Nomad Life - Day 14

My telework day started early again (0600) and, once again, I didn't leave the hotel room all morning.  Instead, I had a series of meetings that required me to assist or facilitate.  At one point, I actually had two meetings simultaneously and my two computers worked splendidly for multi-tasking.  I did have a few distractions during the work day, though: the hotel staff thought it would be a good idea to shampoo the hallway carpets (very loud) and a dog in a nearby room barked continuously for several hours.  Meanwhile, the temperatures outside were VERY hot (90s!).  Just after 1400, I decided that I wanted to get some lunch (or, really, an early dinner) - I departed the Motel 6 and drove to the nearby Texas Roadhouse to get food.  Unfortunately, I figured out only then that they didn't open until 1500.  To pass the time, I ended up walking a few laps inside the Fox Run Mall - it was air conditioned and not very busy.  Right when the restaurant opened, I was at the front door!  My meal consisted of some delicious salad, Chicken Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes - on the latter two items, I tried both the cream gravy and the brown gravy (both were good).  Since it was 5:00 somewhere, I also had a small margarita.  Afterwards (1545), I decided to drive to Peirce Island so I could take swim in the municipal pool.  When I arrived (1605), I noticed that people were starting to leave - the pool was closed!  Just as I was going to ask why, I noticed ominous, dark clouds to the west (they'd been at my back while I was driving).  If I saw those in Mississippi, I would have thought a tornado was coming!  Since it wasn't raining, I decided to walk a short distance across the little bridge that connected the island to the mainland to visit an old cemetery I'd seen a few days earlier.  When I got there, I found burials from the late 17th Century (!) - it was really interesting to read some of the stones.  It still wasn't raining, so I made my way back into the heart of Old Portsmouth, looking for historic markers and homes that I'd missed during my last visit.  I saw several points of interest for the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire in the city (note: I later saw another marker in Kittery).  At some point, I remembered that I'd seen the location of the Thirsty Moose Taphouse on a map and determined that it was nearby.  Since it had been recommended by my Navy friend (Dwight) on Sunday, I thought I'd check it out while I had a chance.  Just after I found it and stepped inside the door (1630), the skies opened up and it started pouring!  Plunking down at the bar, I ordered a pint of a local beer and decided to wait out the weather.  When I checked in on the "Untapped" app, I noticed that my name popped up on their interactive screen - that was a nice touch.  Another patron (a younger man sitting a few seats down the bar from me) asked if it had been raining when I walked over.  When I replied that it hadn't started until I arrived, he explained that his friend had been afraid to come to the pub because of the threatening weather and added "now I'll have to wait until he is willing to come out."  Eventually, we started an interesting conversation about his life on the Seacoast.  What I found especially interesting was how he'd recently moved from downtown Portsmouth over to Kittery and walked to work every day across the drawbridge down the street from our current location.  His name was Parker and he reported that the weather crossing the Pisataqua River was usually pretty mild, with a nice "wind-tunnel" effect on the bridge during the summer and very rare snow in the winter.  We talked about places I'd seen during the week, his relative's recent move to the Upper Valley (he asked me a lot of questions about that area) and his job as an accountant at a small, local, multi-national corporation.  It was a conversation and I enjoyed my time in the Tap Room until the worst of the weather lifted (1715).  Hoping that the pool had re-opened for it's late session (1730 to 1815), I retraced my steps through Old Portsmouth until I was back on Peirce Island.  Unfortunately, I found the pool had completely closed - no swimming (sad).  Getting in my car, I decided to cross the river and try to visit Fort McClary State Park, which I'd noticed (last night) had some limited parking outside the gate when it was closed for the evening.  This strategy turned out to be a good one and, after parking (1745), I enjoyed a nice walk on the grounds of the (closed) park.  From the fort, I was able to see nearly every location I'd visited during the previous few days.  To the east, I saw Fort Constitution and the Portsmouth Harbor Light and also saw (further to the north east) some of the coast of Kittery and Gerrish Island.  By this point, I'd almost forgotten about the rain storm and realized the temperatures had dropped down into the low 80s.  After about 30 minutes, I got back in my car and returned (via NH-103, NH-236 and I-95) to my hotel in Portsmouth.  Back in my room (1845), I did a bit more teleworking (to round out my hours for the day) and then started making lodging plans for the coming weekend and early part of the following week.  Before I was finished, I also did preliminary planning for the last week of August but didn't finish that research.  The rest of the evening was spent with puzzles, Duolingo and movies again.  I didn't realize how late it was getting (no clock in the room except my phone) until it was after 2245 - after that, I settled off to sleep.  Even though the day was busy for work, I am glad I still found time to do some exploring and being active outdoors!