Arriving in Massachusetts, we picked a point that would be convenient to the airport, (so we could pick up Martha, George’s sister, when she arrived), as well as Salem and Boston. We chose the Cape Ann campground in West Gloucester which fortunately was one of the few campgrounds which had not yet closed for the year. Cape Ann is quiet, reserved and steeped in New England charm. With a rich seafaring tradition, the culture shines through in every shop, restaurant, and historic site. We arrived a couple of days before Martha so we could scout everything out. One of our first excursions was a driving trip around the 25 mile circle of Cape Ann, with stops in Pigeon Cove, Folly Cove, and Rockport. 
This was a spectacular drive with beautiful vistas of the ocean and some very extravagant looking homes. 
Since Martha was visiting us over Halloween, we decided there was no better place to celebrate than Salem, where the city was sponsoring its yearly “Haunted Happenings”.
After picking Martha up, we drove to Salem and got the lay of the land, figuring that since tomorrow was Halloween, the city would be crazy and we wanted to locate parking places and places we wanted to visit. It was very cold and windy and we walked around, looking at the shops and then decided to visit “the House of Seven Gables”. 
We all agreed, after the guided tour, that we were disappointed in our guide. She rushed thru everything and sometimes even forgot what she was saying. So, if this is on your list of “thing to do”, you might want to figure out if there is a better way to spend your $12.00 per person for the 15 minute tour. The House of Seven Gables inspired author Nathaniel Hawthorne to write his legendary novel of the same name. The house is also known as the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion and belonged to Hawthorne’s cousin. Though he visited the house, he never lived here, but the home where Hawthorne was born, was moved to the site of the Seven Gables house and shares the property with it. Included in the tour of the Seven Gables House is the Nathaniel Hawthorne House.
The House of Seven Gables was built in 1668 and is the oldest surviving 17th century wooded mansion in New England. The tour includes a climb up the mysterious secret staircase, which is extremely steep and very claustrophobic. We’ve climbed many lighthouses and the Statute of Liberty but this was one of the hardest climbs we have ever done.
As it was time for dinner, we headed over to Essex to have lobster at Woodman’s, a Yankee tradition since 1914.
The next morning we headed to Salem bright and early to have breakfast at Red’s Sandwich Shop which was voted best breakfast for the past 21 years. It was a small place located in a historic building which was once the London Coffee House, the meeting place of the Patriots before the American Revolution. They definitely lived up to their reputation and by the time we finished, there was a line out the door and down the block. The visitors and inhabitants of Salem were definitely getting into the Halloween theme,
even the mailman joined in with a costume.
George was especially intrigued with the house located at “Bra-thel Terrace”. 
There are several museums in Salem which deal with the web of lies of the Salem Witch Hunts of 1692. We decided to visit the Salem Witch Museum and were pleasantly pleased.
We witnessed an historically accurate dramatization of the Salem Witch Hysteria of 1692, brought on by several young girls who became bored and decided to strike terror into the hearts of the Salem townspeople by accusing them of witchcraft. Stage sets with life-size figures, lighting and a narration, gives visitors of the museum a dramatic history lesson. By summer, 180 people had been accused and imprisoned – defenseless against accusations of witchcraft in a society driven by superstition and fear. The court, formed to try the victims, acted quickly. Bridget Bishop was tried on June 2, 1692 and hanged on June 10, thereby setting the precedent for a summer of executions.
The witch hysteria not only enveloped Salem, but all 34 towns and villages of Essex County. Nineteen were hanged and one old man was crushed to death! Though I am sure that I had read about the Salem Witch Hunts in school, I had forgotten about the black period of our history when bored little girls managed to instill such fear in adults.
We roamed around town for the rest of the day and decided to leave before the nighttime events started. The campground had recommended a restaurant by the name of Captain Joe’s and we had some wonderful seafood once again. The restaurant was having a Halloween party and people were arriving for dinner in costume. We had Marilyn Monroe wait on us and noticed a Sara Palin look-alike in the adjoining booth. As we were leaving, George noticed a couple of “unlikely looking friends”
and just had to stop by their table to say Hi.
We decided to take the commuter rail from Gloucester into Boston and then tour the city via the Old Town Trolley. We caught an early train and had a nice ride of about an hour into the city, ending at North Station.
From there we walked over to catch the trolley and began our two hour tour of the city.
One of our main stops was “Cheers”. There are actually two “Cheers” bars – the original on Beacon Hill was previously knows as the Bull and Finch Pub.
It was founded in 1969 and became the original inspiration for the setting of the TV Show ‘Cheers”. In 2001, another “Cheers” was created at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. It recreates the bar as it appeared on the set of “Cheers” 
and was the place we chose to have a drink and lunch.
After lunch, we browsed the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, located in the center of downtown Boston and was the city’s first meeting house.
In the early 18th century, a number of Boston merchant families amassed great wealth through shipping and trade. One of the wealthiest was Peter Faneuil. He proposed to mark his success by building a central food market in his hometown. The building was constructed in 1742 and included not only an open market but also a meeting space for the town government,
hosting debates about the sugar Tax of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765.
The Paul Revere House is the colonial home of American patriot Paul Revere during the time of the American Revolution.
The original three story house was built around 1680. Paul Revere owned this house from 1770-1800. It is the oldest building still standing in downtown Boston and is a good example of Colonial-era architecture.
This was a spectacular drive with beautiful vistas of the ocean and some very extravagant looking homes. Since Martha was visiting us over Halloween, we decided there was no better place to celebrate than Salem, where the city was sponsoring its yearly “Haunted Happenings”.
