The Hamptons and Concord, Maine

Monday, June 24 – Day 6

Anyone who has watched Seinfeld is probably familiar with the Hamptons. I had assumed that it was an affluent, resort area – I was only partially right. The Hamptons consist of a number of towns in southeast New Hampshire. There is Hampton Falls, Hampton Beach, North Hampton, Hampton Landing and North Hampton Centre.  It is a resort area with all the trappings of a resort area…Bed & Breakfasts, bars, antique shops, restaurants, bars,  inns, motels, galleries, boutiques and throw in a few more bars…

When we arrived yesterday we read that the International Sand Sculpting Championship was being held this weekend at Hampton Beach so we decided to head down there to check out the sand sculptures.  What a mistake – Wall to wall traffic and wall to wall people.  And only one route out!  Follow the traffic! We were caught in this traffic for close to two hours.  But we had a ringside seat for a street fight...

After all of the excitement of last night we were happy to be on the road and heading north along quieter country roads towards the state capital of Concord, NH. 

Our route took us past numerous antique stores; usually converted barns or garages. The road twisted and turned like a roller and was lined with giant maple trees.  A typical back country road in New England.  We arrived at the Circle 9 Campground just after 10 AM.  We got the trailer set up and had a quick bite to eat and we were off to see the State Capital building.

The New Hampshire State Capital Building is the oldest legislative building in the United States where the legislature still meets. It was Built in 1819, from locally quarried granite and is topped with a gold leaf dome.  Immediately upon entering the main hall you see the campaign flags of many of the New Hampshire National Guard units dating back to the early 1800’s. Some of the flags are no more than a few pieces of cloth adhered to a flag pole.  Some were carried into battle at Gettysburg during the Civil War and others were carried ashore in the Pacific campaign of World War 2.

The New Hampshire, House of Representatives, has 400 members.  The third largest assembly of elected representatives in the world; exceeded in size by only the US House of Representatives and the English Parliament.  You would think that this would be a heavy financial burden for such a small state.  (Population about 1.4 million.)  Well each representative is paid $200 / year.  The tax payers get good value here!  Actually there is no state income tax in New Hampshire…no sales tax either.  They do have a business tax which the business owners are glad to pay…they get business from the surrounding states and Canada.  Gas is only $3.69 per gallon, but Paul told us that if you look around you can find it as low as $3.63.  The state also gets revenue from liquor sales as they have a monopoly on the booze…except beer and wine.  I love this state!

We had parked our truck at a meter on a street adjacent to the Legislature and we had about 1/2 hour of time left before we would be ticketed.  Janet went back to the truck to plug the meter and to cool off in the shade of a birch tree; while I went around the adjoining streets to look at the buildings. Returning to the truck I saw Janet sitting on a retaining wall talking to a Parking Enforcement officer.  We learned that his name was Paul Garland and he was really good about pointing out some features of the buildings and where to get the best shots.  He also was kind enough to take a picture of us in front of the Capital Building.  What a great good-will ambassador for the city of Concord and for the state of New Hampshire.  And best of all…we didn’t get a ticket!

A couple of other quick facts:  The State motto which is displayed on their licence plates is “ Live free or Die” – born in the days of the American Revolution.  Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher/astronaut, who tragically died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded was from Concord.