Boston2022one.html

Well, it seemed to take forever for our October trip to arrive, but now it was upon us!

Here's two happy sightseers over Logan Airport in Boston. Pictured above, were the sights and smells of the city where I grew up. I couldn't wait to get back home and show Sylvia the city streets. Below is a panoramic view of the Westin Hotel at Copley Square. It sits right next to the majestic Boston Public Library.

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Below are pictures taken of the hotel and views of our room. We had the executive suite with a corner view on the 20th floor. The views were incredible. As you can see, we faced the Prudential Building downtown.

A couple of the pictures show the hotel and views at nighttime. The third picture on the bottom shows the Charles River through the downtown buildings. (The Charles River was made famous by the song, 'DIRTY WATER' by the Standells in the 60's!)

... Dirty Water by the Standells

We got in a little late. So with very little time, we sought dinner at a close Boston landmark, Legal Seafood. Below, Sylvia is enjoying some authentic Boston Clam Chowder. I had a basket of whole fried clams. I'd been craving them ever since I started planning the trip. It was one of the 5 food items I checked off my list to eat while in Boston. (The other 4 will be mentioned later!)

Before heading back to the hotel for the evening, we stopped at the Star Market for some snacks and essentials. Naturally, I had to teach Sylvia how to talk Bostonian, so we practiced by saying, "STAHH MAHHKIT" ! The key is to take out the "R's". She was an expert before we left the store.
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The next morning, we got up early to head out to Salem, the original Witch City. Sylvia wanted to see the sights there. We took the train from North Station along the Newburyport/Rockport line and arrived about 40 minutes later after boarding the train from Boston.

Our first stop was at the Bewitched statue, a tribute to Elizabeth Montgomery and her show from the 60's. From there we went to the Nightmare Gallery. It was a small but excellent museum that housed all of the creepy people in horror films from the past. Pictures were only allowed in the lobby, so here I am with Michael Myers. We decided to eat lunch by then and chose an Asian-Cajun fusion place called Ginger. There is a picture at the very bottom of this page.

Then we started walking down one of the weirdest streets in Salem, Essex Street. There seemed to be a series of shops and museums and a variety of characters making it a fun "halloween" experience.

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There were street musicians and performers, and as it turned out, we just happened to run into a parade that day!

Perhaps one of the most interesting experiences we had was at the Ouija Museum (Witch Board Museum). The owner, John, gave us a personal tour and had a number of fascinating stories and anecdotes about the different boards that he had accumulated over the years. Of course, we had to get some tee shirts and other memorabilia to commemorate the experience.

Then it was on to one of the oldest museums in the city, simply known as the Salem Witch Museum. Since its opening in 1972 in a renovated historic church building, the Salem Witch Museum has served as a distinctive local landmark and major contributor to the city's cultural and historic landscape. A statue of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem, stands outside the Salem Witch Museum. He actually died before the famous witch trials of 1692 and had nothing to do with those times.
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Interesting fact: I found out that none of the accused "witches" were actually burned at the stake. Apparently, this is something just used for movies for dramatic purposes. Most died by hanging!

Outside of the Witch Museum, was a small cookie shop called "Goodnight Fatty". They made these freshly baked, warm cookies that would melt in your mouth. It was a nice break. Sylvia also got to experience Fried Dough! A New England staple and one of the major food groups in the area.

And then came the Spooky Tour!
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As our last stop of our day in Salem, we did a short walking tour of the haunted areas of Salem. Pictured here is our guide, Carrie (appropriately named), who guided us to the most haunted areas of downtown Salem.

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After the tour was finished, we quickly walked to the train station to catch the 8:27 train back to Boston. The 40 minute ride went quickly and we were tired but excited about our tour of Salem. While we were in Salem, we bought an Italian Sub sandwich from a delicatessen (as if the Asian food, Fried dough, and cookies weren't enough) and shared it once back in the hotel before crashing out for the evening. An authentic Boston Italian Sub Sandwich was the 2nd item on my checklist of items to eat while I was in my hometown (3 items remained)!

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