Yep. Even rye beach/Wallis sands/odiorne are much better. Jackstraw is mostly right, just add "yuppies" to the hipsters in Portsmouth.Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
Printable View
Yep. Even rye beach/Wallis sands/odiorne are much better. Jackstraw is mostly right, just add "yuppies" to the hipsters in Portsmouth.Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
Go to York. That’s where everyone in NH goes.
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
Go to York beach. Plus a maggot has a brewery there.
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
^^^which brewery? A few in York. Is the new tasting room at the beach loop open yet?
York is less expensive than Ogunquit or Wells even. Much more locally if you are into the old style beach town. Rent surfboards on long sands. Ask Rog to show you around MTB trails. Arcade on short sand. Take trolley up to Ogunquit. Walk Marginal Way. Eat lobsters by the draw bridge. Buy tourist t shirt. Trolley back to Wells. Decent food overlooking long sands at stones throw. Good beer list. Enjoy Lunch from Maine brewing. Good beer and lunch and games place kid friendly Kittery. $3 pints before 3pm, $4 pints before 4pm, etc. good afternoon stop after shoppig outlets or just rainy day activity. Salt water taffy machine at Goldenrod back in York. Basket ball courts. Candle pin bowling. Haddock Rueben at Union Bluff (pub side. The popcorn is free and serve yourself. Next to bar). Walk out to Nubble. Or sunset at Nubble and ice cream at not Browns (they place went away a decade ago, can’t recall name of new place next door).
Or spend the ones to be in Wells Beach. Way nicer beaches. Drake’s Island has no businesses but is my favorite. Or day trip to Parsons. Visit Kennebunkport for the day.
Let me know if you end up in southern Maine. Spent my childhood on Wells beach and been going back to the area with my kid for eight summers.
Switching to Chatham for next season
Never liked Hampton even as a teenager. To much noise.
And Key West is no way in the same category. Way better town. Only cross over is biker bars. But way more culture and history down there than any of the other shit hole towns listed.
Mallory Square and Duval street etc. are firmly part of that scene. But yeah there's a lot more there than just that.
Portsmouth may be hipster but it's still pretty rad. Saw my first big mountain ski movie there. Friendly Toast was fun for late night eats.
York beach beer co. I haven’t been since it opened but the guy that owns it has been a long time maggot but doesn’t post much. Great people though so hit it up when you’re around. Rog knows the owner and can make introductions if you know him.
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
Drake's island is cool. So the question is, which jetty is better to fish from? Drake's side or Wells Beach side? Heh. Is there a right answer? As a kid I fished off the bridge out to Ogunquit beach when the tide brought the fish up the river and back down. Going to Moody memorial day weekend. I like early season.
This made me laughQuote:
Originally Posted by iceman
Yup York/Kittery should definitely be on your list but I thought the rooms there were kinda pricey. IME as you go north of there on the coast the traffic can be overwhelming on Rt 1 along the beach.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
I like Salisbury beach a lot, thats my default beach. Parking is nowhere near as much of a problem as Hampton, Rye, Wallis Sands, etc (and Odiorne doesnt even have a beach?? just a park) because there are 3 or 4 massive lots. I love that you can sit on the river side and look at plum island (so the sun isnt directly behind you if you're facing the ocean) and the surfcasting is great. Also decent eats nearby, the Seaglass is awesome. Yes its a little bit white trashey but like Iceman said, redneck rivieras exist all down the coast, they ALL are to some degree.Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
Yes, I've just soured growing up in Hampton. It's just so damn busy now. I work in the next town.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mazderati
I live just a bit south of here. We usually go once a year because the kids like the boardwalk. Pretty gross overall though as everyone has said. I do enjoy Tripoli pizza though.
Long sands and ogunquit are nice beaches. I’m up the road in Portland but have been to pretty much every beach from Hampton to Popham. I do love the DSO two fers at Hampton. Nothing like dead heads and skee ball for days
Long Sands is fine but it is mostly below mean high tide. So you lose it twice a day. Drakes, Wells,Moody and Ogunquit still have some sand at high tide. It gets crowded, but not non-existent. Although, Moody has the semi private beach bullshit.
Rt 1 traffic from the Ogunquit playhouse to the Maine Diner in Wells can be pretty horrific mid July. Just hit the road early and stay where you are until 7pm, and yer fine. Or look at some maps b4 you go and learn the work arounds.
If I were choosing a beach to stay at and fish, Drakes for sure. You have the jetty, but also the little river and plenty of reefs to surf cast I to at low tide. Being a SUP and you have all the estuary options.
What I love about York Beach is the wild kindhdom. While that zoo is a little depressing I love how the amusement park looks liked it showed up for a carnival week stay and ended up never leaving. My kid was 7 last summer, and he still loved it. I think the best part for him is the cheap games. While we have a decent sized boardwalk amusement park here, I never let him drop $3 to lose at gimmick games. I think you win something every game at YWK. Most of it pure garbage, but he would come home stoked at his winning.
yeah we drove by york last year on our way home from old orchard... which was an "interesting" place. the anchorage inn seems like a decent place; always need a pool for our son too. our 2nd time surfing will also happen, seems like plenty of rentals around. booking diff places and will make the final decision up to the cancellation deadlines. we're doing last week of august, so plenty of time sorting though all your great recommendations.
where ever we end up we will hit portsmouth a few times as well.
