Five and a half hours after we began our road trip, we finally arrived in Boston (or just outside of it where we are staying). I have to say that I enjoy Boston and it’s surrounding areas. I’m a bit of a history buff and this area is full of it. I’ve been here pretty often because my other half has clients here that he visits every few months. When I have the time and opportunity, I tag along and spend my days taking in the historic sites while he works.
This trip is a bit different. Although he does have to work for some of it, we’ve headed in early so that we can all enjoy some of what this area has to offer. Additionally we’re traveling with two teens, so some of the things we would find incredibly interesting as adults, we’ll be skipping in favor of things that the girls will find interesting.
After dropping our bags at the hotel, we climbed back in the car and headed out on our first adventure. Next stop:
For those of you that know American history, Salem is the place where the Salem Witch Trials occurred, the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the city where the famous House of the Seven Gables is located. Although we only had the afternoon, we thought we’d try to see what we could squeeze in.
We fought a ton of traffic and had some difficulty finding parking, but we did finally make it to the Salem Witch Museum. We did want to do a trolley tour, but it was too late by the time we arrived. Luckily, the museum was open until 7pm and that provided a good bit of background for the hysteria that occurred in 1692.
Once we bought our tickets, we waited for our appointed time and were called in according to the color of the sticker on the tickets. We filed into a large dark room and were directed to find seats. The museum had fixed scenes that they illuminated depicting the action being narrated over a speaker. The speaker system wasn’t very good, but everyone in the room stayed quiet, so we were able to hear well enough. After the narrative ended, they split our group in half (again by sticker color) for the second part of the museum. We were in the second group, so we were directed to wait in the museum shop for our turn. The second part of the museum deals with the perception of the witch throughout the ages. The semi-circle was nicely done with some static displays, a first edition copy of The Wizard of Oz, and large timeline; however, this part seemed a bit rushed and we were not permitted to take any pictures (I’m not a fan of that rule).
With a little bit of history under our belt, we made our way a couple blocks to the Howard Street Cemetery. According to their website, “the Howard Street Cemetery is said to be where Giles Corey was taken to be pressed to death, a torture chosen because he refused to stand trial.” Although nothing is marked in reference to Giles Corey, it was still interesting to walk through and read the grave markers.
The last attraction we were able to see is the famous House of the Seven Gables.
We were extremely lucky because we were the only people on the last tour so although we didn’t pay extra, we ended up with a very private tour. The teens really liked our tour guide and she did a great job of tailoring the tour to their interests. She gave them all the history and even mentioned the parts of the book that were pertinent to the story of the house without giving away the ending. Their favorite part was the secret staircase and the fact that they got to touch the hidden brick that unlocks it.
By the time we were finished at the house, most of the stores were closed so we headed back for some much needed rest after a long day. For future planning, I think I would save Salem for an all day event, but I’m glad we got enough highlights that the girls want to come back. On our way out, I had to stop for a picture with gem:
