Portsmouth Naval Shipyard ~ Helmsman Inn

We stayed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, ME (it is located on an island that's kind of on the border of both states).

We found this Navy shipyard in our book on military lodging. I called and made the reservation and the person on the phone kind of ran some directions by me, but I had the directions listed in the book, so I only half way paid attention.

With that said, let me get directions out of the way first. If you're on I-95 N or S, just take Maine exit 1 and follow the signs....this is, apparently, the easy way. We followed directions from the book and that had us taking exit 2. From there, the directions are fuzzy; so, if you happen to take Maine exit 2 off of I-95 ~ if you're on I-95 N, just take exit 2 and merge onto US 236. You will almost immediately come up on a roundabout ~ take 1 South out of the roundabout (just to the left of a gas station). Stay on 1 South until you come to a traffic light. Turn left at the traffic light onto 130 East/Walker St. Stay straight on 130 until you are at the Main Gate.(if you are on I-95 S, you will take exit 2 and then cross back over the interstate).

When we go through most gates to military bases, we just show them our IDs (retired military) and they let us on through. However, this gate was 'by the book'. Since we didn't have a decal on our vehicle, they took our IDs and made us a pass. They also have to have your vehicle registration and insurance to make the pass.

When we were getting all the pass paperwork done, I had the laptop open (from looking up directions on Mapquest to get there) and they said they had to call somebody to come and approve or disapprove the laptop to be on base. So, we had to pull over and wait a few minutes for an officer to come and look at the laptop. He didn't actually look at the laptop ~ he looked at us and asked if it was for business or pleasure and if it was our personal laptop. Yes, it was our personal laptop and he allowed us to take it on the base with us ~ with instructions to only have it in our room. *Note: they can require you to lock up your laptop in a facility just outside the main gate.

They issued us our pass, but also asked if we had cameras or anything with us. We probably did have our digital camera somewhere in the truck, but we said we didn't, because we were just going to our room and weren't going to have it out or be using it.

To get to the Helmsman Inn, we went through the front gate and over a little bridge (it's really the only way you can go). After the bridge, we turned slight left and then slight right, kind of in an 'S' and then followed the railroad tracks. At the four way stop, go straight; at the next stop sign, turn right and it's right in front of you.

We had a very nice suite with a queen bed, recliner, TV, seperate dining room (with coffee pot, refrigerator, and microwave), nice big bathroom, big closet, and lots of windows. The staff was very friendly and they had constant 'foo foo' coffee in the lobby.

Once in the room, we read the little information book about the Helmsman Inn. The Portsmouth Navy Shipyard has been there since the late 1600s and they used to build submarines there. Now, they repair and conserve submarines ~ including nuclear subs ~ must be why all the paperwork getting a pass and concern about our laptop and cameras.

We had a good night's sleep and was well rested. The staff at the Helmsman Inn was very friendly and courteous. Once you get in the gate, you're good to go. Cost? $35.00 per night. Can't be that at a Motel 6!