Delayed post!

Remember last weekend when I took a little hiatus from the world-wide web?  That’s because I was enjoying a little overnight getaway in Portsmouth, NH.  I recently realized that I have a few free Marriott nights to use up as part of my Marriott rewards, so it was the perfect excuse to just leave town for the weekend.

Anyone else ever been to Portsmouth before?  It’s a really cute town of shops, bars, and restaurants.  We drove down Saturday afternoon and stayed until Sunday night.  Saturday was mainly spent at The Portsmouth Brewery, sampling beers, talking about life, and mainly just enjoying being AWAY from everything going on at home.  Sunday was spent indulging in a delicious breakfast at The Friendly Toast, walking around the shops downtown, strolling by the water, and hitting up the Kittery Outlets for some sweet sales before we drove home.

The Portsmouth Brewery

What can I really say about The Portsmouth Brewery – it was pretty much exactly what you would expect!  The upstairs had a big bar and tables, but Tim and I spent our time in their downstairs lounge area.  The beers/food options were the same, and we didn’t have to wait at all for a seat at the bar if we went down there.

Beers on tap for the night?  Don’t mind if I do.

We tried them all…

..and enjoyed quite a few more for the rest of the night.

Between brews we did order some food.  Since this was a last-minute getaway we didn’t want to spend too much money or order anything too crazy, so we each opted for the soup, salad, and bread combo.  This was our choice of salad, the soup of the day, and a homemade pretzel roll.  We opted for the seasonal salad which was local farm greens tossed with lemon-tarragon vinaigrette with red onion, balsamic grilled pears, and pumpkin seeds.  The soup of the day was a haddock chowder.  And the homemade pretzel roll was just plain awesome.  

After the brewery we did stop in at Fat Belly’s for one more drink, then headed back to the hotel for the night.  I accidentally ate way too many Kashi Zesty Salsa Pita Chips when we got back – even though I don’t really like anything too spicy!

The Friendly Toast

Katrina was actually the one who first introduced me to this must try 50’s diner when I spent a weekend with some girlfriends in Portsmouth a couple of summers ago.  I love it in there because of its eclectic wall decor, bowling alley seats, and fun atmosphere.  Oh yeah, and the ginormous unbelievable toast they serve!  Their bread is HUGE!  Only downside I would give this place is the long-ish wait (but what do you expect from a popular breakfast spot on a Sunday morning).  Service was fine – nothing special but not poor.

Sometimes I make fun of myself Tim makes fun of me because I get super excited about breakfast places, and then always end up ordering 2 eggs, homefries, and toast.  I really switched it up here and ordered a slice of french toast instead of regular toast. 

Tim was a little more adventurous and got the Sklarmageddon:  An omelet built to kill, with sausage, bacon, ham, red-chile pecans, jalapeno jack & swiss cheeses, topped with a zesty maple sour cream.  That is a plate I would never order – not because it sounds prettyyy unhealthy, but this is just totally NOT up my alley.

Except for that toast, of course.  😉

Overall we had a really great time!  I did NOT want that weekend to end.  It was the first time I felt relaxed in so long...

Be Thankful Challenge:  Free Marriott nights!  I know Thanksgiving is over, but the challenge was for the entire month of November.  Just a few days left!

Question of the Day:  Ever been to Portsmouth?  What’s your favorite overnight getaway?

Catch you later.