Visit to Witch City

We took a quick visit to Salem, MA last weekend. We were looking for some fall colors and Halloween spirit. Salem seemed like the perfect place to get both of those. Since it was a spur of the moment trip we did not do a very good job planning. We found out that there are a lot of things we should have booked in advance, ugh. That just means we will have to go again next fall. It did not really matter because we had a lot of fun doing what we did. The kids were having a blast jumping on rocks, finding all the spooky places, and the haunted house (it was my fav activity we did). This was part of our Spooky Weekend. We had been talking about it the whole drive up, which I need to tell you about. 

Like most of our trips, this one did not start smoothly. There were issues renting the car, which meant we got a late start, so we ran into traffic. Somewhere in the middle of Hartford, CT Henry got car sick, which made Rapha get car sick. We pulled off to the nearest gas station we could find to get everyone cleaned up, but it was being robbed! Lyndon had gotten out of the car to go inside, and there were two people outside the gas station (one lady in her car, the other guy just standing there) who told him not to go inside because the gas station was being robbed at that moment! I cannot make this stuff up. He jumped back in the car and we were off. We were all safe, I do not know what happened after we left. But us and the people we talked to I think are all okay. Lyndon and I were laughing so hard because it was just the most crazy series of events. Grateful we were safe. 

We stayed in an air bnb outside Salem. We drove in the next day and hit Essex street. It was in the middle of most of the attractions, so a great place to start out (coming from my limited research). It worked for us. We were within walking distance from the Witch Museum, Trolley, and some other sights that were not on that street.

We walked by a haunted house and Cosette really wanted to do it. Me and the older two braved it. When we walked in the guy sitting at the front desk after talking to us for a minute, pushed a button that made a zombie head pop out of a box. Coco and Henry screamed so loud. It was so funny. He did it like three more times, and they screamed every single time. I was laughing so hard I couldn't speak. It was my favorite part of the day there. We could choose our scare level from a 1-10. We went with a one. Henry got to hold a lantern and we walked through the haunted house. When it was over, they said it was not so scary after all. I thought it was a good introduction to an attraction like that. Hopefully they will not be chickens like I am.

Outside out air bnb. The kids wanted to move in. They had a pool and a backyard, so it was super tempting. 

I did research where to eat. Being well fed makes any trip better, so why not eat the best a place has to offer. We went to Scratch Kitchen, where they make everything from scratch (or scratching as I like to say). We had a delicious meal. The kids ate everything, and we had fun being goofy with Lyndon. He of course had to take portraits of each of us. It is his thing when he gets the camera. I think I was hangry in the pic above, or cold. 

Love these two.

He is always good for a laugh. 

The games these guys come up with. 

My favorite photo of the bunch. I love my little pirates. 

Cosette has become a checkers fan. We played several games. 

Henry! Love this picture of him. 

Love the decorations on the bikes you could rent. 

So.....

much......

JUMPING!

Clearly the favorite. 

Last stop was to Tradewell's Creamery. Again, I researched food. It was amazing, and the portions sizes were huge. A good place for a treat. Family consensus that we should not eat ice cream in the cold. Also agreed that it was worth it because it was so good. 

It was not the perfect trip, but we had a blast together. That is a win in our book. Happy Haunting!