Portsmouth, NH lies only about 1:15 minutes from downtown Boston, and provides a nice day retreat from the busy city life, to a relaxing and friendly north country coastal town. Portsmouth is a small and quaint town/city that has an overwhelming amount of excellent restaurants and bars that makes it very hard to choose which place. Luckily its close enough that you can come back frequently.

The Fall in New England is b y far one of the most special and beautiful places to be. The leaves changing colors, the crisp morning air, and of course the build up to Halloween. This weekend, the 9th and 10th of October, was a particularly beautiful time that embodied these very characteristics. Since the weather was going to be perfect for enjoying the outdoors and all it offers, I planned a day hike on Saturday with some friends at the Wompatuck State Park, on the south shore of Boston followed by a cookout back at the house. On sunday, Erin and I went to the Newburyport Fall Festival, in Newburyport, MA about 50 minutes north of the city.

So after a rather long summer hiatus from hiking of any kind, due to various life events, Erin and I decided to go for a like 4 mile hike during the beautiful Labor Day weekend here in New England. The temperatures have been a farcry from what they were a few days ago, so it was perfect weather for nice day hike.

As the winter months approach in New England, I find myself desiring less day hikes and more multi day trips. New Enland in the fall and winter is one of the most beautiful places I know, and as such I feel compelled to travel to all over it to take in as much as I can. This last weekend was my 25th birthday (or as my mother so nicely points out that i’m halfway to fifty) and I decided to take a 2day/1night trip to the beautiful coastal town of Rockland Maine. Rockland is an old fishing town whose roots are planted as deep as the great forests that surround it, and whose citizenry is kind and welcoming to visitor and local alike.