For what it’s worth, traffic is mellower along rt 1 in ME the last two weeks before Labor Day week end.
Anchorage in Ogunquit is a sore subject in my family. It ruined a really nice view. I remember picking blueberries in that field before it was built. Oh well. No going back to the past.
Helps if you know the back roads. Don't ask me their names, I just know where they go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottime
Yeah. I spent my teens summering at Sea Vu in Wells. Good friend with the owners. I know my way around. Learned to drive on he back roads. Not so easy for someone getting around their first time.some of the routes take you half way to Sanford.
OP if you are in Wells and enjoy a good donut, sing into Congdons. Best donut pretty much anywhere. Butter crunch for the win.
MTB and hike around Mt Aggie.
Fify. Rog loves it when I call it that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottime
Careful, you'll end up in Lyman if you don't pay attention.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottime
I lost my virginity near Lyman. Really nice girl, too.
Now the girls I knew in Rochester were pretty wild. Fun, but maybe a little too much fun.
There must be a whole lotta things that I never done, but I never had too much fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufEk...&frags=pl%2Cwn
more good guitar in that 57 seconds than you'll hear the rest of the week
foreigner is playing there 8/25.....so ive got that going for me.
They don't call it Rottenchester for nothing. Dirty Dover has come a long way being so close to Portsmouth, but Rochester hasn't. The place went from crackhouses to heroin to meth. It's really unfortunate. Something needs to break the cycle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottime
Rochester does have one of the best bike shops in the state though.
This was the 80s. Think it was coke and weed back then. Good ole days.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackstraw
My 14 yo liked the skatepark in Rye.
Driving in York county was a shitshow yesterday. Accident on I95 and route 1 all backed up between wells and Ogunquit. We went back through the Berwicks and cut over to 202 thought Somerset and Gonic. Rt 4 was fine. Even 9 through the Berwicks was nutty for a stretch.
And this the season begins.
Why do you think I got my fix in over Memorial day? Crowded enough to resemble high season, but not really. And prices were still low(er). Some kids next to us caught a flounder under the Ogunquit beach bridge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottime
Flounder sounds awesome.
We used to fish for crabs off the bridge using hotdogs for bait. Small soft shell types. I don’t think they are good eating. Or at least we always caught and released. I do have found memories digging for clams in the Little River mid flats at low tide, until the red tide started to arrive when I was about 14. We did eat those guys for a while.
Ya, crabbing. When the kids were little it provided hours of entertainment. Baloney worked better and cheaper than hot dogs. Strictly catch and release. Footbridge beach bridge was our favorite spot for that. Now the youngest one wants to catch real fish. Might have to try for flounder next time.
ok,,,heading there tomorrow with the bride and son,,,,sat/sun/mon - thinking that Portsmouth might be the closest place for great seafood? Any recommendations for there or the Hampton Beach area?
There is great seafood everywhere. Fried Clams are to die for. Here's a guide to the area
Attachment 292106
Greetings from West Portugal!
ha that map is pretty much right on point. Portsmouth's cool and has good food and beer but Dave's right that good seafood will be all over the place in that area.
-PortsmouthQuote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
Surf and Jumpin' Jays are good for seafood. Plus a whole bunch of other spots.
Ferry Landing is a classic spot by the tug boats for fried food.
Flatbread pizza
Just outside of town...which has parking...is Cornerstone Pizza and other food. Across the street is Street resturant. International style food available.
-North Hampton check Throwback Brewery.
-Hampton kind of sucks for food honestly.
Definitely do not eat at North Beach Grill. It's next to a cool surf shop though, Cinnamon Rainbows. Also on that corner is the Secret Spot and thats good for lunch take-out/little spot to sit outside. Acai bowls and such.
WHYM (water, hops, yeast, malt) in Hampton is opening today. That is the spot for the best beer selection. Probably a new chef from their previous spot, so no call on the food yet.
Smuttynose brewery just added to their outdoor venue which is pretty cool now. Their beer is decent and food is ok.
The Galley Hatch is a staple down town and the food is ok.
The Atlantic Grill is decent food, but pricey.
Logans Run is a junkshow. Don't go there.
Pizza is up and down at the Community Oven. Wood fired, so sometimes it's hard to cook consistently I guess...idk.
-Newburyport is good.
Paddle In is a cool spot with good eats.
There's a bunch of other spots in Newburyport also.
I don't eat at Hampton Beach, so I cannot really recommend anything down there. Well, in the off season we'll take out at the chinese place Ocean Wok and just north of the 'strip' is Ron's Landing. Ron's is $$ though.
Just head north of Hampton Beach to other beaches with a more mellow vibe when needed.
Have fun!
Oh shit, Hampton, North Hampton, and Rye just went on a "Boil water" alert. This is a first for me...wtf. Maybe you should change your destination man!
This place roolsQuote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
Plastic checkered table colths, great seafood, decent beer selection.
www.newicks.com
Been hitting it whenever I can since NH wife took me there the first time in 06
Newicks is pretty bad compared to other offerings. Franklin oyster house is also great. Be aware: its UNH move in weekend so it may be more shitshow than normal.