Arrive To: Independent arrival at Inn for check-in after 3:00 p.m. Pick up your "Welcome" packet and meet your group leader and fellow travelers at a very casual reception in the Sise Room (ground floor of the Inn) from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Dinner: After you get acquainted with your fellow Road Scholar, we'll take a short walk to the restaurant where we'll enjoy dinner together.

Evening: After dinner, return to the Sise Inn for an orientation to the activities and events that await your discovery this week.

Lodging: Sise Inn

Meals Included: Dinner

Note: Quite a bit of walking today -- nothing strenuous, but you will be on a guided walking excursion on city sidewalks, plus some uneven terrain at Strawbery Banke.

Breakfast: Enjoy a delicious and healthy self-serve, full Continental breakfast at your leisure in the Inn's historic and elegant dining room. Coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, fresh juices, hot and cold cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt, toast, bagels, and English muffins await you.

Morning: Portsmouth, which has been called "a hidden gem" by the New York Times, is a city whose history, culture, scenic beauty, architecture and vibrant arts scene enchant all who visit here. Start the morning, with a presentation on the key events, people and history of the city. Then, take a guided walking excursion (a little more than an hour) to see "in person" some of the sights that you've just learned about.

Lunch: After a stimulating morning, relax at a local casual restaurant. So much to talk about with new friends.

Afternoon: Enjoy a full afternoon at Strawbery Banke Museum, a 10-acre compound that has 46 buildings dating from 1695 to 1820, as well as exhibits, craftspeople, and period gardens. Ten furnished homes represent 300 years of history in one continuously occupied neighborhood. And by the way, the name of the museum is not misspelled! The first English settlers here named the area for the wild strawberries that were abundant along the shores of the river on which Portsmouth sits.

Dinner: Dinner together at one of Portsmouth's local restaurants. The city is well known for its many and varied dining experiences.

Lodging: Sise Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

An Oceanfront Walk/An Oceanfront Art Museum/A Harbor Cruise -- Exploring Ogunquit

Note: You'll have the opportunity to take a one-mile walk along a spectacular paved oceanfront path.

Breakfast: Delicious and healthy self-serve full Continental breakfast on your own in the Inn's historic and elegant dining room. Coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, fresh juices, hot and cold cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt, toast, bagels, and English muffins.

Morning: Enjoy the early morning sea air as your travel up the coast from Portsmouth to the charming oceanfront town of Ogunquit, Maine. (Don't forget your cameras today!) There, enjoy a private, docent-led visit at a small art museum whose spectacularly beautiful location rivals the glory of the art it showcases. The Ogunquit Museum of American Art (OMAA) was hailed as "the most beautiful little museum in the world" by a former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. OMAA prides itself on its distinguished permanent collection which includes works of Marsden Hartley, Rockwell Kent, Walt Kuhn, and Thomas Hart Benton, among others. Outside, enjoy walking in the museum's sculpture gardens and, of course, the jaw-dropping view of the ocean and beyond, to the horizon. Next, climb aboard a lobster boat and go to sea with a Maine lobsterman! Your shipboard excursion combines the scenic beauty of Ogunquit's shoreline with a first-hand lobstering experience, including seeing traps being hauled. Your guide will give a detailed explanation of the lobster fishery and the numerous scenic spots along the way. You will come away with a deeper understanding of lobsters and their habitat.

Lunch: Lunch today at Barnacle Billy's, smack dab on the water overlooking Perkins Cove.

Afternoon: After a lunch, time to take a walk. But this isn't an ordinary walk. This is The Marginal Way, a one-mile paved oceanfront path. Be humbled by magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean as you stroll past shrubs of pink and white sea roses, bayberry and bittersweet. Although the bends and inclines along the way are gentle, most walkers choose to relax and "sit a spell" on one of the 30 memorial benches along the path. Start or end your walk at Perkins Cove, one of the most charming (and photographed) seaside harbors in the country. Finally, sit back and enjoy a leisurely, scenic drive along the coast on your way back to Portsmouth. Weather permitting, you'll stop at Nubble Lighthouse, one of the most photographed lighthouses on the coast - keep your cameras handy. Once you return to Portsmouth, you'll be able to enjoy some free time this afternoon exploring this town that you now know better than many residents.

Dinner: After a full day enjoy a casual dinner together at a local restaurant in Portsmouth with your fellow Road Scholars.

