Historic Salem, MA

     My family and I traveled to Salem, Massachusetts for the second time in nine years. The first time had been during our honeymoon in October, 2001, sans children. This second time was in July, 2010...with children. Let me just say, it was a different experience the second time around.
     The first time, my newly-wedded husband and I spent an entire day trekking through the quaint New England town, rich in history, exploring the small village imagining what it must have been like living in seventeenth century America. We toured the Old Burying Point, known as the second oldest cemetery in the U.S., the Essex Street Mall, cute specialty shops, sat through a 45-minute Salem witch trial play conducted in a nineteenth century (guessing the age) building, and different museums, such as the Salem Witch Dungeon Museum.

Salem Witch Dungeon Museum

     The museum was one of our first visits once we hit the village. After listening to our tour guide on the main floor of the church-like structure (he said one of the wooden ceiling beams was an actual fixture from a seventeenth century Salem church), we were led into the basement--a dark dungeon full of cells with witch trial wax figures, illustrating the torment and hopelessness of what it may have been like being accused and condemned of witchcraft. It was dark and eerie, but I suppose, that was the essence of the museum...I wondered how creepy it would have to be working alone in that basement, waiting for the next museum tour to begin. Not a job I would like.
     But, alas, let us flash to 2010--the Salem trip where we brought our 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son with us.

Side of Hawthorne's house

     The highlight of this trip was taking a few pictures of the outside of Nathaniel Hawthorne's house and watching my daughter make a rope with the help of three teenage volunteers at the Salem Visitor Center. My son screamed and cried the whole time wanting to go back to our hotel for the indoor pool (the highlight of his vacation) and my daughter complained the entire time about being tired and hungry. We did see a small Salem lighthouse, watched a low-budget film in the back of an ancient house about the early ship trade in Salem, and I was able to purchase a sweat jacket at the Essex Street Mall; however, it just wasn't as fulfilling as the trip before. I guess having to pull a screaming child through a pedestrian-friendly village is a downer on any trip...But, still, Salem holds a very special place in my heart. The salt sea air that wafts down the village streets, the wild wind that whips through your hair, the lovely historical homes that line the streets, the charming gardens that drape the town square...Salem may be widely known as the "Witch City", but to me it is known as a step back into our nation's rich history--cackling aside.