Days 22-24 May 31-June 2: Salem (Part 2)

Today we engage with American History, Revolutionay Battle #1. After another nice breakfast at the Salem Inn, we drive to Concord to visit the Minute Man National Historic Park. After an uninteresting drive through the burbs north of Boston, we arrive at the Park. There are 3 main locations comprising the running battle that was Lexington and Concord. The earliest, Lexington Green, we will visit later. Next, the middle part was on the "Battle Road" from Lexington to Concord's North Bridge. Then there was the confrontation at the North Bridge (we visit this later), then the British retreat along the Battle Road as the Redcoats were harassed unmercifully by the Minute Men. We first stop in at the Battle Road's Visitor Center and take in an Excellent Presentation describing how the battle proceded.

We next walk along the actual road. A lot has changed in 250 years, but many of the historic sites on this road are noted, including the place where Paul Revere was arrested.

Paul Revere's Capture Site

Returning to our car, we head into Concord proper in search of lunch. Where else would we eat but at The Colonial Inn? We each have a cup of Gazpacho. Amy has the Alcott Sandwich and Wayne has the Small Farmboard (cheese, meat, crackers and savory spreads). Happily sated, we stroll around Concord's Green then reboard the X3 to head to the North Bridge.

Concord's North Bridge (from the Colonial's side)

The development of the Battle: 1) Redcoats march from Boston to Lexington in search of Guns and Ammunition to confiscate and/or destroy, 2) at Lexington Green, Redcoats storm past Colonials, leaving casualties & initiating conflict, 3) Redcoats march up the Battle Road to Concord, 4) at Concord's North Bridge, Redcoats seize the bridge, 5) Concord colonials, assembled on the northwest side of the bridge march down the hill in disciplined order, causing the Redcoats to panic. 6) the Redcoats, trying to regroup, retreat back down the Battle Road 7 miles to Lexington. We listen to the Park Ranger describe how the North Bridge Battle proceded. All very interesting. They take great pains to describe what we know and what we don't know about the actual events. The presentation is quite entertaining.

We get back in the X3 and we head south to see one more of the interesting sites around Concord.

Walden Pond

It's a fine day, so we take the 1.5 mile walk around the Pond. How times have changed since H. D. Thoreau! After we leave the beach area to walk around the lake, we are in a narrow path about 5 feet wide with metal fencing on both sides, presumably to keep the deer at bay. There are signs warning hikers about avoiding tics and the dangers of Lyme Disease. Still, it is a lovely day and we enjoy the walk.

We head back to Salem and have a short rest before dinner. Tonight's locale is Italian: Bella Verona. Amy starts with the Aperol Spritz while Wayne has some Montepluciano. We share the Eggplant Napoleon for our starter. For the main, Amy has Tagliatelle Primavera while Wayne has the Linguine alle Delicie del Mare. We cap it off with Profiteroles & Cappuccino. A wonderful meal. New England continues to delight us with its excellent seafood. Amy's vegetables were also great. We have a nice stroll back to the Inn before retiring.

The next morning, we hope to tour some houses from the late 18th century, but we get the timing wrong; the one house open for showing has a tour in an hour. We don't want to wait that long, so we end up at Lexington Common. This is where the fighting all began (but only Colonials suffered casualties; the locals obeyed orders and held their fire). We definitely recommend a walking around the green, a detailed map is available in the Visitor Center. At the Center, we learn more about the battle and about the five ships in the US Navy that were named Lexington. There are interesting displays both inside the visitor center and in the gardens outside talking about them. One of the sites on the Green is The Buckman Tavern, gathering place of the Lexington Militia.

Buckman Tavern

Back to Salem for lunch at Casa Tequila. Amy has the Fajitas and Wayne has the Enchilada Suizas. Very good, but too much food. We rest in the afternoon and for dinner visit the Brothers Taverna. Amy has the Grilled Salmon, Wayne has the Fish & Chips with a cup of chowder. Again, too much food.

In the morning, we bid "Adieu" to Salem and visit two sites on our way to our next stop. Orchard House was the family home of Louisa May Alcott. I didn't know that she was the daughter of one of the founders of the Transcendentalist movement and that she knew both Thoreau and Emerson. A well connected family!

