Today I drove to Salem, Massachusetts, home of witches, maritime legends, and crowds that made me feel like I’d wandered into Mardi Gras, just with more broomsticks and black hats. Parking was its own kind of horror story, fifty dollars to park! For that price, I was hoping for at least a complimentary spell to ward off future parking tickets.
Once I escaped the parking hex, I spent most of the day exploring this cool, spooky town. I started at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, where the historic ships made me feel like I’d steppedback on time.
Then came the darker side of Salem’s fame, the witch trials. I visited the Witch Dungeon Museum, the Salem Witch Museum, and caught the Visitor Center documentary about the hysteria of 1692. It’s incredible how fear and rumor could snowball into mass chaos. Honestly, it was basically colonial social media, no Wi-Fi required. This spread through gossip instead of social media.
I stopped at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, a peaceful sanctuary dating back to the early 1700s, before heading to the Bewitched Statue, a charming tribute to Elizabeth Montgomery. She didn’t twitch her nose for me. šŖ
Then I went into Hex: Old World Witchery, a shop filled with potions, crystals, and candles for every occasion, love, luck, protection, and maybe even cheaper parking. I was very tempted to purchase a Ouija board. We had one growing up, but today I think I'm a little more fearful of them, probably due to too many horror movies. š
After Salem worked its strange and wonderful magic, I drove to Monte’s Pizza in Lynn, Massachusetts, the legendary spot Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports famously rated a perfect 10, the only 10 he’s ever given. As a New Yorker, I must respectfully disagree. The crust was excellent, very thin and crisp, the cheese was good, the sauce needed more taste, it was plain. And worst of all, they used jarred garlic, that alone should be a deduction of one or two points. My verdict, a respectable 8, but I could've went lower due to the garlic.
On the bright side, the pizza was very large and only$10, enough for lunch, dinner, and tomorrow’s breakfast.
From there, I drove to Lakeville, Massachusetts, where I visited my friend Jason’s mom, Bev, who I’ve met before. She’s as warm and welcoming as ever, and I even got to catch up with a few of her friends, including one I’d met in Vancouver. It was a relaxed, laughter-filled evening, the perfect way to unwind after a day in the witching capital of America.
Tomorrow, I head to Plymouth Rock, Hyannis, Cape Cod where I get to see my friend Sean, Nauset, and Provincetown, more lighthouses, more history, and probably more spirit of one kind or another. š
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