Half Day in Portsmouth, NH

I was off from work on Monday. After running some errands in the morning and having brunch with Will, I asked Will what we should do with the rest of the day. I think the scene went something like this:

J: What do you want to do today?

W: I don't know. Let me think about it.

(Will goes off to the computer for about 10 minutes, then comes charging back into the room)

W: Okay. Put on cute clothes that are comfortable. Grab your book. And a light jacket. 

...

I was thinking more along the lines of "do you want to go read at Starbucks" or "do you want to go walk down to the beach"... but Will had grander plans.

We got into the car and he programmed the GPS. I like surprises, so I turned my head as not to see the screen. When we started off on the journey, I saw that it was about 45miles/1hour away. Whoa! This really was going to be an adventure! I was thinking he'd found a new bakery or coffee shop to check out, but this was a bigger plan, still!

We arrive at Portsmouth, NH. Will leads me to a park and says "This is one of four things I have planned for us." More surprises yet! 

We wander around the park for a little while. There were a couple of gardens and several benches. Will said that he thought it would be prettier and he thought we'd sit there and read for a while. It looked like it may start to rain, and the park overlooked a lake with several large barges... not the most pleasing view. Even still, if we'd brought a blanket or something, we probably would have sat down to read for a bit. Instead, we decided to walk around a little while, then ended up at a little coffee shop Will had researched. We ordered drinks and read quietly for a while. It started to rain while we were there, but quickly turned into a bright and sunny day. 

We went from there to a little used book store a few streets over. It was a quaint little shop with a big plush couch right in front of the cooking section. I happily made myself comfortable there, perusing recipes and Michael Pollan books. While we were in there, torrential downpours and hail started coming down. The lights flickered several times, and even a few loud peals of thunder echoed through the city. In a matter of minutes, it went from bright mid-day sun to dark evening light, also dropping at least 15 degrees. We decided to camp out in the store with the employee, chatting about travels and the rain. 

Not a pic of us at the store... I didn't grab one there. Alas.

We waited out the rain, which lasted about 15 minutes, and then took off in search of our final destination-- food! Will researched a few different breweries within driving distance, and we ended up at Redhook Brewery. It has a pub attached, so we enjoyed a sampler flight and some pub grub. 

It was a small and unexpected adventure. I am so grateful to be with a man who likes surprising me and strives to impress me still. We already enjoyed our summer vacation, so the rest of our summer was looking pretty uneventful. After today's joy ride, I am starting to doubt my previous evaluation...