We arrived at Pine Acres campground just after noon and were assigned our site.
They didn't call it Pine Acres for nothing! We are located in the middle of Sherwood Forest! No chance for any satellite connection, and no cable or WiFi. 
Thus, we have been stuck with local TV coverage off our antenna for the past week. I am suffering withdrawal not having CNBC and ESPN, and Suzanne is going crazy without CNN. Our salvation is happy hour when we can go to one of the local sports bars and get the latest market and sports news. Luckily, my Verizon HTC Incredible smart phone has good connection and I can do my work every morning and kind of keep up on the financial news during the day.
The campground is like most of the Morgan campgrounds - mostly seasonal rentals with travel trailers and 5th wheels. Our site is quite nice, but we happen to be located on a corner site on the main road into and out of the campground - the traffic is intense to say the least, especially on the weekend! And the number of kids is quite something. The park is very popular with families since it has a beach on the Lamprey River, a skate board park, and a water park with two water slides. Since the campground is so large and spread out, they also rent golf carts and the seasonals have their own carts. So with the kids riding bikes, scooters, skate boards, and the kids and adults driving all manner of hopped up golf carts (more about this later), plus the cars and trucks, it is a busy intersection that we occupy!
All this having been said, we got set up on Sunday and searched the local area for a sports bar. We found a bar/restaurant in Raymond, not far from the campground, and had our first happy hour with the locals. Supreme Pizza and Teddy's Lounge is not a bad spot
, and the locals are friendly. We have found that you can learn a great deal about the area from talking to the locals in a pub.
On Monday we headed East to Hampton to see the beach and have lunch at one of the several highly rated restaurants. The beach was very crowded for a Monday, so no lunch at the beach. Instead, we headed back into Hampton proper and found Lamies Old Salt restaurant and bar. What a great place! The hotel/restaurant is quite old as you can see, and the dining area is well restored.
We had a fine lunch, with enough food to take home for a second meal. After lunch we headed North to see a bit of Portsmouth, a very attractive and historic town. With so much to see, we decided to return later in the week for a better look.
On Tuesday, I headed South to Derry to have some blood work done. Nothing special, just something my cardiologist wanted. Later that morning, Suz and I headed East to the town of Exeter, another historic town in the area. the town is situated on the Exeter River, which becomes the Squamscott river below the dam on the Exeter. Don't ask me why. The river hosted the first grist mill in the area in 1640!
The town also is the site of the Folsom Tavern, which was one of the sites where the Declaration of Independence was drafted. Also in Exeter is Phillips Exeter Academy, a very prestigious (and large) boarding school where the rich and famous send their children for "proper training." It was established in 1781 and, as found in Wikipedia, is "noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking questions and creating discussions." Many notables have graduated from the school to say the least.
While in Exteter, we found a great soup and sandwich cafe called The Green Bean.
Suz and I really enjoyed the fare and the great view of the Exeter River from the cafe window. 
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We found Exeter so enjoyable that we returned on Wednesday and Thursday for lunch and to explore some more.
On Wednesday, we tried another soup and sandwich cafe on the river, the Loaf and Ladle. 
It was not nearly as good as The Green Bean, so we went back to The Green Bean on Thursday for another great lunch. Of course, on most nights we headed back to either Teddy's or to Legends, found in the local bowling alley in Raymond.
Friday, we toured the local WalMart and Lowe's, plus a bunch of other shops to stock up the coach, then it was back to the coach to wait for the influx of seasonals into the campground - and influx there was! As it happens, Saturday was the day when the local golf cart builder was sponsoring golf cart drag racing on the campground baseball field. In came the souped up golf carts on trailers from as far as Rhode Island. Some of the carts had snowmobile engines (without mufflers) that were very fast (and noisy), to say the least. All Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, these carts were "testing" up and down the campground roads. What a treat! We were happy to get out of the campground Saturday afternoon before the 4:30 drag races. I haven't a clue who won, but there were several different classes being contested.
Saturday evening, we met Rocco and Mercine Adinolfi at The Old Salt in Hampton for a great visit and a wonderful meal of seafood. None of us could finish our meal, which meant Sunday dinner was taken care of. Sunday, we watched as the seasonals and visitors with the souped up golf carts departed. Ah, the quiet was wonderful! Unfortunately, as the seasonals left, the rain moved in. It rained continuously both Sunday night and Monday. So on Monday, we decided to head into Portsmouth to have Dixie groomed at the local Petco; John shorn at the local Super Clips; and have a look at The Country Club of New England, which was opened in 2003, designed by Arnold palmer and constructed by our friend Ty Haubert. What a beautiful layout!
After dropping Dixie off, much to her dismay, Suz and I headed into Portsmouth in the rain to find a spot for lunch. What we found was The Old Ferry Landing at 10 Ceres Street.
It is a small restaurant, but the view was great (despite the rain), and the food was wonderful. Suz and I split a lobster roll and a cup of chowder, which was all we could eat. We picked up Dixie, much to her relief and returned to the campground. what a task in the driving rain on I95 and US101. Not far, but not fun.
Today is the day for cleaning the coach in preparation for our departure tomorrow. Our next stop will be Camden, Maine where we will see Bob and Sheila Leach and feast on lobster to our heart's content! Until then, Cheers!
John, Suz and Dixie the (well groomed) Wonderdog
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