Jason and I began our day in the usual fashion--in the breakfast room at Salem Inn. We walked down the steps and into the small, underground buffet room filled with fruit, bagels, muffins, quiche, coffees, and teas. Jason gathered his usual corn cake, quiche, and butter; I found my beloved raisin bread and corn cake. Delicious! We ate by the window which was lined with lace. It was wonderful.
After eating, we returned to our room to finish getting ready. I look pictures of the inside of the house--so beautiful! It's a four story Inn with the most beautiful stairs! The first one has Jason hiding behind the door!
The picture below shows our room--the door to the right.
Now ready to begin our 2nd full day in Salem, we set out to walk on the cobblestones once more. We, of course, headed to Essex street and watched as the vendors began setting up shop. We went in and shopped at a few stores, buying nothing but enjoying window shopping. Jason and I walked into the Silversmith shop, hoping to find two rings. Our wedding bands no longer fit, so we thought it'd be fun to replace them with rings from our honeymoon spot. We browsed and briefly chit-chatted with the employees/manager of the shop before deciding to shop elsewhere for rings. Not quite what we were wanting there. A few months ago, I e-mailed a store in Salem about purchasing wedding bands. It was called J R Coins and Jewelry. They seemed nice and said they would order some rings in our sizes so that when we came to visit, we could pick one. We decided to visit their shop.
Jason and I googled where JR Coins was located, but had trouble finding it. We walked around Salem and eventually headed right toward the bay. Finally, Jason was able to lead us to it. We apparently were out early in the day--many stores were not yet open, JR Coins being one of them. We decided to walk right to the bay to waste some time by the waterside. We were glad we did! This was one of the best things we had seen in Salem. The moment we saw water, we also spotted this:
This is the Friendship Ship! This is an exact and working replica of a ship from 1797 called--the Friendship Ship! The fate of the original ship is unknown currently. This ship is 171 foot three-masted Salem East Indiaman. This ship is the largest wooden, Coast Guarded certified, sailing vessel to be built in New England in more than a century. It also was created from the model of the ship that is housed in the Peabody Essex Museum. Almost every day people can go on the Friendship Ship and for special occasions you can actually sail with it. It was amazing!
Jason and I, of course, went on the ship ourselves and had a look around. It was a beautiful ship:
Once off the ship, we were able to take these pictures, giving us a better view of it:
As we left the ship, we came across this guy... I named him Gilbert:
Although we were unable to get a picture of this, shortly after we spotted Gilbert, we came across a seagull. The seagull was flying beside us and had a crab in it's mouth. Guess it was lunchtime. Below is a picture of the bay:
The Friendship Ship we had visited was stationed between two very long, but not very wide stretches of land in the harbor. Jason and I chose to walk to the end of one because there appeared to be a lighthouse at the end. It was beautiful! It was also extremely windy. The closer and closer we got to the lighthouse, the harder it was to walk in a straight line. Below is a picture of the lighthouse:
Here is a video to show just how windy it was:
We eventually said goodbye to the Salem harbor and made our way to Finz for lunch. It was amazingly delicious! I told Jason with every bite that I would eat this every single day of my life. He informed me I had said this about every single meal/food we had had since we got to Salem. I wasn't lying--if I could, I'd eat it every single day. I'd be fat but boy would I be happy! Below are pictures to justify my gluttony:
Same meal pictured here. To the left shows the amazingness of the bread. To the right, the scrumptiousness of the fresh mozzarella with pesto, tomato, and olives. So good!
My clam chowder--first taste of clam or clam chowder that I have ever had! I have to say, I loved it!
Below is a picture of Jason with his grilled salmon, fresh veggies, and potatoes. delicious! Jason and I actually made an agreement before eating that we would split the salmon and the chowder. This way we could have the best of both worlds. Our waitress was a true New Englander--thickest accent we have heard since our arrival. "Fresh from the Mahket" she said in response to the cheese. She noticed Jason and I had swapped plates toward the end of lunch, and commented that we were smaht. Love that accident!
After lunch, we headed to RJ Coins and browsed rings. Although they did have rings, they did not have them in our size. They also were unable to resize them before we were scheduled to leave Salem. Oh well. Here is a picture of me in front of some awesome Halloween decoration! I love that about Salem--you can't go anywhere without ghosts, skeletons, large pumpkins, corn stalks, or mums lining the sidewalks or buildings. I even saw Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin painted on the side of a building! This is definitely my kind of town!!!
