Ann, I really enjoy local history, this is great.  From my trips back east I was often in awe of the history there, its really quite amazing & cool at how so much of it has been preserved. 

Anne,

I lived in Portsmouth for about a year in the mid 80's. What a quaint town. So charming.

Hi Steve - it is really beautiful to wander through this outdoor living museum and to see how these magnificient buildings have been preserved and restored.  This whole town of Portsmout is just loaded with history, and a lot of the historical homes are still being lived in - hundreds of years old some of them are.  You'd really enjoy this area - come for a visit!

Many thanks for your comments - I'm glad you enjoyed this post!
Ann

Hi Lori - Portsmouth really is a wonderful town, full of charm and history - lots to do for everyone.  We've had a lot of changes since you were here - you should come back for a visit sometime!

Thanks for reading and for commenting!
Ann

Ann-Great post about your area.  I love history and love the historical buildings and museums.  We have some great historical places in Volusia as well.   Ever since I saw those lobster's on your last post, I think your area is perfect!  You do represent your area well!

Hi Midori - why thank you so much for that really nice comment!!  It's so easy to write great posts about this area because I love it here and it's hard to not write great stuff when you live in a place like Portsmouth!  Since you love history, you should take a trip up this way - you'll love all that we have to offer here.  Loads of historical homes - open for tours and plenty that people live in, galleries, museums, and more - plenty to keep you busy for a good long time, that's for sure!!

Thanks for reading and commenting - I really appreciate that!
Ann

What a beautiful place you live in Ann!  Sounds like a great place to add to the "one day I'm gonna go to" list.

Hi Ann...I have been there many times but some how I never tire of it!

Great post...

Hi Lisa - this whole area really is beautiful! We're traveled all over New England, and it's all just a very pretty area of the country. And of course, I'm very partial to New Hampshire and in particular my town of Portsmouth and the general Seacoast area here along the coast!

I hope you do make it up here 'one day' - it's well worth a visit, and you'll want to stay for more than a day, too.  Better plan on several days and you'll want to keep coming back after that!

Thanks for your comments!
Ann

Hi Joan - it's so easy to see why you never tire of this place, no matter how many times you've been here.  It's just so beautiful and so much a part of all that has been before.  And they continually make changes to the homes and buildings that are open, as well as to the displays and exhibits.  It just gets better every year!

Thanks so much for your comments, Joan!
Ann

Make sure to check out the tour of the Victorian Children's Garden - this is such a sweet garden area for the kids!  These pictures don't really convey what you see there in person, but it was such a delight to walk through this particular garden and envision kids back then playing here....very pretty!!

Ann

Ann, what a great, detailed post.  In all my travels I've never been to New Hampshire. When my family is on the other side of the States, I know who to call for a 'things to do' list!  Thanks.

Hi Joey - well, since you've never been here, you know I'm going to suggest that you must take a trip here!   New England is gorgeous and New Hampshire is just really wonderful, especially here along the coast where I live.  If you do get this way, make sure to let me know!

Thanks for reading and for commenting - much appreciated!
Ann

Ann, I absolutely love your local posts! You do such a wonderful job   :)

Hi Diane - thank you so much, and I really appreciate your feedback!  When I do my local posts, I look at it and make sure it's something that would interest me, and if it isn't, it doesn't get published.  I'm glad you enjoy them - I enjoy writing them, too!

Ann

Ann,

Nice old fashion architecture...great localism post as usual.

Ann,

Beautiful post about the Portsmouth area!  Strawbery Banke has a lot of history - 375 years that is impressive.  I love old historical homes and I bet the ones at this site are wonderful to tour. 

Hey Neal - these old homes are really wonderful to see in person. It's interesting to imagine living as people did back then- much smaller rooms in most of them, smaller doorways, lower ceilings, etc.  Thanks for the comment!

Hi Rita - thanks!!  We have a lot of really old towns in this part of the country and the historic areas are really fun to tour.  If you love historic homes, you'd really enjoy this outdoor living museum - I wandered through it again the other day when I took these pictures and it was really relaxing and very enjoyable.

Many thanks for reading and for your comments!
Ann

Ann, what a beautiful post.  I loved reading the history.  You're so thorough in everything you do.  You put others to shame (like me LOL) 

Hi Maggie - you make my smile with your comment!  I love doing the posts on my area - there's just so much here to write about, I don't think I'll ever run out of things to tell people about.  I love living here and I hope that comes across in my posts!  This really is a very special place to call home, especially for those who love history like the museum in this post.

Thanks for reading and commenting - much appreciated Maggie!!
Ann

Ann, what a great update and historical tour....you make a bit of history with every sale you make in a town like this.  Very nice post.

Hi Gary - what a nice comment you left me.  Thank you for that!  And thank you for reading - I'm glad you enjoyed this post.

Ann

Hi Ann,

We're so envious of you living in that great place and want so badly to come visit again.  What is the leaf schedule?  Maybe we can break away for 3 days to see the leaves change in your area.  I would love that!  What a beautiful depiction of your area.

Ann,  We are both fortunate in that we live in an area so rich in history.  Whenever we travel in the "Original Thirteen" I love to tour historic homes which my husband refers to as "old houses".  Actually, I am slowly but surely building a post about Northern Virginia historic sites and combining it with newer attractions as a mix.  Karen

This is simply a wonderful localism post.  Beautifully designed and easy to read!  Great job.

Hi Lisa - well then come on back up here!  We have some leaves changing now, but it's usually Columbus Day weekend when you'll see the most color.  I took some pictures earlier today of the reds of the sugar maples in a few places.  This is a beautiful area, that's for sure.  If you do come up this way, let me know as I'd love to meet up with you at some point.

Hi Karen - your area has loads of history, too, and you should do some posts on all that.  I'll keep an eye out for that post of yours!  If you take another trip up to the 'original thirteen' let me know!

Hi Diane - thank you so much for those really nice comments!  I very much appreciate them!

Many thanks for reading this post and for your wonderful comments!
Ann

Ann - I love the history of the first settled cities, states and towns. I bet there is so much there. I would love the tour of these homes and the gardens. The replications are nice but not the original!

just a wonderful place.

i think some of those doorways may still have remnants of my forehead. 

Hi Paula - you know, it's funny, I really greatly disliked history growing up, and now that I live in a place so full of history, I really enjoy it and love finding out even more about my area and all that made it be what it is today.  If you ever do make it here for a visit, we'll do this tour of this outdoor museum and then go have us that lobster dinner you'd love......   ;-)

Hi Jay - wonderful indeed!  Those doorways really are short and not too wide either.  People were certainly a different size than we are today, that's for sure.

Thanks for the comments!
Ann

I know I mentioned this before, but Strawbery Banke Museum was so much fun.  We enjoyed every minute of it.  I remember trying to get one of the actors to break from her acting and answer a timely question for me, and she was so cool.  She wouldn't do it.  In fact, she made a joke out of what I was asking, though I don't remember what it was.  They take their jobs very seriously.  It was really great fun.

Hi Patsy - you're right about the actors there in period clothing.  The lady in one of my pictures stayed right in her character every time I asked her a question.  At first, I didn't realize what she was doing.  I just thought she was a little old-fashioned Yankee, and then it dawned on me after the 2nd or 3rd time I talked to her.

Strawbery Banke Museum is a fascinating living museum - timeless, educational and fun!

Ann