We stayed at an asphalt campsite at Winter Island Park a couple miles from town. The staff were quite helpful, telling us about the awesome local fireworks visible from the campground and a small beach near the boat ramp where Charlie could get away with swimming.

These trolley car replica buses kept rolling by. We decided to hop on one to catch a ride to town. Turns out that it wasn’t really a hop-on, hop-off bus, but the tour guide graciously agreed to give us a ride. He told us how the largest beach in the park, “Waikiki”, got it’s name. A soldier stationed here in the 1940s named it ironically because he had hoped to be stationed in Hawaii. We learned that Salem was named for Shalom, intended to be a welcoming place. After earning their own religious freedom, the Puritans were not inclined to extend that freedom to others. 

After a late lunch at Adriatic’s, we struck off on a walking tour/pub crawl around town. We had drinks at an Irish bar, then later at the Hawthorn Hotel (named for former resident Nathaniel Hawthorn).

We got a photo with the Elizabeth Montgomery statue. “Bewitched” filmed two episodes here.

We walked by the harbor and the House of the Seven Gables. We found a pub with live music and friendly people – Mercy Tavern. Angie’s knee felt good enough to dance – just like old times! People there told us where else we could find more music later. We ended up at Brody’s Seaport where we enjoyed a talented band and more dancing.

For Independence Day, we travelled to Boston. The Salem train station was a short 9-minute drive away. We got there in plenty of time for the 9:40 train to Boston. Unfortunately, we learned that the train had been cancelled. The call center operator had no idea why. We strolled into town for some bottled water and a croissant while waiting for the 10:40 train. It was a short, 30-minute ride to North Station. We had a delicious lunch (lobster ravioli and chicken marsala) at La Trattoria Panino in the North End.

We strolled by the old North Church, where Paul Revere saw the signal to indicate the path of the British Army’s invasion of Concord and Lexington. Then we climbed up Beacon Hill to see the State House and Boston Common. We wanted to walk along the Charles River Esplanade, but were frustrated to find that the park was closed until 4 pm, when it was going to be opened for the Boston Pops concert and fireworks show.

We back-tracked through the Common to the wharf, where we saw some tall ships. Before heading back to North Station. The day was not as hot as it could have been, due to some intermittent clouds and a nice breeze. Still, we found ourselves getting dehydrated during our 6.5-mile walk. We stopped for bottled water a couple of times. One of the passengers on our train back to Salem, was not as careful. They suffered heat stroke, which delayed the train for about a half hour.

After a couple more swims for Charlie and some work catching up on the blog, we enjoyed a pleasant early evening in our gravity chairs with some wine and charcuterie, while awaiting the fireworks over the bay. There were two official shows and about five unofficial ones going on simultaneously. We had a 150-degree panorama of simultaneous fireworks, which was a novel experience for both of us.

On our last day in Salem, we visited Proctor’s Ledge, the site where 19 people were hanged as witches in 1692. It was heart-wrenching to be in that site and feel the weight of the senseless violence. We learned that many of the accused were targeted because others coveted their land.

Then we drove to Portsmouth, NH, to meet Steve, a gregarious former associate of Hank’s and his lovely wife, Susan. They live in Hampton, NH, a beautiful, beach resort town. We drove up the coast through Hampton and along a backroad through Rye, NH. Portsmouth is a quintescential New England town that is a favorite tourist spot. But the highlight of the day was reconnecting with Steve and getting to know Susan. After lunch we all spent a lovely afternoon in a shady courtyard listening to a singer/guitarist who played continuously throughout the afternoon.