We were up at 4am on September 4th to catch our flight from SFO to Boston. Our house guest, Lisa Koren, from Austria, gave us a ride. The Virgin Atlantic flight was comfortable and we arrived at Logan Airport in Boston safely and on time.
I picked up the luggage--two Bike Fridays--and took our backpacks, camera, CPap, bikes, etc. out to the pickup area while Don took the MBTA to Somersville to pick up the car. By getting our car off site we avoided several airport fees and saved $270 and we don't think it took any more time than it would have to rent at the airport.
Don drove up and we loaded everything into the car and headed the short distance to Salem where we spent our first night. With the time change and the time to get the car and luggage and drive through the rush hour traffic we finally arrived at our Air B&B lodging, right in the heart of Salem.
Salem is definitely a tourist town. October is an important month for Salem because they have a big Witchfest all month long. Many of the shops make a big deal about witches and magic, but Salem is really a very interesting, historic city.
We strolled around the town a bit, reading historic storyboards and admiring the Federal style architecture, before choosing a restaurant for dinner that night. Don ordered the fried clam platter and I had the salad bar. Thank goodness I didn't order a meal too, because the clam platter was huge and we ended up sharing it. After dinner we walked along the harbor, enjoying the lights and sights before returning to our bed for the night.,
Thursday morning we packed up and went to Red's for breakfast. I had Lobster eggs benedict, which was poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on two lobster cakes. Very rich and filling. I have decided to have lobster every day until I get tired of it since the lobster harvest has been very good this year and the price is low.
After breakfast we walked around the town and visited the tourist information center. There we saw a film on the history of Salem and learned that Salem is one of the first towns settled in the colonies. We also learned about the early industries of Salem--ship building, fishing, and fabric mills--and a bit about the War of 1812. Next we visited the memorial which remembers the 20 victims of the Salem witch trials and the old cemetery where Nathaniel Hawthorne is buried, and walked past the House of the Seven Gables he made famous. Many of the houses have historic plaques with the date they were built and who lived there. There were the expected shops selling witchy things and tarot readers and spell casters and witch museums. We didn't get to go on the old schooner because the tour was too late in the day and we needed to head on north to Bailey's Island, Maine to meet our hosts, Paul and Jane.
We could have traveled north pretty quickly by taking the interstate, but we decided to take the coast route for the scenery--the beaches, the lighthouses, the lobster shacks adorned with colorful floats, the ice cream, (oops, that is not scenery, I guess). By the time we got to Bailey's Island it was dark and we got lost on the little dirt roads, but finally we found Paul and Jane's house and they took us to their family "camp" where we are staying for a couple of weeks.
I picked up the luggage--two Bike Fridays--and took our backpacks, camera, CPap, bikes, etc. out to the pickup area while Don took the MBTA to Somersville to pick up the car. By getting our car off site we avoided several airport fees and saved $270 and we don't think it took any more time than it would have to rent at the airport.
Don drove up and we loaded everything into the car and headed the short distance to Salem where we spent our first night. With the time change and the time to get the car and luggage and drive through the rush hour traffic we finally arrived at our Air B&B lodging, right in the heart of Salem.
Salem is definitely a tourist town. October is an important month for Salem because they have a big Witchfest all month long. Many of the shops make a big deal about witches and magic, but Salem is really a very interesting, historic city.
We strolled around the town a bit, reading historic storyboards and admiring the Federal style architecture, before choosing a restaurant for dinner that night. Don ordered the fried clam platter and I had the salad bar. Thank goodness I didn't order a meal too, because the clam platter was huge and we ended up sharing it. After dinner we walked along the harbor, enjoying the lights and sights before returning to our bed for the night.,
Thursday morning we packed up and went to Red's for breakfast. I had Lobster eggs benedict, which was poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on two lobster cakes. Very rich and filling. I have decided to have lobster every day until I get tired of it since the lobster harvest has been very good this year and the price is low.
We could have traveled north pretty quickly by taking the interstate, but we decided to take the coast route for the scenery--the beaches, the lighthouses, the lobster shacks adorned with colorful floats, the ice cream, (oops, that is not scenery, I guess). By the time we got to Bailey's Island it was dark and we got lost on the little dirt roads, but finally we found Paul and Jane's house and they took us to their family "camp" where we are staying for a couple of weeks.
This looks like a really fun vacation. I think I must put it on my wish list. The ice cream looks yummy Geralynn. Don your photos are awesome as always. Thanks for sharing.
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