Salem, MA

Salem is FUN! A town built on fortunes made in shipbuilding and by sea captains trading around the world. Some house carry historical markers dating them from the 1600’s!

There is a lovely Common in the center of town, surrounded by stately homes.

PLUS, witch motifs everywhere…and a memorial to the Salem Watch Trials.

PLUS, the House of the Seven Gables and the house in which Nathanial Hawthorne was born. They are clustered together in a beautiful waterfront site with other historic buildings and stunning gardens.

Here’s an image you don’t see everyday: Freedom parked almost right in front of the House of the Seven Gables!

Isn’t it beautiful? Painstakingly restored and perfectly maintained.

Here’s Hawthorne’s birthplace. Charming, no?

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For you die-hard nautical fans, the trip over was amazing. We had planned to go around Cape Ann, rather than taking the Annisquan River Canal, as we did on the way up. Cape Ann is one of the massive formations that juts out into the Atlantic, and I was concerned that this might expose us to rougher sea conditions, but the ocean was like glass. We cruised for almost 3 hours on Autopilot and never touched the wheel!

The only problem: still no pumpout.

Harbormaster: “Yes, the pumpout boat does run Wednesdays an Saturdays from 3-6.”

Me: “It’s Wednesday! Oh, Good!”

Harbormaster: “Let me check the schedule and see how many boats are already scheduled… Oh, it’s not running tonight. We don’t have an operator.”

Me: “Oh, s____!” Really.

Contrast this situation with our marina in Key West, where they could pump you out right at your slip!

Oh well, no biggie. We’ll get it done in Plymouth, our next stop…Home of Plymouth Rock!

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BTW, since we finally have decent Wi-Fi, I may go back and insert some photos in earlier posts. I note that I have to go all the way back to my Newport post. I’ll start with the most recent and work in reverse chronological order.