October 9

The Maine Turnpike was built in 1947. Bob thinks that maybe it's time for them to resurface it. Maine is not spending much of their stimulus package - there are potholes in Maine streets that could hide an SUV.

Yesterday, after Philip's soccer practice, we headed south to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.




Action shots of Philip on the soccer field........and his cheerleader, Laila.

Portsmouth is a pretty town, much like all the other New England towns we've been through. We missed the best part because we were afraid to get lost(having gotten lost once on the way IN to town), but we did find the old North Cemetery. That may not be interesting to many of you, but I think that old cemeteries are fascinating. We found resting places of people from the 1770's through 1901 (at least, that was the newest one I saw). VEry interesting.

New Hampshire seems to be a passionate state. They have lower sales tax, LOTS of political signs, and a state slogan that is on every license plate: "Live Free or Die!" (We find that a little hostile and threatening, frankly.)

We noticed that as we went south to New Hampshire (only an hour away) that the leaves aren't as colorful. Surprising that there's a difference this close.