Thursday, September 10, 2015

Labor Day weekend 2015

Oooooooooooooh Labor Day weekend.  How I love thee.  You represent (to me) the end of an uncomfortably hot Summer and the beginning of one of my favorite yearly seasons… Fall!  You are also great because you give me an extra day of rest.  Gotta love my three day weekends! WOOOHOOOO!!!

So this year I decided to go visit my dear friend, in Salem, MA.  She did her duly research and got us running around all over the town doing all the touristy things I love to do.  We went to way too many places, but these are the ones I enjoyed the most:

The Burying Point is oldest cemetery in Salem. Judge John Hathorne’s body, a judge in the Witchcraft Court, is buried here.  Actually… tons of people are buried here! It is a cemetery after all!  Worth a walk and a stroll through the graves.  The best part of this, besides the history, is that it’s FREE!

The Witch Trial Memorial is adjacent to The Burying Point.  It looks like a little park with benches to sit on, but… on these “benches” are the names of the “witches” that were accused, tried, convicted and executed.  This memorial was created in “honor” of the 20 “witches” that were executed in 1692.  Visit this for FREE!

The Witch House is not what it sounds like or what you might imagine.  Here lived no witch!  This was home of Witch Trials Judge Jonathan Corwin and is currently the only structure in Salem that is directly tied to the 1692 Witchcraft Trials [VIDEO].  In this little house I learned that a man accused, tried, and convicted was sentenced to be pressed to death.  Now… that’s a gruesome way to go!


The Bewitched statue is one of those things you either wanna go because you were a fan of the show (which I never watched), or you just find it curious and decide it would be fun to take a picture of/with it.  So… if you happen to be driving through Salem, MA… make a quick stop and snap that selfie!



What is a visit to Salem if you don’t take a picture with a freaky scary looking creature?  We were strolling around going from shop to shop and I see this scary thing that looked like was floating on the ground as it moved from side to side.  So I did what any tourist would do, I have him a dollar and took a selfie with him.  Later in my trip, I found out he was knows as Vampire Steve and apparently, Steve has been causing lil troubles for some people.  Whatever!  He was nice and very patient with kids and he’s earning a buck honorably – which is more than I can say of some people in this world.  Good job Vampire Steve!


Pickering Wharf is the place you want to go if it’s nice out.  It’s simply something to do located near the water with quite a few restaurants/bars and shops there.  If you want a nice little drink, strong, affordable and pretty, I suggest you go to Finz and get the Finz Cocktail for $9 (Disclaimer:  Where I come from, $9 for a drink is on the cheap side).  The drink is blue and refreshing and tasty and STRONG – or maybe I’m just a light weight.  But whatever, head over to the Pickering Wharf and hop on a cruise, tour The Friendship of Salem, or just visit the shops and drink your little heart out and just have a good time.


The Salem Trolley is one of the things we decided to do.  Tickets can be bought right by the sidewalk of The Visitors Center – which is also the area where the tour starts and ends.  The tour is split in two loops and both loops start and end in the same spot by the Visitors Center.  The Trolley operates like a “hop-on/hop-off” bus.  There are stops where no hopping off is allowed, but you can definitely “flag stop” the trolley in quite a few areas of interests like Pickering Wharf, The House of The Seven Gables, Winter Island, Salem Willows, and the Salem Witch Museum, among others.


Last but not least are the spooky tours.  You’d be a fool to come stay in Salem and not go on one of these ghost/paranormal/witch/creepy tours. It is fun, and enjoyable, and sometimes educational.  We did the Candlelit Ghostly Tour.  I cannot say I regret doing this tour cause I really enjoyed walking around Salem with a lit candle while the Tour Guide spitted out historical facts about certain structures and points of interest, but, the Tour Guide didn’t have the equipment necessary to tour around with a big group of people (no microphone) so it was very very hard to hear all the “facts” to the point where I just stopped listening and watched my candle wind breaker a/k/a plastic cup catch fire and melt. The other tour my friend and I went on was the Paranormal Salem Investigation Tour.  This one was a different kind of tour.  The guide met us by The Witch Trials Memorial and whipped out quite a few gadgets to read paranormal activities in the area.  I am a skeptic, but I do have to say it was pretty interesting.   Next time I go on a Salem spooky tour, I will make sure the tour guide is one of those that wears a costume and gets in character.  I am sure that will make it even better.


Oh yeah, I almost forgot!  While walking around Pickering Wharf's hood, I stumbled upon a lil box with a bunch of books, so I came out with winnings!  #SCORE!!!!


Looking forward to my next visit!

Until then....

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