Live Free or Die Hampton Beach, New Hampshire! - Lucky State # 13

New Hampshire was lucky state number thirteen.  Unfortunately, I don;t remember most of the trip because it was colder than hell !  I would hate to know how cold it gets in January and February!  I am so glad I am from Cali originally because having to be brought up in extreme cold would have sucked.  Then again, maybe I wouldn't be such a wimp now!

Me and a Big Ass Tree!

Live Free or Die; the motto of number thirteen on my trip around America.  It should have been changed to Dress Warmly or Die as it was freezing in comparison to New York City in October.  I won't lie, I wasn't prepared.

We had come up to New Hampshire on Friday night from NYC as it would be our main hub for our adventure through both New Hampshire and Maine.  Having spent the first day of our weekend in Maine, we decided to keep it local near Chip's parent's house where we were staying and get a feel for Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. 

Cold But Beautiful!

Immediately, you are hit by the difference in temperature.  Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of it when I packed my bag that Friday morning and only included light shirts and a flimsy leather jacket.  Yeah, that would work if it was July!

I wasn't going to let a little thing like freezing to death hold me back!  So, I threw on the warmest thing I had and stepped out into the fresh, crisp New Hampshire air.  We decided the beach was the answer to my New Hampshire excursion on Sunday and hopped into the car and headed a few blocks over. 

First off, let me say that I had been warned that I was there during the off season so everything would be closed.  But the places were not just closed, they were boarded up with wood.  What were they expecting to happen during the winter?  I guess I truly don't understand winter in New England.  I don't know if I want to understand if people board up their windows with wood.  Sometimes, it is just best to walk away, my friend.

Pretty Row of Houses

We parked the car and headed to the beach, but the weather wasn't agreeing with us.  It was sunny, but very windy.  We even thought about walking on the beach for about 5 seconds until we realized that just was not possible if we wanted to live.  Still, I ended up getting some wonderful snapshots, though I think it would be impossible not to get great photos in Hampton Beach.  It really is beautiful.

So, after the first idea fell apart we got back into the car and started driving up along the coastline.  As I watched the lovely scenery go by one thought kept replaying in my head; what do these people do during the off season?  Everything is closed!  Seriously, what do they do, but freeze their butts off?  I was going stir crazy after two days!  Chip said I was too much of a city girl.  I used to deny it but I guess I was wrong.  Sometimes the truth will set you free.

Interesting sight alert while we were heading up the coastline.  There was a man on the side of the road sitting in his truck bed strumming his guitar while singing to his dog.  Nice!  Now I was starting to understand what happens in Hampton Beach on the off season.

Airfield

We continued on. The views were beautiful!  Besides being surrounded by the vibrant colors of the fall, there were tiny white sailing boats gently rocking in the harbor.  It was like a living postcard.  Next to the coastline were these huge mammoth mansions.  Some were absolutely beautiful while others were just tacky monstrosities.  If I were the owner of a few of those homes, I would feel guilty for destroying the coastline.  Note to the homeowners: Please keep the modern designs for the suburbs; they do not belong on the New England Coast! 

After about an hour of driving, Chip and I decided to meet his family for brunch at the Hampton Airfield before we hit the road and headed back to NYC.  When I heard it was an airfield, I expected a smallish airport with small passenger planes taking off every 10 minutes on a cement runway.  I was wrong.  It was a small airfield covered with grass with three two seater planes and a helicopter.  While we were waiting for a table to open up, we did see the helicopter hover a few inches off the ground for a few minutes before wobbling into the sky and above the trees.  Score!

Final Roses of the Season

Two minutes later, one of the planes that had been rolling across the backyard (excuse me, airfield) for many minutes took off as well.  Apparently, Sundays are for beginners, because much like the helicopter pilot (I use pilot loosely), the plane wobbled into the air dangerously close to the grove of trees at the end of what they considered a runway. That would be the end of the action on the airfield for the next two hours.  Not quite what I expected.

Now, the brunch on the other hand did live up to my expectations.   It was homestyle cooking at its finest.  I had an omelet with toast and home fries.  The home fries were spiced to perfection while the omelet was huge.  Originally, I had wanted the three egg omelet, but they warned me it was hulking.  I went with two egg omelet and it was plenty.  I was curious to see the chickens that were dropping these eggs because I still don't understand how a two egg omelet can be that big ass then again, we were close to the nuclear power plant...

After brunch, we said our goodbyes, grabbed a Pumpkin Latte from Dunkins (back for the season!!!) and we were on our way.  We had a slight dilemma while heading down 495.  I had heard of an amazing site in Salem, New Hampshire called America's Stonehenge.  How could I pass this up?  Stonehenge in America!  I grabbed my Blackberry and pulled up the site to do further research.  Admittance was $9.50!  $9.50 for a pile of rocks that looked like an unfinished stonewall in my uncle's backyard? This seemed too steep even for comedic purposes.  So, with a heavy heart we continued our long drive down 495.

Ah, Stonehenge of America; I hope that when I am in my golden years, I don't regret this decision.  Well, there is always next year!