Well, I guess the first thing I need to do is tell everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We made it to Portsmouth just in time for Christmas! We got here on Tuesday the 19th and stayed in the Hampton Inn and Suites until we could move into our apartment which was the 21st. The beautiful part of this is the Hotel and our apartment complex share space with their valet parking being the entrance into the apartment delivery entrance so, we were right next door to our apartment.
Because the truck was eleven feet high, it would not fit into the delivery area or our parking garage. All of the parking on the street is metered parking so Gillian and I went to the Portsmouth Parking Authority and reserved 3 parking spots for the day directly in front of the apartment complex. (If you’re curious, the complex is called Residences at Portwalk Place and you can see it online. I must warn you that many of the pictures there are older but you will get an idea.) So we purchased 3 parking meter bags for $150.00 which were good for 8 am thru 5 pm on the 22nd.
My oldest son drove our truck up from Florida and came in on the afternoon of the 21st and the movers/unloaders were scheduled for 8 am the 22nd. The truck wouldn’t fit on the street or in the public parking garage so we found a parking lot and met him there and locked it up until morning.
Ironically, one of the first questions my son asked was, “What the hell is up with the sunsetting at 4:30 in the afternoon?” I was so relieved when he arrived just to know he was safe. He spent the evening and had a wonderful dinner with us across the street at the 110 Grill. We had a wonderful dinner. While we were there a waitress we met when we were here in October, her name is Lidya (don’t kill me if I misspelled your name), came in and remembered my wife and I from our previous visit and ran over and showered us both we hugs.
We said good night and told my son we would see him in the morning. We arranged a car to take him to the airport at 6 am so we met in the lobby and said goodbye. I cannot say how much I appreciate what he did for us.
Goodbyes being said, Gillian and I went to the parking meters and began bagging the parking meters to leave room for the truck and the ramp and then went to get the truck. Oh by the way, it was 19 degrees and this would be my first lesson about the need for gloves.
Ice on everything and even the truck steering wheel was like an ice cube. I can now say I have eaten my words on not wearing gloves and am the owner of a lovely set of Isotoners, supplied by my much smarter wife.
We moved the truck and spent the day with the movers moving stuff in. It is important to understand that I didn’t move a dadgum thing! I was very supportive though. We also had some new furniture delivered along with a new bed. Wow was it a long day but it was done in a day.
We spent one more night in the hotel, said goodbye to our new friends at the Hampton Inn, and walked next door. The following days are still kind of a blur but I want you to see some pictures of Portsmouth and why we chose to live here. The people are awesome, the food is amazing, and the scenery is to die for.
I will tell you about our first Christmas in New Hampshire on the next installment. Stay tuned…
