Our introduction to Boston and Salem was an interesting one! Our plan was to pick up our rental car and drive to Salem where we had booked an Airbnb for our girls’ trip. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, but it wouldn’t be us if it had!
Navigation Issues
After some aggravating snafus with Hertz, we ended up with a SWEET ride! It was a Dodge Charger (or Challenger–I’m not a car person) and Elaine LOVED driving it! It was a great way to explore Boston and Salem. The roads around Boston were WORSE than Pittsburgh!! Bumps and potholes everywhere!! <It was a Challenger I can now confirm.>
Once on the road, we had trouble getting the car’s GPS to work, so Tina used her phone GPS. Unfortunately, they chose the wrong Cedar Street–one in Boston instead of Salem! I kept saying, “I don’t think this is right guys,” because I had the right address in my phone and it was telling me we were getting further away!! After driving in circles we finally got on the road to Salem! It is a good thing Elaine was driving–I get extremely anxious driving in strange places and HATE getting lost. Elaine was cool about it, and it actually turned out to be fun!
Amazing AirBnB
I have never used AirBnB before, but I will definitely do so again! We had the whole first floor of a house within easy walking distance of all of the sights, and it was beautiful. We got 3 bedrooms (each getting our own), 2 bathrooms, a large full kitchen, and a combination dining room/living room area. It allowed us to save a lot of money by being able to cook our breakfast there, and only at out for one meal a day–so we could splurge on wonderful seafood. All of this for significantly less than a single hotel room without a kitchen would have cost!
The Lobster Shanty
Once we settled into our apartment, we decided to have dinner at The Lobster Shanty. I had a lobster bake, a delicious concoction of fresh lobster in a cream sauce topped with some bread crumbs. It was quite delightful! We sampled some of their signature cocktails also. On our way home, we ran into a woman on the street who seemed friendly, though I am concerned she might have been mentally ill (she went on and on about all the shootings and needing to “close our borders”). Afterwards, we stopped at a little private grocery, but they did not have everything we needed.
Since we still needed groceries (and booze), we jumped in the Challenger and drove off to Walmart (I’m not a fan of Walmart, but it is the one place you can get whatever you need) and then to a HUGE liquor store. We stocked up on everything we needed, and then some!
Sleeping Well Away from Home!
I often do not sleep well away from home, but having my own bed and bedroom helped considerably. I slept well, and was more than ready to attack the following day! After a dicey introduction to Boston and Salem, we settled in quite comfortably! We had originally planned to take a ferry to Boston and do the Freedom Trail, along with the Aquarium, but we opted to take the Challenger up the coast for some scenic sightseeing. Read all about it here!