Orchard House

After immersing ourselves in mid-1800's New England, we drive to Essex. This small village was an important center of shipbuilding in the early Colonial/American centuries. Some 4,000 wooden ships were built here before steel took over. Before exploring the Shipbuilding Museum, we visit Woodman's of Essex, where the Fried Clam was created. For lunch we share one Platter, which is fried clams piled atop Onion Rings and French Fries. Yumm!

After lunch, we stop in at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. There are photos and artifacts here and our host tells delightful stories of ships and the sea. The yard contains many surviving vessels that give some idea of sailing at the time. Thoroughly entertaining!

Intricate Cabinet, built in the style...

After a too-short stop in this little town, we get back in the car and head to our next stop, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Days 19-21 May 28-30: Salem (Part 1)

Our destination after Plymouth is Salem. It is northeast of Boston, so we have to go through Bean Town to get there. The traffic through Boston is awful, even though it is the weekend. The Salem Inn is in the repurposed Captain Nathaniel West House in the heart of historic Salem. We arrive in the late afternoon, happy to have made only 2 wrong turns. We find the driveway, unload our bags, check in, then park the X3 at a companion property a couple of blocks away.

Since it is Saturday, May 28, Wayne asks where the closest Sports Bar is and is directed to Rockafella's, about 3 blocks away. He is only 5 minutes late to the start of the match and proceeds to enjoy (?) the Champion's League Final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Not sure that enjoy is the right word, but certainly applies to the Guinness. To the match, not so much.

Rejoining Amy at the Inn, we rest, then prepare for dinner. The Ledger Restaurant, two doors down from Rockafella's, is our choice. Wayne has the Fade to Black (Bourbon & other spirits), Amy has an Aperol Spritz. We share the Popovers (deliciously light) and a Half Chicken. A very tasty meal.

Having just watched Liverpool, Wayne notices the Griffon (the Liverpool Mascot) in the name plate on the outside of the restaurant. He asks our server what the connection is; why the Griffon?

Ledger Restaurant Griffin Logo

She explains that this building/space used to be a bank. The restaurant's name, Ledger, is a tie-in to that lineage. The server further explains that much of the decor, such as the ornamentation on the ceiling beams, includes pictures of griffins and the new owners like the look. It makes a lot of sense when you add in that Griffons represent strength and intelligence, a perfect symbol for a bank. Having enjoyed both the food and the ambiance, we have a very nice 5 block walk back to the Inn.

The next day we explore Salem. The Salem Inn is a very centrally located place to stay. The Witch House is just down the street. Salem Common is 10 or so blocks away and throughout our stay, we see many walking tour groups very close by the Inn while we are wandering around. This morning, after a nice breakfast in the Inn's Dining Room, we head east. We pass many shops and are amazed at the wide variety of magic infused merchandise available. There's a statue of Samantha from the TV Show "Bewitched".

"Bewitched"

And yes, Harry Potter is now similarly incorporated into the "witch" vibe. You can get Harry Potter merch in most of the stores. There's even a Wand Store: Wynotts Wands, but they are very careful to tell you they are not affiliated with Warner Brothers, JK Rowling, EA Games, etc.

We continue on to Salem Common, a large public space that has been in use for hundreds of years.

We exit the Common in the Southeast corner and walk around a bit more before ending at the Peabody Essex Museum. As the result of trade with East Asia, Salem became the richest (per capita) city in the new United States at the end of the 18th century continuing into the 19th. This Museum is a byproduct of that wealth. It contains a wealth of art and artifacts from America, China, Japan.

We enter the museum and enjoy many exhibits of both American and Asian artists and artisans. There is so much to see here that we heartily recommend at least one visit.

The Museum even contains the large, rural, 250 year-old Yin Yu Tang house. Acquired by the Museum in 1996 as part of a local cultural heritage exchange project, it was removed from its location 250 miles from Shanghai and reconstructed here in Salem. It now displays how its residents lived in the 1970's.

After a lunch of caprese sandwiches and a bowl of chowder, we exit the PEM and walk a half mile to The House of Seven Gables.

House of Seven Gables

Hawthorne once stayed in this house and was inspired to create the tale he wrote in his book. The house is an interesting building to appreciate the changes over time (250 years) that occurred in how people lived in Salem. After "The House of Seven Gables" was published, a new owner bought the building and was only interested in profiting from the popularity of the novel by collecting money from tourists . Even though Hawthorne's fictional house was quite different from the real thing, she marketed the house as the exact template for the novel. She even went so far as to decomission a working fireplace to install the secret passageway that figures prominently in the story. The Tour was quite lively and the artifacts inside the house were as interesting as the house itself.

