Shots , Sunday Brunch,& Witches

I must confess ,

if some highly educated , most notable scientist

had observed me very closely on Friday

he/or she would have come to the

adamant conclusion that I am a direct

descendant of a "slug".

Friday was one of those days when the

kindling under me must have been

drenched , with absolutely no possibilities of

combustion!...

Early Saturday , Michael went into the job..

(they were welding on the roof...

he says they can catch fire in a heart beat

and he was going to be there

while that was going on...)

I had reminded Michael that this was the day

that CVS on Islington Street in Portsmouth

was going to be giving flu shots...

so, knowing how "heavily" that fact would not play on his

mind, when I got the fire rekindled,

and I was powdered, poofed and painted ,

off to the hospital I went,

then in Michael's company off to CVS we did go...

and our flu shots were administered !

Michael back at the hospital and me on my way,

other stops were made and errands run..

on the way back through the middle

of Rye I picked up the camera and

took pictures as I went...

(after the first one or two , holding it on the

dash and clicking. or just pointing and clicking..

some turned out & a few did not...)

Rye, New Hampshire

The first settlement in New Hampshire, originally named Pannaway, it was established in 1623 at Odiorne's Point.[1] It was incorporated in 1726, as a parish of New Castle.

[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.5 square miles , of which 12.6 sq mi is land and 22.9 sq mi of it is water, comprising 64.45% of the town. The town is located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean and includes four of the nine islands known as the Isles of Shoals, which lie approximately 10 miles out from the mainland. The highest point in Rye is the summit of Breakfast Hill, at 151 feet (46 m) above sea level, on the town's border with Greenland

The census of 2000 shows Rye with the population of 5,182.

Here we are on "Lang Road" turning right on to
"Washington "..to drive thru the "middle" of Rye proper

Coming up on our left as we take the downwards

left curve is the "town hall"

Central road

(I actually counted 60 something bicyclist one day

on the way to town..Portsmouth)

cemetery

post office

Love Lane

(Our road intersects Central Road

and South Road...which come together

just down the road and empty into

Ocean Blvd. ,U.S. 1A, that runs along the coast)

Our road is about 1/2 mile long

with houses spaced out on both sides.

I will have to do a better job of

documenting the neighborhood

Ours is the last one on the right...or

the first on the left..depending which way

you come ...

Pulling into the driveway...

Chloe comes out to "her fence"

to say "Welcome home"

Mr.Boo-Boo waits in the living room...

..one of Chloe's favorite spots inside..

..on the landing above the living room and entry..

Sunday morning,Oct.26th

we head down

Love Lane

toward South Road

turning south, we head toward the beach..

Ocean Blvd.



There are many "mansions" close to the ocean.

Oops, we end up in the middle

of a charity walk..

So we turn west, toward U.S.1...

we will drive through Hampton Falls

and Hampton.

To the right, are "estuaries" ,
(I called them tidal pools..Michael taught me a new word)
they are on both sides of the road ..
to our left all the way back to the ocean...
at high tide they will be full
durring low tide..you can see the muck...
and there is always a pungent..
Smell.








On our left just north of Seabrook we come to
Linda's ,on a previous visit Linda's
recieved 2 thumbs up...
They have grits!

hint:the grits are not on the menu...
you just have to ask..
I was told that ...
"Yes,we do have grits..
I am sure not as good as you
are use too.."
(Why...I wasn't even using my Best
"Savannah" Southern drawl!)

"Do you want them in milk ?"

???


After Brunch we continued south...
within moments you cross over into
Massachusetts



We have decided today, we will run down

to Salem, Mass.

(about 40-45 miles south of Love Lane)

Salem , Mass. just northeast of Boston
was founded in 1626,
(3 years after Rye & Portsmouth)
Salem, was a thriving port in Maritime trade.



this little house tickled me

with its leaning chimney..

On the way I enjoyed the sites of

the autumnal trees, landscapes, quaint villages ...

and stores that seemed to be calling

to me...

"...come on in..."

Talking with Michael about Salem

I did mention that with it's

history including the famous Witch Trials

I did hope that they did not "commercilize" that point...

I love early American History

Duh!

It is Halloween!!

The streets were filled with people!!!

People of all shapes and sizes..

People of all ages...

People dressed in all kinds of Halloween garb!

