Monday, October 21, 2013

Our Trip to Salem

Yesterday, my wife and two of our kids went to Salem for the day.
Despite having lived in Massachusetts for my entire life,
I have only ever been to the town once before,
and that wasn't to tour much but some places along the waterfront.

This trip, we did an hour long trolley tour through the town,
with a very knowledgeable tour guide.
Afterwards, we walked around, sight-seeing
and visiting some very interesting places.
I wish I had taken more pictures,
but here are the shots we did get.
Hope you enjoy!

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The Salem Harbor. Beautiful views.

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Was a great day, not hot but not freezing yet, either.

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A small lighthouse, freshly repainted according to our guide.

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This is the old Custom House,
where Nathaniel Hawthorne worked for a time,
when he wrote The House of Seven Gables.

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A very old cobblestone street near the Custom House,
along the waterfront.

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Next to a Floral shop, the owner decorates and
creates a Haunted Garden.

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The Haunted Garden again.
Quite the sight!
Very macabre and wonderfully done.

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Supposedly, this is the oldest candy company in America.
Our guide said the woman who originally started this
did so with a bag of sugar donated by the townspeople.
Was very small inside and super-crowded,
so we didn't stay or purchase anything.

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The House of Seven Gables,
but taken from the back yard.
We didn't take the tour into the house or grounds.

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Salem Witch Museum.
We went here and saw the presentation
as well as the walk-through with a guide,
who spoke about witches and the 
history and portrayals of them through history.
Very interesting exhibit!

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This was taken at the Salem Wax Museum.
My daughter, posing with the statue of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
He looked a lot like Mark Twain,
but my son said he looked like Kelsey Grammer!

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This is the oldest cemetery in Salem,
there is also a memorial for those persecuted as witches.

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So many extremely old tombstones.

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Amazed to see how many of them have lasted for centuries.

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The cemetery is not visible at all
from the busy streets beyond the wall.

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The old trees add quite the atmosphere to the Burying Ground.
Here, you can see a place where Hawthorne's wife's family once lived.

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Our guide said Hawthorne dubbed this place Grimshaw house.

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She also said the name is now quite apt.
I assume that is because the house is in major disrepair.

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Looks like a truly haunted house, that's for sure.

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My daughter snapped these pics because she wanted to get a shot
of the light that was ON inside.

Quite bizarre!

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Lastly, a pic I like!
This coffee house is quite old.
From peering in the window,
it appears to still be a functioning restaurant.
Sadly, it was closed.
Next time!

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Like I said, I wish I had taken more photos.
Decorations where everywhere along the streets and buildings,
and even the non-decorated buildings are beautiful.

We ate lunch at the same restaurant we did the previous short trip,
a placed called the Witches Brew Cafe.
Great food and service and wonderful ambiance!

We took a tour of the Pirate Museum, which was fun.
The guide knew his stuff and the displays were very well done.

After that, my daughter and I did two of the "haunted houses,"
Frankenstein's Laboratory and a Witches' Walk-through.
They were fun, albeit short, with some jump scares.

We also saw many people dressed in either
Salem witch related garb or in Halloween costumes.
We even saw three women dressed as the witches from Hocus Pocus!

Wonderful trip and I hope to repeat it next year!

13 comments:

  1. Great write up. Looks like you guys had a fun time in Salem. I was just there not too long ago (in fact, I just posted my article on it just a few minutes ago). It's a neat place to visit and I love the atmosphere.

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    1. I saw your post, funny how we both posted about the town on the same day!

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  2. I would love to see Salem in October. My wife and I spent a day there in June 2012.

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    1. I wish we had more time and money - we would have done and seen more! Next year!

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  3. Cool town to visit this time of year. Those old buildings and that cemetery look great. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Yes, the buildings are beautiful. I could walk around the town all day just looking at them.

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  4. I been dying to get to Salem in October. Looks even better than I had imagined.

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    1. It is great and like I said, I didn't take nearly enough pictures!

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  5. My family loves Salem. Especially in October. We go every few years. Nice photos!

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    1. Thanks. Next time, I am going to go picture-crazy!

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  6. Loved the photos. I've been to Salem several times and love it. Almost all the places in your photographs I recognized and I'd love to go back there again soon. In fact, I don't know why I don't live in Massachusetts already! Maybe one day . . .

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    1. I love living in Mass. Love the history that is all around, paired with nature that is just as beautiful. Fall is my favorite time, as well. Everything is just vibrant!

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  7. Wonderful pictures!

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