After picking Martha up, we drove to Salem and got the lay of the land, figuring that since tomorrow was Halloween, the city would be crazy and we wanted to locate parking places and places we wanted to visit. It was very cold and windy and we walked around, looking at the shops and then decided to visit “the House of Seven Gables”. We all agreed, after the guided tour, that we were disappointed in our guide. She rushed thru everything and sometimes even forgot what she was saying. So, if this is on your list of “thing to do”, you might want to figure out if there is a better way to spend your $12.00 per person for the 15 minute tour. The House of Seven Gables inspired author Nathaniel Hawthorne to write his legendary novel of the same name. The house is also known as the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion and belonged to Hawthorne’s cousin. Though he visited the house, he never lived here, but the home where Hawthorne was born, was moved to the site of the Seven Gables house and shares the property with it. Included in the tour of the Seven Gables House is the Nathaniel Hawthorne House.The House of Seven Gables was built in 1668 and is the oldest surviving 17th century wooded mansion in New England. The tour includes a climb up the mysterious secret staircase, which is extremely steep and very claustrophobic. We’ve climbed many lighthouses and the Statute of Liberty but this was one of the hardest climbs we have ever done.
As it was time for dinner, we headed over to Essex to have lobster at Woodman’s, a Yankee tradition since 1914.
The next morning we headed to Salem bright and early to have breakfast at Red’s Sandwich Shop which was voted best breakfast for the past 21 years. It was a small place located in a historic building which was once the London Coffee House, the meeting place of the Patriots before the American Revolution. They definitely lived up to their reputation and by the time we finished, there was a line out the door and down the block. The visitors and inhabitants of Salem were definitely getting into the Halloween theme, even the mailman joined in with a costume. George was especially intrigued with the house located at “Bra-thel Terrace”. There are several museums in Salem which deal with the web of lies of the Salem Witch Hunts of 1692. We decided to visit the Salem Witch Museum and were pleasantly pleased.
We witnessed an historically accurate dramatization of the Salem Witch Hysteria of 1692, brought on by several young girls who became bored and decided to strike terror into the hearts of the Salem townspeople by accusing them of witchcraft. Stage sets with life-size figures, lighting and a narration, gives visitors of the museum a dramatic history lesson. By summer, 180 people had been accused and imprisoned – defenseless against accusations of witchcraft in a society driven by superstition and fear. The court, formed to try the victims, acted quickly. Bridget Bishop was tried on June 2, 1692 and hanged on June 10, thereby setting the precedent for a summer of executions. The witch hysteria not only enveloped Salem, but all 34 towns and villages of Essex County. Nineteen were hanged and one old man was crushed to death! Though I am sure that I had read about the Salem Witch Hunts in school, I had forgotten about the black period of our history when bored little girls managed to instill such fear in adults.We roamed around town for the rest of the day and decided to leave before the nighttime events started. The campground had recommended a restaurant by the name of Captain Joe’s and we had some wonderful seafood once again. The restaurant was having a Halloween party and people were arriving for dinner in costume. We had Marilyn Monroe wait on us and noticed a Sara Palin look-alike in the adjoining booth. As we were leaving, George noticed a couple of “unlikely looking friends”
and just had to stop by their table to say Hi.We decided to take the commuter rail from Gloucester into Boston and then tour the city via the Old Town Trolley. We caught an early train and had a nice ride of about an hour into the city, ending at North Station.
From there we walked over to catch the trolley and began our two hour tour of the city.One of our main stops was “Cheers”. There are actually two “Cheers” bars – the original on Beacon Hill was previously knows as the Bull and Finch Pub.
It was founded in 1969 and became the original inspiration for the setting of the TV Show ‘Cheers”. In 2001, another “Cheers” was created at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. It recreates the bar as it appeared on the set of “Cheers” and was the place we chose to have a drink and lunch.After lunch, we browsed the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, located in the center of downtown Boston and was the city’s first meeting house.
In the early 18th century, a number of Boston merchant families amassed great wealth through shipping and trade. One of the wealthiest was Peter Faneuil. He proposed to mark his success by building a central food market in his hometown. The building was constructed in 1742 and included not only an open market but also a meeting space for the town government, hosting debates about the sugar Tax of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765.The Paul Revere House is the colonial home of American patriot Paul Revere during the time of the American Revolution.
The original three story house was built around 1680. Paul Revere owned this house from 1770-1800. It is the oldest building still standing in downtown Boston and is a good example of Colonial-era architecture. The Old North Church is the oldest church in Boston, built in 1723, and is most famous for the signals sent from its steeple the night of Paul Revere’s legendary ride.
The signal lanterns warned the country of the march of the British troops to Lexington and Concord.Copps Hill Burial Grounds is the second oldest burying ground in Boston, established in 1660.
The Granary Burying Ground is the city’s third-oldest cemetery. It serves as the resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence and the five victims of the Boston Massacre.Riding the trolley gave us an excellent view of the city as it currently stands, as well as allowing us to turn back the pages of history of relive the bustling seaport days of a colonial Boston. We visited the Theatre District which encompassed Cheers, Chinatown, and the Boston Public Garden and Swan Boats; the Back Bay and Copley Square area consisting of Trinity Church with its magnificent stained glass windows, the Boston Public Library, and Sam Adams Brewery. Cambridge gave us a glimpse of Harvard Square, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There was also a walking tour – The Freedom Trail. Winding around 16 historical sites, this 2.5 mile trail is a good introduction to Boston history. All in all, we were three pooped people by the time we returned to the train and rode back to Cape Ann. A pizza sounded really good and we enjoyed a really delicious one before heading back to the trailer.
We so enjoyed Martha’s visit but all too soon it was over and time for her to go home and for us to move our rig southward. The weather is growing cold and we still have several Northeast states that we want to visit, so before we get snowbound, we’ll head on over to Connecticut and Rhode Island to see what we are able to find.
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