Crazy hats sat atop heads of mothers

pushing strollers filled with miniscule ghosts, goblins &

cookie monsters...

However , as I took a closer look I relized

that the majority of everyone was clad in black...

many in their "witch" appareal...

many "bikers"

many dressed in the "Goth" fashion...

(Now, here is where I want to add a note about

my own appearal of the day...

Remember, when the weatherman

tells you it will be 60 -65 and warm..

you just might freeze to death!...O.K. so Sunday

morning I decide that a thin long sleeved tee with a

light weight sweater and jeans would "probably"

be a good choise...

light sweater :black..

long sleeved tee : purple & black striped..

looking around and then down at myself I began to

think...given a pointed hat..(which many were wearing)

I could have just about jumped out of the Disney movie

"Hocus Pocus")

That is when I asked Michael to please not loose me in the crowds...

He is such a good man...

This was probably a very good time for him to insert that

he was use to me looking like a Witch...

but, being the loving man he is he just

"smiled & knodded"

After walking around shoulder to shoulder

with the masses for awhile we devised a plan...

Since we lived so close...and could come back ..

on this trip we would take a trolley tour

and scope out the things we would like to see

on a future date...not in the month of October..

We scoped out a tour stand ,bought our tickets and borded...

Do you remember the comidian

George Carlin?

Our trolley driver/tour guide ,Kevin,was

in fact , minus the little pony tail,and filthy mouth

George re-encarnate!

We enjoyed the tour...

The founder of Salem...

born 1592..

Armory..(now visitors center)

site of

our nations first "national guard"

The prison (now closed) famed for housing

the "Boston Strangler"

You can board ships and

some even take you for a sail...

After many years of using Salem for a port..

ships became to large and heavy for

the 11-12 foot tides...

The home of a Sea Captain and trader ,

our first millionaire ..

After the tour Michael & I walked back to

the oldest cemetery in town

"Old Burying Point Cemetery"

Where Judge John Hathorne

the judge that resided over the

"Witch Trials" is burried...

along with many of his decendents..

note: his great -great (many times great) grandson

was so extremely embarassed by his ancestors behavior he changed

the spelling of his last name ..to Nathaniel Hawthorne

(1804-1864) author of "Scarlet Letter"& "The House of Seven Gables"

which is in Salem.

One of the gravesites belongs to one of the passengers

of the "Mayflower"

these are the toumbstones I have pictures of...

The judge gets to share his final resting grounds with the 20

people he found guilty of witchcraft...

these accused innocents ,19 of which were hung..and one old man

crushed to death by placement of large rocks on his chest.

Many others died in the dungon prison awaiting their fate..

note:

I watched a documentary a few years back on the "History"channel...

scientest have come to believe that Ergot (?) growing on the grain

harvested and used in baking ,

was the cause of the hallusiations & other side effects they were having ,

leading to the accusations of witchcraft...

They have built a memorial at the cemetery

for the 20 executed accused

20 granite benches protrude from a U shaped

granite wall , having a name and the dates

for each of the 20 victims

of the trials.

As we turn to leave the memorial at the cemetery

we come to the oldest house left in Salem..

We will say "good-bye" to Old Salem

from here for today and head

back to the "shire"

We only stayed a few hours but, it was enough

to dip our toes into the history of

Salem , Mass..

We will be back and visit

other slices of their time gone by again .

In order to get into or out of Salem

you must cross a bridge..

Before the "American Revolution"

a British officer of the Crown

was going to come across with his men

in tow...to find our muntions that were

"stored" in Salem...

however, the hotheaded gentlemen of the

towne said "NO" if he tried to come across

there would be all kinds of bloodshed!!

So after days of back and forth at the bridge

the Brits turned and left...

This is known as

"Leslie's Retreat"

Just on the other side of the bridge

we saw this resturant.

going north

a drawbridge in Newbury, Mass.

It is dark when we arrive back in Rye...

Chloe and her kittens are ready for

"supper"..

Tomorrow is Monday and the week end

will be gone...I will look forward to the next...

but, tomorrow is wash day and I think I will try out a

new recipie for a carrott cake..

After posting this entry...looking at it..it's haywire with

the lines so far apart and the centered lines all the way over to the left at times

for all these messes I appolagize and will continue to try and learn

how to post a "neat" blog..until next time..

Stay warm & dry...