Portsmouth

This is definately a town I could see myself living in. It has all of the charm of a quaint little seaside community, and yet it is not even an hour outside of Boston. Home of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, it used to be a big submarine port, where my F-I-L worked when he was a young man. The USS Albacore, which he helped with, is now a museum there. Pease Air Force Base has been decommissioned and is now turning into a beautiful industrial park, open space, and shopping center. Strawberry Bank is a series of gardens planted right along the waterfront within walking distance to town. It is beautiful no matter what time of year you go. My fil frequently stocks up on seeds for his own garden there :) Alas, today we did not get to see the flowers at SB. We did get to go to one of my favorites though! Pocos. Arguably the best Mexican food in the state, and definately the best calamari I have ever tasted. They have a patio built out back that is over the Piscataqua River by where the container ships come in to drop salt. We watched the tugs come back from helping a cargo ship through the channel under the bridge, and watched the many sailboats, and catamarans that were out for a great day on the water. We went to lunch with Art's folks. It was our Christmas present from them. The best part is being able to spend the day with them. I am glad that my mil came out. She was not having a good day, but hopefully enjoyed herself a bit... Art and his dad had a Prickly Pear Margarita, which was pink and fruity tasting. I tried something new- A Stoli Blutini. It has blueberry Stoli's, Vanilla Stoli's, and Blue Caraco. Tasted perfectly like a blueberry. Then the kick in the pants. :) We had a porpourri of appetizers instead of individual meals. Calamari, of course. Their espinaca con queso es muy delicioso, coconut shrimp, chicken enchiladas, and Art's folks got some Lobster Chowder. We were all stuffed. It was all good, though if I had do-overs I probably wouldn't have gotten the enchiladas. I was full before they arrived.