Last week I told you about three awesome day trips from
Boston, you can catch up on that post HERE. This week I’ll tell you about the
day we spent in Cape Ann whale watching, spooky goings on in Salem and a last
minute road trip to Manchester by the Sea. One of these trips was the highlight
of my trip I’d go so far as to say it far outstripped NYC in my books. Can you guess WITCH before I tell you?
1. Whale Watching in Cape Ann
Sue adores whales; she has loved them since she was a
little girl so when I was researching and saw that we could go whale watching
it was immediately put on our itinerary. I found a company that looked great, a
4 hour trip cost just $48/€41 per person with guaranteed sightings and free
parking too but then I remembered a Mum in our Mums on the Run Facebook group
gave us a genius travel hack, check Groupon for deals at your destination. So I
did.
I couldn’t believe it when I found the SAME trip for
$28/€23.93 each, saving us $20/€17.09pp. I decided to go one better and Googled
Groupon promo codes and I got a further $10/€8.55 discount. I also found a deal
for a local restaurant $10 for lunch for 2!
Fresh Chowder made daily by the Captain himself. Not chowder, chowder, say it, CHOWDERRR |
It took us less than 40 minutes to drive the 36 miles
to Cape Ann and park up dock side at Cape Ann Whale Watch. We were brought 12
miles off the coast to one of the top 5 whale watching locations in the world,
Stellwagen Bank. There are a few different species of whales that can be
spotted at the national marine sanctuary, we were lucky to get a glimpse of
Minke and Finback whales. But the humpbacks decided to put on an amazing show,
flipper slapping and repeatedly leaping out of the water.
We were in awe at the
tail-breaching; it truly is a breathtaking sight. Admittedly though at one
stage we found it hilarious, everyone was staring out one side of the boat when
the whales were behind us, it reminded us of the Kit Cat ad with the panda.
There’s a full service galley on board selling hot food
and cold drinks at great prices. We hadn’t eaten in at least 10 minutes so we
had to refuel. Sue had the chowder while I scoffed mac’n’cheese.
Lunch at Zeke's, accompanied by NOT very sweet, sweet tea. Bleugh. |
Lunch at Zeke’s Place was a lovely dining experience;
it was an old school diner with the chef cooking behind a low counter in full view.
It was like walking onto a movie set, the only other customers were two elderly
army veterans chatting over bottomless coffees and pie. The food was all made
from scratch as was the iced tea, simply delicious. They were delighted to hear Irish accents, so much so they asked would we stay to help clean up! Nice try, lads.
2. Salem
These two lads wandering through town silently, standing out from behind trees and popping up on walks were easily the creepiest thing we've ever seen... |
Salem is by far my absolute number 1 favourite place to
visit in the USA, yes over NYC, LA and even Vegas. To this day I’m still
kicking myself that we didn’t spend at least 2 days. The drive to Salem was
easy taking us just 30 minutes; parking however was not as easy.
We went Friday
13th October, we figured it’d be pretty busy so we aimed to be there for about
9am but as we drove around they were closing all the car parks because they
were full. We eventually got on street parking just off Washington Street which
is one of the main streets, I preferred to have the car as it meant we could
stay much later into the night.
Every month of the year there are different events. We
visited slap bang in the middle of Haunted Happenings, the whole town was
buzzing and the atmosphere was fantastic. Nearly everyone was dressed for the
occasion, all of the shops and houses were decorated for the season, so we had
to buy some fab witches hats from a market stall for just $10/€8.55 to join in
the spooky fun.
After a quick visit to Destination Salem’s offices to
pick up our complimentary VIP cards we started with a Trolley tour to get our
bearings and got caught up to speed on over 400 years of local history. We
learned about the witch trials that lasted thirteen
months, 156 people were accused, 19 were hanged. One man was pressed to death
and two dogs were hanged because the children said they gave them the
"evil eye".
Salem is gorgeous it really is as you see it in the
movies especially when you see the filming locations from movies such as The
Lords of Salem & Hocus Pocus. Pumpkin spiced latte was the order of the day
while we decided which attractions were top of our list. We had already snapped
the Bewitched statue and saw an absolutely hilarious street act of witches cat
calling and slagging people who were getting their photo taken with them. If you were following along on Snapchat, you'll remember!
Witch Dungeon Museum
First up we went to the Witch Dungeon Museum from the
moment you walk into the museum you’re transported back to a court room in 1692
to a re-enactment of the trial of Sarah Good who was accused of being a witch.
It’s only a short play but it gave me chills hearing the crazy accusations that
were held up by a court of law. In the dungeons there are replica standing room
only cells where some of the accused were held. There’s also a replica village
of how Salem was in 1692. Admission is $8/€6.84 per adult but our visit was
covered with our VIP card.
Shopping and Eating
We stopped for lunch at Tavern in the Square where Sue
had the most delicious pumpkin cider seasonally brewed by Downeast. I only had
a sip to taste but oh my gourd! It was that nice that I’ve already sought out a
place where I can get it when we visit Niagara Falls this October! Lunch cost
us $60/€51.28 including drinks and a tip.