After a good amount of walking, we return to the Salem Inn to rest up for dinner. The place is the Adriatic Restaurant, a couple of doors south of Ledger from the previous night. Amy has an Aperol Spritz and Wayne has a John 75 (like a French 75). We decide to go full small plates and share the Grilled Meatballs, the Lollipop Lamb and the Scallops. Another delicious meal.

The next day is Memorial Day. We decide the weather is nice enough to visit Rockport, northeast of Salem. After another nice breakfast at the Inn, we walk to the Curwen House and reclaim our X3. We drive the Essex Scenic Byway. The seashore is beautiful and the drive very relaxing as we pass through Manchester-by-the-Sea as well as other coastal towns. When we get closer to Rockport, however, the traffic slows to a halt. This is Memorial Day and the locals are stopping all cars driving this way. They are checking for Beach Parking Permits and turning away anyone who doesn't have one and doesn't live nearby. After a few minutes of waiting, we finally inch forward enough to turn left and reroute to a different way into Rockport, which is well north of the Beaches.

We park in the middle of Rockport and our first order of business is Ray Moore's Fish Shack. Amy has the Haddock Basket, Wayne the Shrimp Basket. Plenty of food, and very tasty. During lunch, we can see into the harbor where a Memorial Day Celebration is occurring, complete with speeches and a High School Band.

After lunch, we walk to Bearskin Neck and do some shopping. We drive back to the Inn having thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit to this charming town. After a brief rest at the Inn, we take the self-guided walking tour of the McIntire Historic District, just across the street. Just about every building in this neighborhood is at least 150 years old and has a label stating when it was built and who built it.

For dinner, we venture to Finz. Amy orders the Blackberry Lime Rickey, Wayne the "Sunset Painkiller". This being a sushi/sashimi place, we order "The Fame", a spread of 32 varied sushi and sashimi bites. Excellent! We wander back to the Inn for a wonderful night's sleep.

My apologies for the lack of pictures. Somehow I set my iPhone camera to record videos, so all the "pictures" I around these places are too unwieldy for this blog.

Day 19 May 28: Plymouth

It has been a fun and relaxing time in Provincetown. Alas, we say goodbye to the White Porch Inn. Today we relocate to Salem, MA. Before we get to Salem, we will stop at Plymouth, MA, site of the fateful final landing of the Mayflower in 1620.

We head south from Provincetown under gray skies. The highway has light traffic. As we get farther from Ptown, the opposing traffic gets heavier and heavier. Yep, it's Saturday of the Memorial Day Weekend. The going is fine, but to satisfy Wayne's fitbit-step addiction, we need to stop soon to get the hour's activity recorded. There are no stops on Highway Mass 6, so we detour to the scenic route, 6A. There are no towns on this stretch, just north of Mashpee, MA. We finally come across an intersection large enough for us to stop.

And as Wayne gets his steps in to complete 250 for the hour, he comes across...

A Wild Turkey!

Oh yes, this is New England and we are a mere 25 miles south of Plymouth. Of Course there's a Turkey!

Steps recorded, we get back on the Grand Army of the Republic Highway which changes to the Pilgirm's Highway as we cross the Cape Cod Canal on the Sagamore Bridge. We get off the Highway at Jordan Road and take the southern approach into Plymouth. We drive through the center of town and find a parking place on a side street. We are getting hungry, so check out the restaurant offerings. We find Carmen's Cafe Nicole and sit outside with a view of the Harbor. As a matter of fact, from our lunch table we can see the Mayflower II docked on Frazier State Pier. We are curious to see it up close as it has recently returned from being refit at Mystic Seaport. (See Days 8-10)

Given where we are, Wayne must try the Pilgrim Soda while Amy opts for the Iced Tea. Amy has the Summer Salad and Wayne has fried scallops. A very tasty lunch! Having finished, we cross the main street and wander to the Mayflower II.

Mayflower II

She looks really good! We then wander over to the Plymouth Rock. There is a large Greek-style temple with the actual Rock in the middle.

Shrine to Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Rock

Thoroughly amused by the shrine, we return to our car and continue on toward Salem.