NEWMARKET

July 9, 2015July 5, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

Like Dover, the town of Newmarket flanks Durham and its state university campus, and as a former textiles mill town, it, too, is home to a number of University of New Hampshire students and the kinds of businesses one would expect as a consequence – small restaurants, bars, pizza parlors, bookstores, yoga studios, nightspots, and so on. The Stone Church Meeting House has long been a venue for emerging musical acts.

The Stone Church Meeting House sits atop a steep street downtown.

The town of approximately 9,000 also has a strong blue-collar side, which also feeds into a distinctly funky feel.

But to me there’s always been a sensation that the place isn’t fully New England. It somehow reminds me more of small cities in central Pennsylvania or even Galena, Illinois, near the Mississippi. I think that has to do with the way the central street twists through downtown and the prevalence of stonework rather than the traditional brick in the mills and a few prominent houses. It’s picturesque, all the same.

Key to its industrial development was a large inland saltwater estuary that allowed extensive shipping. In generic usage, Great Bay also encompasses Little Bay and a host of small-town waterfronts where humble rivers fall to sea level. These include Durham and its Oyster River; Exeter and the Exeter/Squamscott; and Newmarket, with the Lamprey River, before passing Dover Point and emptying into the Piscataqua River on its way to the Atlantic. It’s a major breeding ground for fish populations all along the East Coast, and the current at Dover Point is always intense.

Hope you enjoy this quick tour.

ME ON RAINIER

July 7, 2015May 28, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

At this time of year I once got a terrible sunburn on the bottom of my nose and the bottom of my chin, where my zinc oxide sunscreen rubbed off while climbing the snowfields of Mount Rainier. This shot was from another July outing.

HARBOR CRUISE

July 4, 2015May 28, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

This view of cruising Portsmouth Harbor always reminds me of several French Impressionist masterpieces. Maybe it has something to do with the flag in motion.

PEDESTRIAN SPAN

June 30, 2015April 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 4 Comments

Built for a railroad, this span's been refurbished for more pedestrian pleasures. It's a beauty, sometimes gentle, sometimes dramatic, always welcoming on a morning stroll. — Built for a railroad, this span’s been refurbished for more pedestrian pleasures. It’s a beauty, sometimes gentle, sometimes dramatic, always welcoming on a morning stroll.

SAWYERS MILL

June 29, 2015April 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 4 Comments

The street winds through the old complex.

While the Cocheco Millworks in downtown Dover anchor the center of the town, the Sawyers Mill complex is tucked away on the Bellamy River.

Both the Cocheco and Bellamy form the flanks of Dover Point as they flow toward the sea.

ROUND AND ROUND WE GO

June 27, 2015April 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 4 Comments

Fair warning, especially when there's no backup. — Fair warning, especially when there’s no backup.

Drivers from other parts of the world are often terrified by New England’s use of traffic circles at busy intersections. We’re not the only people to use them – Washington, D.C., has some of the worst – but they do become landmarks. In New Hampshire, for instance, a set of directions might mention the Portsmouth Traffic Circle, or the one at Epsom or Stratham or Alton or Lee, shown here.

It's when you add traffic that things get fun. — It’s when you add traffic that things get fun.

Other terms for the routing around a central island include “rotaries” and “roundabouts.” What Romans call theirs would be unprintable in a family-friendly blog like this.