Lodging: Sise Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Delicious and healthy self-serve full Continental breakfast on your own in the Inn's historic and elegant dining room. Coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, fresh juices, hot and cold cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt, toast, bagels, and English muffins.

Morning: This morning, enjoy a presentation about the Isles of Shoals, a group of nine islands located six miles off the New Hampshire coastline. Learn about some of the hardy people who lived on these islands for more than 400 years, and hear tales of ghosts and pirates, shipwrecks and grand hotels that make up the lore and legend of the Shoals. The presentation includes archival photos from the 1870s that chronicle the transformation of this rocky archipelago from barren fishing outposts to an island resort and marine science center. Through a performance by a local actor, you also "meet" Celia Thaxter, the grande dame of the Isles of Shoals. The daughter of a lighthouse keeper, Thaxter grew up on Appledore Island and became an accomplished gardener, artist, writer and poet. An ardent naturalist, Celia wrote "An Island Garden," an inspired account of her famous garden on Appledore. Celia's salon was frequented by the leading writers, artists and musicians of her day and her garden drew international attention through the paintings of Childe Hassam, her long time friend and fellow artist. "Celia" regales you with the stories of her childhood and what it was like to grow up on her beloved Shoals at the end of the 19th century.

Lunch: Lunch together with your fellow travelers at an historic downtown eatery.

Afternoon: Now that you know your way around Portsmouth and the route up the road to the Maine coast, you probably have a list of a lot of places you'd like to visit and things you'd like to do on your own. Enjoy a full afternoon to explore and discover at your leisure. You will be given ample information about local attractions and sites. Your group leader will be happy to answer your questions and point you in the "right" direction. Enjoy!

Dinner: The beauty of your free afternoon is that it extends into the evening. No need to rush back to Portsmouth for dinner with the group. Tonight, enjoy a relaxed dinner at a restaurant, cafe, pub or seafood shack of your choosing, whenever you'd like. Again, you'll be given lots of information about local eateries to help you decide. Bon Appetit!

Lodging: Sise Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Note: You'll be walking over some uneven, grassy terrain today.

Breakfast: Delicious and healthy self-serve full Continental breakfast on your own in the Inn's historic and elegant dining room. Coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, fresh juices, hot and cold cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt, toast, bagels, and English muffins.

Morning: This morning, visit one of the most interesting historic homes in the region -- Hamilton House in South Berwick, Maine. Shipping merchant Jonathan Hamilton built this striking Georgian mansion c. 1785 on a bluff overlooking the Salmon Falls River inland from Portsmouth. Learn how the neighboring waterfront towns of South Berwick and Portsmouth depended on each other for their economic livelihoods in the 18th and 19th centuries. Enjoy the elaborate perennial garden, a private talk about the house, Mr. Hamilton or the gardens, and a private tour of the home.

Lunch: Enjoy lunch together after this morning's exploration.

Afternoon: This is your last afternoon in downtown Portsmouth and so we'll customize this time to take advantage of a special exhibit, event or activity that best rounds out your experience on the New England seacoast. Portsmouth's cultural and artistic scene is so rich during the summer and early fall that we've learned from experience that it's best to keep a bit time open to take advantage of the special activities that the city's organizations, galleries and "boosters" host annually. You might visit the Portsmouth Athenaeum or the Discovery Center; there might be an author event at the city's fabulous locally owned independent bookstore; a special exhibit at one of the many art galleries in town might be in place. Whatever the event or activity, it will be one more facet to your exploration of New England seacoast towns this week.

Dinner: Enjoy a final dinner together this evening at a Portsmouth restaurant with your group of new friends and fellow travelers.

Lodging: Sise Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Depart From: The Sise Inn has graciously extended check-out this morning until 11:00 am, although prompt departures are greatly appreciated.

Breakfast: Your last morning to enjoy a casual breakfast in the Inn's lovely dining room.

Morning: Take a final stroll through downtown Portsmouth to the gracious home of Revolutionary War hero and a former governor of New Hampshire. Local guide will provides you with a behind-the-scenes look at Governor John Langdon, a contemporary and friend of George Washington, and his life and times.Then, take a private docent-led visit of this beautiful home, located just a few blocks from your home this week, the Sise Inn.

Lunch: Those who would like a brown-bag lunch to take with them will be able to do so upon returning to the Inn after the morning's visit to the Langdon House.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch