A Day on Appledore

Dear Diary,

Well, I can finally cross this off my Bucket List!  I spent the day on Appledore Island in the Isle of Shoals which is off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Actually, the Maine state line runs right through the Shoals.  I went primarily to see the garden of Celia Laighton Thaxter, the 19th century poet, writer and artist.  They have recreated her garden from her carefully drawn plans and plant lists.  Her house burnt in 1914, 20 years after her death along with the hotel her father built on the island.  During her time there she hosted the likes of Nathanial Hawthorne, Childe Hassam and Walt Whitman.

Now, Appledore is owned by the University of New Hampshire and Cornell University and is a marine research center which hosts students from all over the world each summer.  On the way back we past quite near White Island with its iconic lighthouse. (extra) Celia's father was the lighthouse keeper at one point and she spent the first few years of her life there.

Appledore is also a bird sanctuary and the gulls were very protective of their babies.  One had to give them a wide berth so they wouldn't dive bomb you! (extra)  We maintained a truce with the mama gulls while we walked about the island in sweltering heat.  I did very well all things considered, just a tiny touch of the "mal de mar" but I did it!  A beautiful day!