Tidal pull

[Portsmouth Harbor, NH; 12:30pm, 8/1/08]

I've been going to the New Hampshire seacoast since my mother brought me when I was a baby, along with my brother. Growing up about 60 miles inland, it was an easy day trip. Throughout my childhood, on summer weekends we'd tailgate with all my cousins at the state park, the dads barbecuing pork chops over hot coals and drinking their Budweisers, throwing scraps to the watchful seagulls, the kids climbing on the rocks or trekking down to the beach for a swim.

Later, for a few years, when I was in junior high and early high school, we rented a funky little cottage at North Beach in Hampton for two weeks in August. That's where my parents moved to when my dad retired, to a condo just up the road from North Beach, where they lived until August of 2004. August was vacation time, and family visits to the beach -- which is when my brother and his family came out every year from Michigan for a week -- revolved (in typical Leo fashion) around my mother's August birthday.

[Storm-eroded seawall, North Beach]

There are prettier beaches in New England. The surfers love it, but North Beach mostly disappears at high tide, and the sand is hard and sometimes pebbly and strewn with seaweed. But at low tide the beach is wide and flat and perfect for walking and beachcombing. One of the benefits of spending a few days there is flexibility in adjusting to the tide schedule, whether planning a barefoot walk at the waterline or to sit in a beach chair with a book or go for a swim. And it all moves forward about an hour every day, so the timing usually works out perfectly for at least a day or two. (Unless of course it rains on those perfectly timed days...)


[North Beach, 9:45am; 8/1/08]

Yesterday I drove up early from Boston, both to avoid traffic and to catch the beach at mid-tide so there would still be enough to walk on before it was drowned under until late afternoon. It was drizzling lightly as I drove up, and the overcast never really lifted, but I didn't come for sun, just sea air, the feel of the briny Atlantic on my skin, sand under my feet. Next weekend I'll be in Michigan visiting my dad, and there are few summer weekends left.

When the tide came up, I threw my chair back in the car and drove up to Portsmouth, which was understandably busier than the beach on an overcast day. I ate lunch overlooking the harbor at our old standby, The Old Ferry Landing, which has been open in summers for 33 years. When I last lived in the Boston area, in the early '80s, I used to always stop in at the Landing on my way back from beach trips to Ogunquit in Maine. The menu - baskets of fish and chips, burgers, bowls of chowder - is still pretty much the same except that they now have daily specials of somewhat more upscale fare. I had a grilled swordfish sandwich with a fresh chopped salsa on it, along with my favorite local brew, a Smuttynose.

For more photos from yesterday's trip to the NH Seacoast and more from previous visits, see my Seacoast set or on Flickr or my photostream.

[From my own perch at the Old Ferry Landing, Portsmouth]

Comments

[marja-leena]

Your love of the sea has always been evident, and now I can see it comes from many years spent near it. Lovely views of the other coast, though that seawall looks rather monstrous.

[Dave]

The seawall picture is cool. (I also liked the photo of the Smuttynose dog on the chair on the beach, here.)

[rr]

I'm thirsty for a beer, and longing for the sea. Such beautiful, beautiful pictures. I love how you see something new each time you go.

[leslee]

Marja-Leena: Thanks, but don't judge the "other coast" by this beach! The seawall is monstrous, but see how much more monstrous the winter storms are!

Dave: Aw, poor Smuttynose dog. That is a great photo.

RR: I thought of you as I was thinking of how much I long for the seacoast. Maybe someday I can afford to rent a beach cottage for a week (off-season!).

[maria]

Your post and photos took me right there, that is how strong that tidal pull was!

[leslee]

Thanks, Maria. :-) I look forward to visiting the sea on your coast before too long!

[Amy]

Enjoyed seeing the Seacoast through your lens! And I blogged a link to this post.

[Leslee]

Hey thanks, Amy! I enjoy seeing the Seacoast through your eyes -- and I can do that almost any day of the week!

[Neith]

I love the ocean too. The way the air feels and smells, the sound of the surf, gulls crying, etc. Walking along the waterline is very healing.

Great photos as always.

[Leslee]

Thanks, Neith. You got it - the air near the ocean is amazing.

I forget exactly where you are, but not near the ocean, right?