Central Street has some of the most amazing shops, we
picked up lots of souvenirs but the best value was at the Trolley Depot, we
bought t-shirts, hoodies and Christmas decorations for my travel tree. In Salem
Common there was a huge food truck selling every sweet you could think of deep
fried. We decided to try deep fried Oreos; I made Sue try them first just in
case. She held a straight face while telling me they were delicious. She lied.
Salem Witch Museum
The queues were crazy so we got tickets for a later time
and came back. We got a greater understanding of the witch trials at the witch
museum as the presentations are based on the actual trial documents. We learned
the truth about witches which actually isn’t bad at all and that there are
millions of people still practicing witchcraft today. The gift shop at the end
had a great selection of reasonably priced gifts, so we left with another few
bags of purchases. Admission is $12/€10.26 per adult; it was included in our
VIP ticket.
Candlelit Ghost Walking Tour
I loved the candlelit walking tour as we got to visit
the most haunted houses and locations in Salem. Our guide was fantastic; she
regaled us with stories of ghostly sightings and spooky goings on. We visited
the Salem Witch Trial Memorial and the graveyard but we didn’t dare enter, not
only is it extremely eerie it’s also illegal to enter after dark. Tours cost
$15/€12.82pp but were included with our VIP card.
We passed Bridget Bishop's Tavern and learned of her story, she was the first woman to be murdered in Salem. She was executed simply because she was a woman of means, she wore bright colours and married several times over. Bridget paid no heed to traditions of Salem times, Sue says it's exactly that bad ass attitude that meant she resonated so strongly with her. Her fascinating story is here.
It's important to say that every single tour guide agreed that the Salem 'Witch Trials' were state sanctioned murders, no more, no less. They're incredibly passionate about righting the wrongs of history in their town and distancing themselves from decisions made. That makes the town all the more interesting to me and well worth your time in visiting.
The House of the Seven Gables
This house tells 350 years of stories, dating back to
1668 the house was owned by 3 generations of the Turner family before being
bought by Captain Samuel Ingersoll uncle to the famous author Nathaniel
Hawthorne. The mansion has been a museum since 1908.Over the years five
additional historic structures have been moved to the site, it’s now on the
national register of historic places. When we visited we were lucky to be there
for one of their October performances whereby excerpts of Nathaniel Hawthorns
novel are re-enacted.
There are two different performances, we chose the
Spirits of the Gables. We were enthralled, especially when our guide moved out
of the way and there was a tiny half width hidden doorway behind him with an
even smaller winding staircase leading to the next level. When we entered the
room above it was through a small alcove beside the full sized door. It felt
like we were in a spooky version of Alice in Wonderland! Tours cost
$15/€12.82pp but were included with our VIP card.
Without a doubt we'll be returning to Salem as soon as possible. The annual Wicca protest sees over 3.5k Wiccans descend on the Salem to march down Main St. We'll be there one year for the protests and the celebrations, mark my words.
3. Manchester
by the Sea
While in the queue for the Salem trolley tour the people
in front of us started chatting to us and the gal behind us overheard us say
that the fall foliage in the Berkshires wasn’t in full bloom. She sidled up to
us like she was doing an illegal deal and whispered that Manchester by the Sea
is where it’s at, the following day we took heed of her advice.
We set out for Manchester by the sea but stopped along
the way in Exeter New Hampshire for lunch and yet another pumpkin spiced latte
for me. Exeter is a beautiful historic town with chocolate box stores that run
the length of Main Street.
Pawtuckaway State Park was the perfect place to view
the fall foliage; they are spoiled for choice in the US with state parks. They
have every amenity at their finger tips, Pawtuckaway for example had everything
you could need for camping, hiking, swimming, kayaking, mountain biking,
orienteering and much more with a whole host of facilities such as showers,
toilets, BBQ pits etc.
On the way back to Boston we stopped in Blake’s
Restaurant for dinner. An old style mom and pop diner located just off Daniel
Webster Highway. They’re famous for their homemade ice cream that they’ve been
serving in the locality for over 100 years boasting an impressive 80+
flavours.
Sue had the freshest lobster roll and chocolate cream pie
for afters while I devoured a chicken caesar salad topped off with a huge slice
of pumpkin pie. Kathleen our server was lovely and so attentive refilling our
coffee as we ate. Lunch drinks and a tip cost us just $40/€34.19.
Whale watching in Cape Ann, Salem and Manchester by the
sea are three more awesome day trips you can take from Boston but what about
when you want to stay and explore Boston?
What are the best bits you should see
and best trips you should take?
Stop by next week and I’ll fill you in how
much you can see and do in two days in Boston.
Are you part of our Mums on the Run FB group yet? We're rocketing towards 10k of the soundest , most supportive Irish women.
We don't allow sales, bitching or BS, just help to get each other out the door. You really should join us HERE!
*** Disclaimer:
As advised above we received
As advised above we received
complimentary VIP Haunted Happenings passes.
As usual all thoughts are my own,
I was not asked to write this review.
As ever neither free services nor
payment would ever sway my opinion.***
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ReplyDeleteBuckle up for adventure as our blog takes you on a thrilling road trip around Boston! Designed with busy moms in mind, "Boston Fly Drive" invites you to embark on three incredible day trips to Cape Ann, Manchester by the Sea, and Salem. Join us as we explore picturesque coastal towns, uncover hidden gems, and create unforgettable memories just a short drive away from the bustling city.
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