Sue and I had not only a very busy Labor Day weekend but also interesting and lots of fun!

Friday after work we went to dinner at 11 Water Street in Exeter, NH and had a wonderful meal, very relaxed. After dinner we walked around downtown Exeter. I had never really done that and found it to be very interesting. Quite a contrast to the really obnoxious interchange of Rts 125 and 101 and all the clutter of the worst commercial development mess in the area. But the downtown is very quaint with all sorts of shops and restaurants. We decided that we'd have to come back earlier in the afternoon some day to explore all of the interesting shops and try some of the other places to eat.

Saturday, we had planned to go kayaking, but it was very cloudy and threatening. The weather forecast had indicated possible rain and so rather than risk it, we just hung out and enjoyed the day. I caught up on some back reading out on the deck for most of the day.

We started playing backgammon and sipping wine about 4 out on the deck, but had to move inside about 5 as it started to sprinkle. Though we probably could have gone kayaking, there was a chill to the air all day. And if it would have rained while we were out, it would have been really miserable.

We continued playing backgammon until about 7pm when the Chinese food I had ordered was delivered. We dried off the chairs and table, got light jackets on, as the night air began to cool things off quickly, and ate outside. We moved inside and topped off the night by watching the 1981 classic On Golden Pond. I just love that movie, and try to watch it at least once a year.

Sunday, Sue wanted to get some projects done in the morning, and so I went out on the deck to read. But it was really chilly, even with a fleece jacket. So, I just moved inside, got comfortable on the sofa, and sipped my coffee while reading.

Around noon, while we had a bite to eat, we worked on a menu and shopping list for the week. After getting back from shopping and putting stuff away, Sue finished up her stuff and I read for awhile until about 4:00pm when we grabbed glasses of wine and headed for the deck to play some backgammon until about 5:30pm.

For dinner, I fixed a marvelous chicken in basil cream sauce that I stuck in some mushrooms and a splash of dry sherry! We ended the evening with the marvelous 2006 movie 10 Items of Less with Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega.

Monday a little after noon, we met Colin and Ren at Roger's house. They had invited us out with them and their friends Matt and Becky to go out on Roger's 27' Eastern.

We went down the Piscataqua River to Portsmouth, cut across into Sagamore Creek, and went up to BG's Boathouse for lunch. We tied up at the dock there, got deck seating, and had fish sandwiches with Bloody Marys. How much better could it get? Not much... We had decided to have a big meal then and just have salad for early dinner as Sue had to get up at 3am Tuesday morning for work.

Coming back from BG's, Colin took us out through Little Harbor, into the ocean, and around back into Portsmouth Harbor. It's only about 25 minutes from the mouth of the harbor to Roger's dock in that Eastern. It really flies! We were back on the dock by 3:30 and home shortly after that.

While Sue got organized for that early 3:00am rise, I read a little more out on the deck. About 5:00pm, Sue hauled the backgammon board out onto the deck and we played 3 or 4 sets until about 6:30pm. I poured a glass of wine for each of us while Sue made up a nice salad. We ate out on the deck just as the evening coolness started coming in. After cleaning up, we just watched a few recorded episodes of HGTV's House Hunters International before turning in at 8:30pm for the night.