New Castle Island and Portsmouth, New Hampshire

It is nearly 10:30 p.m., and I would go to bed, but the bed is covered with wall panels and other things as Peter is working on the electrical panel at the nav station. I think he is oblivious to the fact that the bed is unavailable.

Peter spent the morning and early afternoon working through his long list of jobs, Shalako practiced knots and improved the lines on the fenders and helped me get the laundry to the laundry room at the other end of the marina. I did five loads of laundry, including all the towels and sheets, which were disgustingly filthy because I have not done laundry for two week. Normally, I would do it weekly using the washing machine on our boat, but there has not been enough days of warmth and sunshine to dry laundry on the life lines. (There are washing and drying machines at Eastern Yacht Club, but I did not know this; Shalako found them as he was wondering around waiting for me to finish showering right before we left Marblehead.) 

While I was waiting for the final loads to dry, I walked around the grounds of the Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel. The elegance of the interior is matched by the exquisite gardens.

West end of the hotel

Near the entrance to the hotel

A section of the hotel

After the laundry was done, we borrowed a loaner car from the marina and went to Portsmouth. Our first stop was West Marine, where Peter tried to find an impeller for the outboard. There were none in stock, and he realized that since the engine is a two-stroke purchased in Guatemala, he may not easily find the part in the U.S. at a retail store because two-stroke engines are not legal in this country.

We then drove to the historic district of Portsmouth and walked around. The downtown area has the usual boutiques, galleries and restaurants, and the buildings are not centuries old, but the residential neighborhoods in the historic district have an abundance of houses mostly from the 18th century, although the city was first settled in 1623. 

Historic Georgian style house on Court Street

Historic home with a beautiful front garden

Particularly interesting is the Strawbery Banke Outdoor Historic Museum. It is the oldest neighborhood in New Hampshire settled by Europeans. It contains 37 restored buildings from the 17th through the 19th century in the Colonial, Georgian and Federal styles of architecture, all on their original foundations with the exception of the Goodwin Mansion. It was named for the wild strawberries growing along the banks of the Piscataqua. 

Governor Goodwin's Mansion, built in 1811

Stoodley's Tavern, built in 1761

House and playhouse, Strawbery Banke

Garden at Strawbery Banke

Chickenn coup at Strawbery Banke

Directly across from the Strawbery Banke Museum is Prescott Park. Part of the former working waterfront has been transformed into a lush park with a few remaining buildings from the shipping heyday and colorful gardens. It is situated is on land purchased by two sisters, Josie and Mary Prescott, in the 1930s. The sisters, public school teachers, used their inheritance to acquire property along the waterfront in what had become a run-down and seedy area in order to create a public park accessible to everyone.

Formal garden at Prescott Park

Lawns and gardens at Prescott Park

After strolling around for a couple of hours, we headed back to the marina, stopping to pick up more provisions at a supermarket. We saw the sun briefly as a bright orange ball just as it was setting on the horizon.