Category: Massachusetts

Our first day of sightseeing in Salem, Massachusetts was fun, informative and busy! After spending our first full day in the state driving up the coast to Rockport (read about it here), we spent Thursday getting to know Salem and its history.

Salem Witch Trial Memorial

We had breakfast at our Airbnb, then walked to the Salem Witch Trial Memorial. This is a solemn and moving place memorializing the 20 people who lost their lives during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Since the accused could not be buried in hallowed ground, there are instead benches with the names and dates of each of the victims. It is so sad that such hysteria was put to use for political and personal gain!

Peabody Essex Museum

After the memorial, we toured the Peabody Essex Museum. I found the various exhibits fascinating. One of my travel partners was not quite as enthralled as I was, so we spent a bit less time there than I would have liked. Still, I really enjoyed the art and history, and especially some of the furniture! The holdings of this museum are vast, and only a fraction are on display! Enjoy some of my favorite pictures from the museum below!

Salem Witch Village

A brief walk from the museum, and very close to the memorial, is the Salem Witch Village. This was not at all what I was expecting, but it was very interesting, cool and informative all the same. It basically gave a history of pagan religions, so it was right up my alley! It was very dark in there, and we were asked not to use flash photography, so the only picture I took that really came out is of the dragon at the end. Rubbing his belly is supposed to bring good luck!

Crow Haven Corner

A short walk from the Witch Village and the museum was an incredible pagan shop called Crow Haven Corner. The shop was very small but the staff there was very knowledgeable and helpful. There were new discoveries in every nook and cranny, and we enjoyed finding them! Tina and I both bought a few things in the store, and both agree we need to visit again!

Voodoo Walking Tour

In my next post I will tell you about the Voodoo Walking Tour that we took on this night! It was a lot of fun and pretty informative over all! Until then!

We took a lovely scenic drive along the coast north of Salem on our first full day in Massachusetts. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed the fresh sea air and beautiful vistas! I absolutely love boats, especially sailboats, and I took way too many pictures of them! If there IS such a thing as too many pictures.

Gloucester and East Gloucester

The first stop on our scenic drive was in Gloucester, at Stage Fort Park. Gloucester, Massachusetts was first incorporated in 1642, taking its name because of the number of settlers who had originated in Gloucester, England. Over the years, it saw many famous historical names grace its shores, including John Smith, Roger Conant, Miles Standish and John Phillips. Shipping, trade, ship building and fishing were the major trades of the area.

Private Community and a Cool Lighthouse

When we were at Stage Fort Park, we stopped in the information center and spoke to a very knowledgeable woman working there. She told us how to get to the East Point Lighthouse by driving through a beautiful private community. We saw some HUGE and amazing homes along the drive. The East Point Lighthouse was cool to see, though a darn cell tower was between us and the lighthouse! The vistas were breathtaking! There was a view of the yacht club from the place we stopped to see the lighthouse was lovely also!

Rockport

The next stop on our scenic drive was Rockport. This quaint little town had many art galleries and shops, and beautiful flowers everywhere! By this time, we were getting hungry, so we ate at Roy Moore’s Fish Shack Restaurant. The food was very good, but we waited forever for service. I had to actually go and ask someone to take our order–apparently the hostess seating us did not let the waitstaff know about us. We did get a wonderful table by the windows overlooking the water. I enjoyed the grilled swordfish steak with green beans and mashed squash. It was quite lovely!

After filling our bellies, we walked around the town and stopped in several shops. We discovered a wonderful silversmith shop where we all bought rings (we later visited a larger version of the same shop in Salem and got more). We also found a cool T-shirt shop where we bought souvenirs for ourselves and our families.

Newburyport

Next on the agenda was Newburyport. We just stopped by and enjoyed the park and the boats. We fantasized about being able to have two homes and travel between them by boat! Like one on the east coast and one down in Mexico or the Caribbean!

Other Stops

Along the scenic drive, we also made a brief stop in Manchester-by-the-Sea. It was another beautiful coastal town with views of nature and moored boats. Unfortunately, we did not stay very long, and I neglected to take any pictures.

Our first full day in Massachusetts was an unseasonably warm one, and we enjoyed our commune with nature and the sea during our scenic drive up the coastline! My next post will be about our first full day in Salem itself!

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!