***Should note, each morning I got up with the dogs for the off leash beach hours. What fun, not only were the whole normal crew out, but about a hundred more new dogs to play with. Leon and Jack had a great time!!
On Saturday, our tenants got a boat, and we went with them on the maiden voyage. Brandon drives like a crazy man LOL, he's from the coast guard by the way. Brie came with us. She was a bit nervous at first, but then she found her sleeping spot under the console. Also she liked when we stopped to see the sights.
We drove through the Portsmouth shipyard areas. Brandon sped through the bridges with somewhat low clearance, which we realized on the way back was a no no. In a "no wake" kind of way. Our tenants are like 22 and 25, however, so you can imagine that they have a need for speed on occasion. Did I mention that I was the only one wearing my life jacket?
There are some really beautiful houses along the way, other boats sailing, and then the creepy abandoned jailhouse.
Brie took it all in.
I started out the trip sitting on the back of the boat, and comforted Brie during the beginning of the trip while she wasn't too sure about everything. Going out of Portsmouth we went past some old lighthouse places, an abandoned jail that looks darned creepy from any angle, some parks that we have gone to, and some parks that we have yet to discover but look interesting.
Brandon was having a good time side swiping the waves and trying to get us wet. It was cool out, but warm with the sun out all the time as well. Very comfortable weather for a little boat ride. We hugged the coast and eventually found ourselves off the coast of Long Sands. Though we live here, it looked strange and different from the vantage point of being off the ocean. The Anchorage and RV park do not look half as large when you are driving a car past, as they do when you are looking at them in comparison to everything else off of the beach!! We hung out there for awhile admiring that view, and the Nubble Lighthouse that was up ahead.
I checked my voice mail as I had the Danes at my house. Their owners were coming back from a wedding and (due to memorial day traffic) no one was sure when they would get back. My client had left me a message on the home voice mail. I called her back from the boat, and we had a good laugh as I waved towards her house (she pretty much lives in view of the beach)!! They were about to go to dinner in Portsmouth, so I said I would just drop the dogs off at their house.
After Long Sands we went around to the Nubble, and then around the corner to Short Sands. Again very interesting to see all this from a different perspective. Around the bed and breakfasts a bunch of people were hanging out on the lawn sunning. Two bikinied women were trying to lure their dog back who had wandered down the cliff, and didn't seem to anxious to get back to his owners.
When we turned back, I moved to the front at my husband's prodding. It was actually more stable and comfortable than the back of the boat even though there was nothing there to break the wind. The back was fun too, like an amusement park ride. It is an advantage to see the waves before you hit them however, and easier on your bum bum.
We hit the York Harbor on the way back, and admired the just disgustingly huge homes there. We also drove through where they keep different boats, and admired some real beauties there. I can't remember if it was this or another way, but we suddenly hit five feet then three feet (oh it was later on in Portsmouth) of water and the boat almost got grounded. Luckily Brandon had all the electric equipment with the boat that let him in on this early on!!
On the way back, Robert's hat flew off, and Brandon insisted on turning around "as a test" to get it LOL. So Rob's Red Sox hat was retrieved and is safe and sound back at home.
After getting the boat back on the trailer, we stopped off for a treat at DQ!! I love soft serve. I was tempted by the sundaes, but in the end I got my favorite soft serve twirl with chocolate dip. Excellent, and my husband got the same. Brandon and Ally got Blizzards, and Brandon of course shared some spoonfuls with Brie at the end.
Home, I was exhausted LOL. You would have thought I just did some exercising, and I crashed out with the dogs for the rest of the day.
On Sunday our friend Steve came up. He brought his bike (a Cannondale street bike) and some fishing gear. We had high hopes of catching some stripers for dinner. Steve was going to teach us to fish, and his grandfather had taught him something about fishing. This was his first time surf fishing himself.
Course, here is an instance where I actually forgot my camera. Steve had brought his big rubber boots and everything, damn it LOL. First stop was the bait shop. Course I also forgot to warn Steve that many local businesses do not take credit cards. (not that it mattered that I don't think). So we were only able to get some Mackerel bait. As we were about to find out, an important part is to find the right spot (with the right bait and the right gear). Also the ocean fish apparently have teeth, so you need a heavy gage line at the end.
First spot we tried was a jetty off the rv park area. Talk about slippery walking, it was tough!! We didn't stay too long, as the tide was coming in around the back on our side, and was hard to watch. Robert got nervous so we decided on a safer avenue.
Then we tried the wiggly bridge. The tide was still low, so we went on the sand (aka mud bars) and tried our luck. Neither Rob nor I are particularly good at this. Rob thinks I had a fish because my bait got chewed, but I am pretty sure it was a crab if anything. My lure was dragging in the sand I think.
The tide started coming in really fast, so we adjourned to the bridge. The big joke (that Rob came up with) when anyone asked what we were fishing for, we would say "we are fishing for stripper, but we are having hamburger for dinner tonight", and we did. Next time, it was an adventure that day though.
Later on that night, we stopped at Fox's for some blueberry ice cream (mine), rob got a blue vanilla cone with chocolate and marshmallows which he thoroughly enjoyed, and Steve got some kind of Moose Chocolate ice cream which he also enjoyed. I think Fox's is so superior to Browns. Sadly, it looks like our in town soft serve place on the beach is not reopening this year:( I love that place. Oh well.
On Monday Steve had stayed over, so big bike riding day was ahead. Steve claims to do 30 miles everyday
It was a good ride. On the way, there was an open house for a cottage for rent. Turns out the people in the cottage were the parents of someone who had just e-mailed me regarding daycare for her dog, Fenway a 4 yr old standard poodle. Nice people and small world.
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