Aug 19, 2009 - Salem, MA

Our second journey with the rental car was to the town of Salem, MA. Although known for the witch trials, we were interested in discovering more about Salem's life as one of the first major, prosperous, seaport towns. We started our explorations of the town with a stop at the visitor's center. To find the major historic landmarks, the tourist follows the red line, just like Robert is doing.

Below are a couple examples of the buildings.

We followed the red line to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the first historic national park.

 

Sadly, the Friendship, a replica historic ship visitors can usually explore, was off in Maine for repairs. However, there were still many other things to see. Robert studied all of the exhibits carefully in an attempt to earn his Junior Ranger badge.

From walking around the Maritime museum, we could see evidence that Salem is still very much an active and bustling sea port. Here is a big barge off loading what appears to be coal.

We went off of the red line to find a place for lunch. The menu indicated that the resturant offered a lobster that they cleaned and cracked. Sold. Robert indicates a thumbs up for the lobster.

After lunch we wandered back to the Maritime museums for a couple of ranger tours of historic homes.
First was the Narbonne house, built in 1675 by a butcher. The ranger gave a very interesting description of middle class life during the time the house was originally built. She showed how the house had evolved over the centuries, with various additions and adaptations.

The second home she showed us was the much larger Derby house, build in 1762. The first picture is the outside of the Derby house. The second picture is a look at the kitchen.

Our last adventure in Salem was a tour of the House of the Seven Gables, inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's book. Built in 1668, the house is the oldest surviving 17th century wooden mansion in New England.