Beers & Witches

After reluctantly saying goodbye to the northern coast of Maine and two quick stops in Freeport and Portland, we arrived at our motel just outside of Boston, MA. I was more inclined to lay in our air conditioned room and watch TV all night but after a little persuasion from Nature Boy, I realized a night out in Boston would probably be more interesting and it definitely was.

We cleaned ourselves up, drove into the city, and started on our way to the Beantown Pub, a recommendation from a friend. The sports bar was a fun little stop but after one beer we decided that we had to stop by one of Boston's prime tourist spots: the Cheers bar. Technically the Bull and Finch Pub, this bar was the inspiration for the well-known TV show Cheers. It. was. fantastic. The walls were covered in memorabilia and pictures, the waitress was so friendly, and we even met an interesting local couple that we chatted with till closing time. Apparently Nature Boy doesn't trust my navigational skills after one (or four) beers but I proved to know a bit more than he does when it comes to city streets. 

Under the Cheers sign!

Delicious brews at Cheers

The next morning we made a short drive to the historic town of Salem, Massachusetts, the site of the infamous 1692 witch trails. I loved walking through the little local shop lined streets and looking at all the traditional architecture. My favorite part of the day was touring the iconic House of the Seven Gables. When we first entered the Turner Ingersoll mansion we walked into the kitchen/dinning room. Our tour guide, Betsy, explained a little about the restoration of the house and told us that we wouldn't be taking the usual way up to the third floor. She then turned around and opened a secret staircase door next the fireplace! It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. We all single file walked up this tiny spiraling staircase that took us straight into the attic bedroom. The whole house was filled with interesting hidden treasure and beautiful decor. I 100% recommend a visit to anyone interested in architecture or history or cool secret passages.

Shop lined street of Salm, MA

Derby Square Bookstore (aka my own little piece of heaven)

The House of the Seven Gables

The rest of the day was spent learning about the witch hysteria and trails of the late 1600s during a self-guided tour of the Witch House. The house is the only location still around that is directly related to the trails as it was the home of one of the judges. Even though the number of magic stores, palm reading adds, and psychics was a little much, the town was one of the most interesting I've been to and totally worth the day trip.

The Witch House

~ City Girl