Hocus Pocus

Salem was a very nice little town with a ton of interesting history.  I just left the car and walked pretty much the entire downtown and historic area.  Twice.  I spent more time than anticipated but who can complain about absorbing so much nostalgia and then paying the $2.49/gal. gas price after waiting out the rain/ traffic on the way out of town? 

My first stop was the oldest burial ground, backed up against the witch trials memorial.  The oldest stone is dated 1673!  So many of the headstones were worn and it was difficult to read the names, but that's what made it more eerie to walk through it.  The memorial was sad because for each of the 20 people wrongly accused, a stone was set out from the stone wall that borders the memorial site.  On each stone, the person's name, execution date, and execution method were inscribed.  At the entrance of the memorial, flagstones in the ground read the final words of the accused. 
From there, I created my own walking tour of the town.  I saw the witch house (home of the man who "researched" each case of the accused), the site of the judicial building, the site of the jail, and the pioneer village recreation (didn't walk through the homes b/c I arrived too late).  I also walked by the first church in Salem.
When by the harbor briefly before it started to downpour.  Today was really warm though- warmest since driving through Ohio.  So, because of the rain, I couldn't set up the camera out in the rain to capture pictures of me in Salem (but I really was there, I swear!).

Anyhow, from there I drove into Boston and just found a meter to park so I could walk around before it got too late.  Boston is a very nice city.  I didn't know what to expect, but I am glad that I felt so good walking around- aimlessly.  There is a plaza called Quincy Market, which is basically a bunch of different stores and vendors along a cobble street.

The oldest tavern in America is also here: Bell in Hand Tavern est. 1795.  I took the evidence photos, but was not very impressed by the atmosphere.  It is a historic landmark and has all of this heritage, but I felt like I stepped into a bar in Wrigleyville.  I appreciated the history behind the location but eh, moved on.
So, tomorrow I explore the public trans here b/c I am not paying parking downtown here if I don't even pay downtown parking in Chicago :)