...more today than yesterday...: Salem, MA

We had three main target-areas on our "East Coast Trip" and Salem, MA was target #2. We headed there on what was forested to be a cloudy, rainy day, full of excitement and expectations of what we were about to experience. We started out on the 'museum circuit' which included five separate museums. The first museum had a diorama play display that walked you through the witch trials, from the initial accusations and questioning, to the height of the hysteria, to the trials, and finally, the executions. The museum portion after the play focused on the background of people of the time - medications, professions, daily life, what it really meant to be a witch at the time. The second museum also had a play presentation that depicted one of the most famous trials. The basement of the museum has the actual dungeons the prisoners and accused were held in, and we walked through that, getting a taste for what the cells and life once confined were like - the cells ranged from a fairly large room (that an entire family - with lots of money of course - would be housed in) to a tiny room that literally only had enough room to stand up in - no crouching, laying down, or moving at all (they called that one the coffin room). The prisoners had to pay for their rooms (something they should still have to do, I think - no "county hotels" in Salem, Massachusetts!), so the less money your family had, the less appealing your accommodations - as if any of them were appealing! Nathaniel Hawthorne's grandfather was the judge in many of the witch trials and it was interesting to hear the history of the Hawthorne family. The third museum was one of my favorites - after a monologue by an actor, we were taken on a walking history tour, in which scenes from the time were played out. Each room had a new area of town or room in a house, which were all decorated to look like they would have at this exact time in history. We saw a wax museum that focused on the sea-trade of the time as well as the piracy that occurred in the area. The final museum was all about the pirates of the area and was my second favorite. One room was full of actual artifacts from the ships (including the Wydah), and the next room was like taking a walk through a town that was frequented by pirates. The narration let you "walk a day in the life of a pirate." We also had a chance to walk through a replica of a pirate ship before heading to the basement dungeon and locations of the buried treasure - complete with pirate skeletons & a "real live pirate." In the town center of Salem is a memorial to those who were falsely accused and wrongly executed in the witch trials. The memorial and all of these museums was such a reminder to me of why our jobs are so important - Ty and I have been tasked with the job of enforcing and ensuring true justice: we must look at the facts and only the facts. We cannot be swayed by public opinion, selfish gain, or politics. There are real lives at stake each and every case we each deal with, and we must uphold the oath we took - only with that can we prevent something like the witch hunt from happening again. We also saw the graves of some of the first people to land in our Country, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, the famous author, and his family. Next was my all time favorite stop: The House of the Seven Gables. Nathaniel Hawthorne actually lived at this house, which is what inspired his novel of the same name. It was amazing to be in the place that inspired so many of his works. I could just imagine him sitting, watching the beautiful water view as he thought up his ideas. The house and the other homes on the property were all decorated in period items - most of them original. The intricacies and detail was breathtaking. I could have spent all day in these houses!! I am currently reading The House of the Seven Gables, and purposely held off on reading it until we had visited here, because now I can really picture things as they happen in the book! After the Hawthorne tour, we ate at a wonderful restaurant and indulged in some delicious food. During supper, it poured - the only time all day it did - what perfect timing. After dinner, we walked around enjoying more of the sights of Salem in the beautiful weather.

Graveyard - including Nathaniel Hawthorne and his family.