We returned to Essex street and our beloved Town Hall. We sat on the same bench that we first visited just 5 years prior. Below are pictures:
Below is a picture Jason and I took on our honeymoon in 2010 of the view from the bench beside Town Hall:
Below is another picture of the same spot in 2015 (granted, we were one bench down from the original spot):
More pictures of Derby Square:
We decided to browse stores again once resting by Town Hall. We ended up returning to the Silversmith shop and actually found two rings we loved! I don't have pictures, but they are simple silver bands. I love them. We also popped into the shop called "Pamplemousse." We were handed a flyer from a man dressed in old garb regarding a city tour. The tour was called the Black Cat Tour and tickets were sold at this store. We did some of these on our honeymoon but we thought it would be good to do again--history can change depending on who told it, how accurate it was, and what else they have found since last discussing it. We went into the shop, purchased a small chocolate (which we split), grabbed a cup of warm apple cider, and two tickets for the tour. As luck would have it, it was leaving in 15 minutes.
We went to meet the tour guide and had trouble finding them. We had previously seen a tour leaving, but they left 15 minutes early, so we assumed that wasn't our tour. Here are pictures of us enjoying our cider while we waited for the tour people to show up:
To the left, Jason in 2010 on the park bench at Derby Square.
To the right, Jason in 2015 on the park bench at Derby Square + apple cider.
Me enjoying my cider in 2015, no picture from 2010:
Both are me from 2015
By the time 2 O'clock came and went, we returned to the store to ask for a refund. Oddly enough, someone called them to make sure we were still coming. They said they were waiting on us, so we ran to the spot and made it just in time! It was a great tour--although not completely accurate. Jason and I--okay, okay... Jason--researches information after each tour to learn the truth. Still very interesting! Here are some pictures from the tour:
Although I have no other pictures, we did learn a little about Pirates. Apparently pirates were never buried. They were taken to a spot in Boston called Nix's Mate where they bodies were gibbeted. Pretty horrible but interesting history. This also is interesting... apparently there is one pirate who actually got away with being buried. They did it at night so no one would know. We didn't get to see his grave, but he is buried in the same cemetery where a man was pressed to death after being accused to be a witch. He didn't want to be put on trial for witchcraft because he knew they would seize all of his land and belongings, which would leave his family with nothing. He never gave a full response to a plea and therefore could not be trialed. So they put rocks on him until he finally died--there way of trying to get him to admit it or deny it so they could proceed. Strong man. Crazy!
We were also reminded of a story we had heard previously regarding one particular house in Salem. This is the house Clue Mansion was based off of, and supposedly the story "The Tell Tale Heart." Always love that connection with the Clue Game... very interesting!
We also learned that the Salem Commons was actually a spot where the Salem Puritans and the Native American Indians met to trade and teach each other valuable skills. Apparently these particular Indians were being threatened by another group of Indians and the Puritans there helped protect them. The commons was a place they met to help each other. Salem is also apparently named "Salem" because it means "peace." Pretty awesome!
We also saw the Armory Park. It was originally the national guard armory but it was set on fire in 1982. They made this park as a way to honor them. It's very pretty.
Two small side stories for you:
While walking around town, we saw a black bull dog dressed as a spider--I love this place! Also, there was a man walking his dog who was rather large. The large dog randomly jumped up onto a small cement post, balancing on a very small spot. The man gave him a treat and then sat down. It was awesome!
After the tour, Jason and I went back to the hotel. We regrouped and then decided it was time for dinner. We went to Olde Main Street Pub. Here are pictures:
My "Far From the Tree" hard apple cider. This cider is actually local and create in Salem on Jackson st. Very good!
Below are the two burgers we both ordered. So good!!
While eating, we listened to a group of people near us enjoy each other's company. One girl, we believe, worked at the pub. She left to go to the kitchen at one point. While gone, the waitress returned with a drink for her. They sat it down in front of her plate for a few seconds until one of her dinner companions drank it for her, leaving no drop behind. She eventually was able to get another one. They were pretty funny. The tour guide from the Black Cat Tours also showed up and sat to the right of us with a bunch of other tour guides. They all seem to know each other and get along really well here.
Jason ordered the Old Speckled Hen beer. I drank my cider and then ordered a "It's Not Your Father's Root beer." Both were very good! The cider was stronger than I though. The word Snockered came to mind after drinking this. I couldn't stop laughing and Jason said I had trouble saying things properly. I was trying to side the word "widely" and just couldn't get it out. Jason and walked slowly back to the hotel. The streets are so bumpy from the cobblestone and brick--not a great place for people who have been drinking to walk. I ended up tripping over a large gap in the walkway close to the hotel. I was okay though--I caught myself. Once inside the hotel we started laughing about it. Jason said he had to catch me and prevent me from falling. I told him I caught myself and he gave me a firm "no you didn't" look. I finally conceded and said "I helped!" He laughed at me and then kindly said "Yes, you did help catch yourself from fall." Fun times in Salem. Gotta love this place!!
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