Monday, July 24, 2017

A Toast for T

More lazy summer days out in the boat for T today. 
If you stopped by my blog a couple of days ago you read the boating story and saw a few photos from last Saturday's boating adventure to the Isles of Shoals. If you missed the post and if you are curious about the Isles of Shoals you can read a little about them here:  A Day on the Water
Here we are looking out onto Star Island with some sailboat action to make it a more interesting photo.
We were anchored in the harbor  called Gosport and took the launch, a little shuttle, from our boat over to the island.
 The big white building is the Oceanic Hotel. It was built in the late 1800's when people came north from places like Boston and New York to escape the heat. The hotel is still very primitive and now a way to escape some of the trappings of modern life.
Thought you might find the hotel interesting. I do.

The outside has a huge wrap around porch filled with rocking chairs.

And fantastic views too.
You can see there's something going on on the dock. Since it was Saturday it was change over of guest day. I imagine almost all guests come by the Thomas Laighton, a large ferry. (photo below)
But there are other smaller boats that bring luggage and boxes of food and supplies, plus take away the trash.
The two islands you can see in the photo above are Smuttynose (on the right)  and Appledore (on the left).
In our ramble around the island, we went to the back of the hotel. Here they are unloading some luggage which gets carried up to the guest's room by the summer staff, known as Pelicans.
 It was really interesting to watch them, almost as if they were putting on a show.
 The first floor of the hotel has a couple of rooms they must use for meetings or maybe are quiet places for guests to be. They are very much old fashioned rooms.
 The bathrooms are on the upper floors, which even the day guests can use. None of the bedrooms have their own baths either. So when we went up to use the potty it gave us a little peak into the hotel rooms.
 A view out of a second floor window on the landing by the bathroom.
 The second floor hallway and below, a second floor bedroom.
When the Pelicans put in the luggage they don't close the doors and in fact, I  don't believe there are locks on any of the doors.
And a few more photos.
 The landing outside the bathroom
 Another view out the back of the hotel
 The huge line of departing guests waiting to board the ferry back to the mailand
The  hotel garden

Ok, so what does this have to do with T day?
So before we went ashore we sat in our little boat and had lunch and chatted. And for dessert we each had a little margarita in the tiny little red paper cups my daughter packed. (Not the big red party cups we thought she said she had.) Of course she didn't have a margarita because she doesn't like them. Instead she had a little can of sangria.
Cheers to a sunny Saturday afternoon on the water.
(And truth be told, the little cup was all I needed)
Stop by Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to join in to the T party. We all shared something we drank and often food too. Its a lot of fun and we'd love you to join us.
Thanks for visiting
and happy T day!


18 comments:

kathyinozarks said...

I loved this hotel and the location-what an awesome place-I love the 1800s era allot. great to be on the water for summer
Happy T Day Kathy

CJ Kennedy said...

Another fun day on the water. I've heard of Star Island because I have a friend who goes there every year. What a beautiful place. Thanks for an inside peek. I really love the photograph of the lace curtains and the flowers in the basin and ewer. Showers tomorrow so stay dry.

Valerie-Jael said...

I LOVE all the photos, I would so love to sit on that huge pork and rock away the days with a good book or 2, just great. Glad you had such a nice day out. Great shot of the sailing boat in front of the island, too. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

johanna said...

this really Looks like a place where you can calm down from busy life. i´m sure you would find me many hours in These rocking chairs;) sounds you really had a great trip! cheers and happy t-day!

chrissie said...

Looks like you are having fun and so are lots of other people with the comings and goings on change over day.

Nice to all have a drink in the sane cups it all looks so friendly.

Have a very Happy T Day and thank you for sharing the photographs

Love Chrissie xx

Let's Art Journal said...

What a beautiful place to visit and looking at you other post too, it looks like you all had a wonderful time 😀. The views across the water sitting on a rocking chair looks the perfect way to spend some time relaxing and the flowers in the water jug/pitcher are so pretty. I enjoyed joining you for your trip on the water and a margarita or two (grin!) would be perfect - cheers 😉. Wishing you a very Happy T Day! J 😊

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I would have been here sooner, but the electricity went out on my block for about five hours. Not sure which aggravated me more, losing my AC or my internet.

What amazing photos. So glad you shared them. That porch looks like it goes on forever (yes, I enlarged the photo). It was fascinating to see what people will do to have a unique vacation. Yes, the "rustic" feel is OK, but I'm a comfort hungry person. If I'm paying my hard earned money for a vacation, then I want to be pampered.

I was taken by the bedroom with the two twin beds and turn of the century furniture. How different it looked when they added the recycle bin and plastic trash can. The dining area/meeting room looked lovely, and the photos on the wall looked personal.

Had fun reading about the "tiny" margarita" cups. One of those would have put me out for days! Thanks for showing us around Oceanic Hotel and sharing your drinks with us for T this Tuesday.

Meggymay said...

Beautiful photos, the views of the island were lovely. What a good place to get away from the world and enjoy relaxing.
Your drink sounds perfect for a hot summers day.
Happy T day Erika.
Yvonne xx

Linda Kunsman said...

what a lovely summertime post Erika. This is my kind of outing-to be surrounded by water:) Love that old fashioned beautiful hotel-not sure I like not having a private bathroom tho. And that queue of people-wow! Thanks for sharing your wonderful adventure , along with the margaritas. Happy T day!

Divers and Sundry said...

What a delightful outing. I think that hotel would make an interesting destination, a different type of hotel experience than what I've had before. And the scenery! Wow!

Happy T Tuesday :)

froebelsternchen said...

This oldfashioned hotel is amazing!
Happy T-Day dear Erika!
oxo Susi

jinxxxygirl said...

You had me at wraparound porch and rocking chairs... YES!! What a sweet touch that little vase of flower made.... and line dried sheets... that must be wonderful!! ........and a margarita! Perfection! Thank you Erika for sharing that lovely old hotel with us... I love old buildings.. I'am in the process of trying to write a spooky haunted house story ..... so i've been looking at alot of deserted old mansions online... Happy happy T day!! Hugs! deb

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

Rocking chairs on a porch with a water view - bliss. I don't think I'd want to stay in one of those spartan rooms though. The beds look like they belong in a monastery cell - lol.

Thank you for the tour of the Oceanic Hotel, Erika. It was very interesting.

Happy T-Day! Hugs, Eileen

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

Rocking chairs on a porch with a water view - bliss. I don't think I'd want to stay in one of those spartan rooms though. The beds look like they belong in a monastery cell - lol.

Thank you for the tour of the Oceanic Hotel, Erika. It was very interesting.

Happy T-Day! Hugs, Eileen

Jeanie said...

Wow -- this is a really gorgeous place. I especially love the photo with the laundry. It just seems so free and so summery. Oh, I love that one! and don't you just love it when a sailboat provides the courtesy of stepping into your photo for a little height and interest? I love it! Wonderful post, Erika!

Denise Price said...

Oh, this looks like a fabulous trip! Thanks for sharing the photos. I think I'd be happy just sitting on that big wraparound porch all day--enjoying the view, chatting with a friend, etc. Happy T Day. :)

Lisca said...

Oh what a delightful post. I love that old fashioned hotel, although I probably would be less enamoured if I had to walk so far to use the potty at night.
I smiled at the names of the islands. Snottynose is a funny name and Appledore is the name of an island off the coast of north Devon in england.
Thank you for taking me with you on your trip.
Happy T-day,
Lisca

Dianne said...

so very interesting...I did not imagine that there were any hotels left that operate without a bathroom for each room! 'roughing it' a bit maybe, but I bet the views of the water make up for it! thanks for the trip!