand castles or make holes in the sand and bury me in them. Sometimes we'd walk the rocks and look for starfish and lobsters. My dad liked to catch the lobsters.

Sometimes we'd walk the boardwalk and window shop, and get an ice cream. At the end of the day we'd wash off the sand and lug our stuff back to the car. It was fun watching the tide come and in out. And it always came in so quickly!

I loved riding the waves. I was a little fish back then.

In the early to mid 1990's, I had a couple of opportunities to go back to Hampton Beach. I took my husband one time. He thought the water was cold. It was hard for me to impart the love I had for the beach to him, and I don't think he every really understood the appeal of the beach. The memories, I suppose. How can I share happy memories when he wasn't really there? He does have a love for the beach, growing up an hour away from the Pacific and we both love the water, but even with that, he found little appealing about Hampton's shore or it's boardwalk. Maybe it was just too East Coast for him?

Anyway, I look forward to the day when I can take my boys, Andrew & Joe. And maybe share some memories with them. I'll have to dig into the photo album to see what I can find. Maybe Auntie Sue has some more photos...

Smiles,

Steph