Salem, MA
8So I have been asked to travel to the Boston area this month for work. I have been a few times, but was thinking it might be fun to explore Salem on my free evening (it is October!!)
I am wondering if anyone has been and has a recommendation or two they could share?
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If you go on the Woot forums, I know somebody that lives there.
@therealjrn oh I have never posted over there. I will head over there in the morning and figure it out. Thanks.
@tinamarie1974 I can introduce you. I just didn’t know if they wanted their Woot name all over our filthy meh forum.
silly.
@tinamarie1974 See? This is where one of @f00l’s whispers probably would have been better.
@therealjrn @tinamarie1974
@f00l’s whispers?
They all belong to me now? In that case, I’m seemingly missing the adoption papers.
@f00l @tinamarie1974 Much like Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” It may not have started with him, but he made it his own.
@therealjrn @tinamarie1974
What a @f00l I am!
@f00l @tinamarie1974 That’s a different song…
@therealjrn @tinamarie1974
/youtube “without you” Julie Andrews
Only ONE free evening!!!
@Kidsandliz yeah, unfortunately. They keep me busy, but it is also a short trip.
@tinamarie1974 Oh. Somehow I misread your post to mean you’d be there for a month. My fault for skimming. Oh wait. We have a goat for that.
@Kidsandliz oh, I could think of better places to spend a month! This is just a three day workshop with vendors.
And I agree, blame the scapegoat!!
@aetris is the “who” when you call, “Who’s there?” I am the wind blowing through your hair.
/blame
/giphy scapegoat blame
Blame the scapegoat for not having a /blame tag.
@aetris is 3spoopy5goat
@mike808 what movie is that from? Asking for a friend…
@JnKL
Took some digging as it is just a random Giphy.
The source image filename on giphy had the clues.
Sky Ferriera - “I blame myself” (2014)
Image is at 3:54.
Hey I’ve been there a few times. It’s not a huge area so it’s possible to do in one day but very comfortable to do in two there is a lot packed in here. Obviously given it’s reputation it will be very busy and get busier the closer to Halloween you get plus lots of events and people in costume. Driving is fine, but if you want to avoid the parking and traffic the T (subway) has hours for the month here: https://www.mbta.com/destinations/salem
There is a bunch of museums like House of the Seven Gables (most aren’t free unfortunately…), haunted/fun houses to walk through, all the psychics and witchcraft and paganism you could ever want, night/ghost/candle/vampire walks which are kind of fun. I’d definitely advise hitting the heritage trail to start which is a red line or was the last time I was there, it takes you to all the important points of historical Salem, and if you don’t feel like walking there are trolleys and tours. If you have any questions let me know I can try to answer them. Here is a calendar with stuff going on: https://www.hauntedhappenings.org/things-to-do
@Targaryen Thank you very much! Checking out the calendar of events to see what is happening.
I think I am going to try my luck driving, fingers crossed since I will be visiting mid week I won’t have any issues.
@Targaryen @tinamarie1974 I’m from the area if you plan on going in October particularly during the second half driving is a bad idea. Even during the week most of the year parking is a challenge and the traffic is awful, during October it’s a nightmare particularly if you’re not from around here because our roads aren’t always designed well. I’m not saying you definitely should take the train I’m just making you aware of the hassle driving entails.
FYI The subway doesn’t come out there just a commuter train that runs every hour or so from Boston.
The closer you get to Halloween, the crazier it gets in Salem.
If you only have an evening to spend there, there’s not much more to do than people watching and window shopping (plenty of interesting shops to see there), and the people watching doesn’t quite ramp up until the week of Halloween, so it depends on when you’re going.
There are some historical sites and museums related to the witch trials, but you’d really need to spend an entire day there to be able to take in that stuff.
Too bad you don’t have the whole day free, the nearby Peabody-Essex Museum is what I’d have recommended if you had the time.
There’s a pretty vibrant arts scene in Salem, so you could probably catch some great live music or even a theater performance - there’s probably some very interesting witch/halloween themed performances going on.
Actually, was just looking to see if the house of the 7 gables is open in the evenings and, sure enough, they have some special theatrical performances there in the evenings this month. https://7gables.org
And, looks like the witch museum has extended hours Thurs. - Sun. in October, so depending on which evening you have free, you might be in luck! https://salemwitchmuseum.com/october-hours/
There’s also a pot shop (or “cannabis dispensary”
) in Salem, if you’re interested.
so feel free to ask me if you have questions about it.
http://atgma.org
I haven’t been to that one, but their menu looks nice.
If you are interested in that, I know more about the MA legal MJ scene than I do about Salem,
edit: (obviously, I was still typing when Targaryen posted, but at least we covered slightly different ground
)
@DennisG2014 Thank you very much, will check out the links now!!! Appreciate the info!!
I visited Salem in October several years ago on a sight-seeing excursion while visiting family in Boston. What I mostly remember is horrible bumper-to-bumper traffic and zero available parking (as you might guess, I was doing the driving).
@macromeh Oh how I hope that is not my experience as well
@macromeh @tinamarie1974
That’s all I remember from Branson, MO.
@macromeh @therealjrn OMG Branson is the worst! I swear you can park on the main drag and just walk to your destination!!!
I was there about 26 years ago and was all about ironically digging the Salem Witch Museum.
UGH! MORE WEIGHT!
My sister and her family have lived a couple of T-stops north of Salem for years. The general rule for Northshore Residents is “don’t go to Salem in October.” Actually I spoke with her yesterday and she mentioned that the crowds now start in September. It is a very nice place to visit at other vcd times. Very artsy as already mentioned. Nice shops and good restaurants. A little too touristy for my taste but I’m old and cranky. Add in crowds and it’s my vision of “let’s go to Rockport or Gloucester instead.” You will likely have fun once you get there despite my personal misgivings. So leave the rental car at the hotel, take the T and enjoy a very walkable and quintessential New England experience.
What evening are you thinking of? It will be key to predicting the crowds. Non weekend, and earlier in the month mean much fewer people.
Also, do you want witch / salem history stuff, or things like restaurants and shops, or both?
@bdb history and restaurants. I have been looking at walking tours but it looks like they start kind of late and I have early meetings the next day. I am thinking something self guided (if it exists) may be necessary
@tinamarie1974 what date will this be? Where are you leaving from (IE what city is the training in), and what time of day?
Where are you staying (which city) and when do you want to be back there?
Will you be alone, or with friends, or with customers, or fellow employees?