Friday the 13th seemed like an appropriate day to visit Salem, home of the witch trials in 1692 and the setting for Arthur Miller's, The Crucible. Of course, the REAL Salem is actually in Danvers, Massachusetts where we stayed in the Comfort Inn. Most of the actual historical material has been moved to present day Salem, but a few artifacts remain. Within minutes of getting in to Salem, the power of Friday the 13th reared its ugly head - we locked the keys in the car. Easily fixed with a call to AAA though. We followed the red historical trail around town. Among the highlights were a memorial park that commemorated the victims of the hysteria and a wax museum dedicated to the history of Salem. Now, "wax museum" usually screams obnoxious and outlandish, but this one was designed by teachers to actually educate the public. Imagine that! Our personal interest in the witch trials extends a little bit beyond the ordinary as two of my ancestors were hung as witches and one of my wife's ancestors was one of the original accusers.
After the witch museum, we ventured down to the waterfront to the Custom House, where Hawthorne wrote, The Scarlet Letter. Also close by is the famous House of Seven Gables. From there we traveled on to Gloucester. Apparently, most of Gloucester is under construction in some way, shape or form and is not terribly appealing at this point. We never did make it to where Sebastian Junger wrote about the Perfect Storm. Rockport was our next stop.
Just a little way up the coast from Gloucester, Rockport is completely different - it has charm and appeal. It is a fairly small community, with a few year round residents and many summer artisans. The environment is friendly and welcoming. Just a short distance from Rockport is Pigeon Cove, where Lousia May Alcott called home. The kids (and mom and dad) particularly enjoyed climbing of the break wall at the end of Bearskin Point. Tomorrow, off to Maine and Acadia.
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