Boston Day 5

9/23/15

Today was awesome. It was so relaxing and peaceful. I absolutely love the town of Salem, not for its history but for its laid back, relaxed vibe.

We enjoyed walking the quiet streets --- felt perfectly safe, unrushed, at peace. We meandered shops and bought useless trinkets, we looked at Halloween decor and laughed, and of course we took time to learn about the area and its history. Below is a recap of the day:

1) Breakfast at the hotel. Mama is wearing shorts and I warn her she is going to be cold... this comes into play later in the day so pay attention :)

2) We drive to Salem and find parking right across the street from the visitor center.

3) We go into the visitor center and find a very nice lady who gives us good direction of what to see and do.

4) Salem has a hop on / off trolley and we got tickets. Decided to hear the entire tour before hopping off. It was interesting though you could tell in some areas she was hunting something to talk about. Below is a high level recap of some of the sights.

- gorgeous water views of boats and light houses
- custom house 1 and 2
- narrative of how custom house 1 used to be on water but they filled in the land and now 2 sits near the water
- International Trade began in salem
- Salem Willows Park
- Winter Island
- Chestnut Street

5) There was more on the tour, but she was hard to hear. We went all the way round then hopped off and headed over to the Salem Witch Museum. It was a multi-media exhibit with story telling and was pretty well done. Most of it was history -- the end the museum seemed to try to sway you to be accepting of Wica; was very subtle. However, it was there so I have to say that point dissapointed me, but the history was good. I didnt know that in salem only 19 or so people died vs. thousands in Europe. We also never burned anyone at the stake here.

6) We then went down to restaurnat row as they call it and ate at a hippy type sandwich shoppe. It was interesting. I got artichoke/spinach dip for an appetizer -- interesting is all I'll say. The sandwich Jack and I shared was pretty good though.

7) We then meandered some shoppes and walked to The House of Seven Gables, but on our way we found some other cool stuff.

8) Friendship Ship - a reconstruction of a trade ship and part of the National Park Service.

9) 1st Custom House

10) Site of oldest operating candy store. I got candy :) My own box with my name on it!

11) We then went to the house of seven gables. I need to read the book, but the house was fantastic. The grounds gorgous, the house has real pieces in it - not reconstructions and because it was made into a museum early in the 1900s it has really stayed true to form. The history of it was interesting and you could see the different owners by the the styles of the various rooms.

Next to there is the birthplace of Hawthorne. He wasn't actually born here... they moved the house he was born in to the site to save it from being demolished. It was cool as it had pieces that actually belonged to him and his familiy in it.

Did I mention the grounds ? OMG so pretty and they come with two cats. We got to see one in person - he was super friendly. They sale a postcard of the cats :) is that not awesome!

12) We then walked back toward the car and stopped at the Salem Witch memorial and the Old Burial Point and explored a bit.

13) Then Jack was nice enough to climb the 3 flights of stairs and bring the car to us :) He is such a good man.

14) We then drove down to Pickering Wharf and got ready for our cruise. We meandered the shops a bit while we waited til time to board. When we did board we found it is only 7 total on the boat, so we hadd plenty of room to stretch out and relax. The sunset was gorgous and I know i saw at least 4 light houses. It was so much fun!

Do you remember Mama and the shorts? On this cruise I have my shirt, my zipper sweater and my jacket - Im still cold. Mama is in shorts and a t shirt. Jack gave her his sweater but I know she had to be freezing. It was COLD. Gorgous but cold.

15) After the cruise we had dinner at Sea Level Restaurant. The service lacked a bit but the food was really good. Mama even liked it! We even splurged on desert :)

Now we are tucked safe in our beds and about to rest up for tomorrow. Harvard and MIT :)

Sleep well !