Feeding our History-loving Hearts

Jeff and I went to Boston to visit our daughter a couple of weekends ago. Which was so fun. But in spite of all the history in and around Boston, that is not the focus of today’s post! Instead, I want to tell you about the few days we tacked on to the end of our trip just for us. 

It’s been a crazy almost 11 months and we were exhausted. (Well, really it was crazy for 5 years, bu the last 11 months was unexpected crazy!) So we popped up to York, Maine, for a few days to relax. 

To start, we booked a room in a newly opened Bed and Breakfast. The Albracca stands on the site of an old hotel which burned down in the early 1900s. You can read about that and the new owners of the property here. (But note that their info on the house is wrong!)

What we didn’t realize until we talked to our lovely host, Dole, was that the house that now stands on that property is actually three different houses that were moved to that location after the hotel burned and then joined into one dwelling. And that the oldest parts of that house were built in the mid-1700s! 

Be still my history-loving heart! Jeff and I marveled that in over 200 years no one had changed out the hardware on the doors or the tiles on the fireplaces or the beautiful woodwork. The main room’s fireplace even has the swing arm for hanging a pot to cook meals. Our room connected to a dressing room with the built in wardrobes still intact! And because of Hurricane Henri, we got to spend the better part of two days in the living areas of the house reading our books while it rained outside. 

Bliss!

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And then the sun came out and we were able to explore more of the area. We visited the historical society museum in York, the Nubble Lighthouse, the historical society museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and the Strawbery Banke museum there as well. I love that the history in these tiny American towns go back to the 1600s. And that so much has been preserved! And the best thing? I learned pieces of history I didn’t know. 

It was shocking, really, considering how many college history classes Jeff and I have taken. And how many history books we’ve read on our own. And still there are new things to learn! For example, did you know that the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese war, was brokered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire? And that President Teddy Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing the two sides to the table and helping them reach an agreement? And John Paul Jones! While I knew his name, I know only a scant bit of his history. Fascinating man! 

We also enjoyed driving around the area and seeing all the old homes which are still very much lived in today. And of course views of the ocean—it’s power and the beauty of all that surr;ounces it—always inspire me with awe of the Creator.

All in all, it was a fun and restful time away. Which was good, because our crazy never seems to end. 

Oh, and I’ve got an exciting announcement coming in two weeks! You won’t want to miss it. Stay tuned . . . 

So tell us, what was the last restful and filling trip you’ve taken? Where did you go and why was it so wonderful?