Friday 14th October - Salem, Massachussetts

The daily check on the progress of our money transfer held good news this morning.  Not only had the payment gone through but it had gone through at an improved exchange rate so we had in fact overpaid Campers Inn for the RV….By several hundred dollars! Thank goodness it was that way round rather than the other. I called them to confirm that the money should be through and to check all was is order for collecting our new pride and joy the following Tuesday as agreed.

Having popped our tourism cherry the previous day and wishing to avoid spending any more cash at the shops we took another opportunity to go for a jaunt to make the most of our time in Boston. We drove to Salem, Massachusetts to find out about witches and the history surrounding the Salem witch trials in 1692-93. This was our first reminder of the cost associated with being a tourist. At the visitors centre, there was a wide variety of choice when it came to witch-themed attractions, all which carried a hefty price tag. It is hard to judge as an outsider which is the best choice as far as value for money and authenticity, unless you have the resources and patience to pour over trip advisor for each and every location you visit. 

Having suffered the enforced reading and studying of ‘The Crucible’ at school I had a vague idea of the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials but I never really understood it. My conclusion is still much the same having been to the Salem Witch Museum! I think that there just wasn’t enough to keep the youth occupied in those days…. Thank goodness for televisions and iPads! It wasn’t quite what I was expecting – rather than walking around a museum we were seated in a dark barn-like structure and the story was played to us as sections lit up around the auditorium, assisted by a narrator and via the use of ‘fakeys’. Fakeys are a very useful tool in the entertainment of tourists.  They are, of course, mannequins, but now you know this I will be persevering with my use of Fakeys as that is what they have always been called in my family. Having left the museum we had a wander around the town.  It was good time of year to visit, approaching Halloween, or maybe it’s just that over-decorated and ‘witchy’ all year round?! 

We could’ve gone for numerous tours and experiences but we’d kind of got the idea of Salem by then and made the decision to save some pennies and head home, once we had made an important purchase – our first shot glass of the trip! Those of you who know Simon will be aware of his insistence in making people do shots as part of a night out… or even a night in. We already have a starter collection at home but decided that topical shot glasses would make reasonably cheap but individual tokens of some of the places we visit.  I will endeavour to show you some of the best as we go.