This blog is all about Massachusetts! We visited Salem, Plymouth, and Boston!
SALEM:
Salem is about a 30 minute drive from Boston depending on where you are staying. Of course Salem is famous for all things spooky and the famous Salem witchcraft trials. I mainly wanted to go because of my love for The Crucible and to see where these trials took place.
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller. In it he wrote about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller's drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. It is one of my favorites.
While in Salem we visited the Salem witch trials memorial. It is a simple memorial with walls surrounding three sides and granite benches representing each victim. Each bench has a name engraved, means of execution, and execution date.
We also went to the Salem Witch House which was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin and is one of the only structures still standing in Salem with direct ties to the witchcraft trials. We did not go inside, but we got pictures from the outside.
The Salem Witch Museum was also on our list. One of my friends warned me that she thought it was "overrated" and I probably should have listened to her. I had to do "something" while we were there though so I opted for the museum.
The museum consists of two "presentations." The first one provides an immersive look into the Salem witch hunt of 1692. There are life-size stage sets, figures, and narration to go along with it. This part was decent -especially for people who haven't read the Crucible or might need a refresher.
The second exhibit explores the meaning behind the word "witch" and evolution of the word over time.
The museum was just okay and wasn't really what I was expecting. Even if I had done more research going into it, I probably still would have went. I mean, it's the Salem Witch Museum afterall!
Unfortunately there are a lot of psychics and witchcraft shops in Salem and a lot of ghost tours and Halloween things that don't really interest me. We did, however, go to to Sea Level Oyster Bar and it was really good! I got some jumbo shrimp and my husband got baked scallops with buttery crumbs and lemon chive butter sauce. He asked me to try it and OH MY GOSH it was so good!
I would rate Salem a 6 out of 10. Definitely not a place I need to go back to, but glad I went.
PLYMOUTH:
Plymouth is a coastal town about an hour south of Boston. Plymouth, of course, played an important role in U.S. history and was the initial landing site of the first voyage of the Mayflower. (And settlement of Plymouth Colony)
Our first stop was the Plimoth Patuext Museum. We spent about 2 hours here exploring everything.
This is basically an outdoor exhibit where guests can learn about the Native peoples who lived here as well as a 17th century English village. It's essentially a recreation of a small farming community built by the Pilgrims. They had actors dressed in historical clothing and each had a "role"of an inhabitant of the community. 
FUN FACT! I asked the guy at the museum why the spelling of Plimoth was different. In the early 17th century there were no rules for the spelling of English words. Each writer did whatever he or she pleased, phonetically spelling the word as seemed fit. Plymouth has been spelled a number of ways in colonial documents: Plymouth, Plymoth, and Plimoth.
After exploring the village we headed over to THE Plymouth Rock. (or we as we called it, "Plymouth Pebble.") We knew going in that it would be underwhelming and smaller than we imagined.
Although no historical evidence exists to confirm Plymouth Rock as the Pilgrims' actual steppingstone to the New World, the "boulder" was identified as this spot in 1741, 121 years after the arrival of the Mayflower. 
Close to Plymouth Rock is the Mayflower II. It's a full-scale reproduction of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620. This took about 40 minutes to explore. I was a little disappointed in this -- I think I was expecting more. HOWEVER ... it is crazy to think about how 102 passengers and 30 crewmembers could have lived and survived comfortably on this 100 foot ship. The historical aspects were still fascinating.
I would rate Plymouth a 7 out of 10 because... HISTORY!! Really glad we made the stop as it wasn't on our original itinerary.
BOSTON:
Our group split up here. Melissa and Aaron went to Fenway to see the Red Sox and Mike and I went to the Boston Tea Party Museum. The museum is one of my favorite museums I've ever been to. (And I've been to quite a few!) It was also probably my favorite part of this trip!
At the museum you can actually be part of history! It's a multi-sensory experience that includes live actors, interactive exhibits, and the best part?! YOU CAN THROW "TEA" INTO THE SEA!!!! (That was the main reason I wanted to go here in the first place. LOL)
The experience was so much more though! I absolutely LOVED the actors and learning more about the event that forever changed U.S. history!
They also have the only known surviving tea chest from the Boston Tea Party of 1773. It has been protected and preserved for more than two centuries- it's called the Robinson Tea Chest.
I could go on and on about how much I LOVED this museum, but you should probably just go and see for yourself!!
100/10 !!!!!!
 |
| Tea Party Museum with the Boston skyline |
 |
| Old North Church |
Our last day was spent in Boston and we did some of the Freedom Trail. We saw Paul Revere's House and the Old North Church. This is Boston's oldest church and best known for the midnight ride of Paul Revere and "One if by land, Two if by sea." 
We also stumbled upon Bova's Bakery which... OH MY YUMS! SO GOOD! I got a S'mores brownie and now I'm salivating just looking at the picture. Definitely recommend!
Our last stop was Quincy Market . There are hundreds of shops and places to eat there. We did a quick walk through, but it was so crowded and there weren't any places to sit.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! Next trip is in October so until then....
Peace, Love, and Applesauce.
Enjoying reading your blogs.
ReplyDelete