44 Down, 6 To Go!

Here I am in Maine, my 44th state. We decided to take a side trip for the night and visit the ocean and some outlet malls. On our way, we drove through 3 states. First… Massachusetts. I’ve already been there, but it’s still a nice drive through the Berkshires. New Hampshire was my 43rd state. Yippee! The sign says their state motto, “Live Free or Die!” Awesome.
This sign was on a bridge going over the Piscataqua River. As soon as we got there, we had to go to a seafood shack, so here it is.
And Dan was a good New Englander and got a big basket of fried clams from a guy that said, “You can’t get they-ah from he-yah.” Well, at least he could have if he wanted to. (Please note Ray’s Giants hat… we were in Patriots country and he got two different rants from two different Patriots fans just ten minutes apart. They’re still mad about the superbowl upset.)Then we went to our first shopping stop. The Kittery Trading Post. Here we are walking in. It was a huge place. After a little shopping and checking into our hotel, we drove around Kittery a little and found a lookout with a historic fort. Here’s the view.
Then, we headed to downtown Portsmouth, NH for dinner. We didn’t know it, but we ended up in the cutest little town. It kind of reminded me of Saratoga Springs but more New England-ish. Here’s the church at the center of town, whose congregation was formed in 1627. Crazy. So, since I have enjoyed Maine so much, I’ve decided to dump Saratoga Springs. Now, we’re going to buy a house on the ocean, get a fishing boat, wear LL Bean all the time and have kids with funny accents. I just need to find a place to work…

Oh, and an update on yesterday’s nomination. I now have opponents. God help us all.