Hunting Witches (Boston Day 2 - Salem...and Maine)
- Cat
- Jan 20, 2017
- 2 min read
We rented a car to get to Boston, so today, due to very windy weather in town, we decided to take advantage of having a vehicle and go to Salem. G has been itching to see the place where the witch trials were held after we told him the story and the history of the town. We talked a lot about how a small misunderstanding can turn into something much bigger if people aren't willing to listen to the full story. We also talked about fear and how it can effect the decisions we make. Heavy stuff for a three year old and we doubt he understood everything - but he at least heard that his parents try to see all sides of something before making decisions, and that they make these decisions based on their values, not public opinion.
But in the end, he really just wanted to see the witches. So we arrived in town mid-morning. There didn't appear to be much going on in town so we walked toward the marina and stopped in at the National Park office/shop. The ranger told us we had the whole town to ourselves! Apparently, everything shuts down int he winter until about MAY in Salem! Not much was open so we checked things out from the street. Other than the cemetery, a plot of land marked as being owned by a passenger on the Mayflower, the Customs House, the House of the Seven Gables where Nathaniel Hawthorne lived, and cute wooden homes dating back to the 1700s, there wasn't much to do. We finished with the town so early, we headed back to the car to decide what else to do.
G had a small meltdown at the thought of leaving Salem - for some reason he REALLY wanted to stay (he was just tired and ready for his nap, 23 seconds after this meltdown, he was fast asleep!). To be fair, this was the first and only meltdown after two full weeks of traveling with mom and dad - having had no interaction with any other kids. It's been a long couple of weeks!
We ended up driving north to Maine - we were so close, we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to see another state. Who knows when we will be this close again. Maine was absolutely beautiful. We stopped in Kittery, the oldest town in the state. We saw the marina and some gorgeous scenery. We will definitely be back here one day - but maybe in the summer time. It looked like the kind of place you can really relax, sitting outside on a deck overlooking the water with a glass of wine and a good book. The only problem is that we rarely just sit on any vacation we take so who knows if this will ever happen, but it has officially been put on the list.
Since we missed the sights in Salem due to seasonal closures, anyone who has been before, please comment and tell us what we missed! Any suggestions on where to go in Maine when we go back?
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