Being from Alaska and then Western Washington, you kind of get used to driving long distances to see historic or interesting things. Going to New England was kind of overwhelming for us! There was so much that we wanted to do and see, it was hard to narrow it down to a reasonable list that a three and one year old could handle. And the parents of course! We could have driven to a million places, but then we would have had some cranky children and we all know what cranky kids make... Really Cranky Parents!
So our first outing was to Salem, Massachusetts. This was definitely on my list of things to see. We got up early on Monday morning and drove the two hours from my sisters in Rindge to Salem.
The one thing that made all these long-distance trips bearable was our portable dvd player. We brought it everywhere. And, thank goodness, our rental gas-hogger, oops, I mean car, had an AC/DC plug in so we never had to worry about a dying battery. In case you were wondering, this is precisely what happened on the plane ride to Boston. I forgot to charge the battery to the player and right when we needed Bob the Builder to save the day, he could not. Our Awesome Flight Attendant lent us her ultra-expensive laptop so our kids could enjoy the flight. WOW.
Back to Salem.
The first thing we did was visit the Pirate museum. We knew that we could not see all of the museums there (the witch house and the house of seven gables) so we choose one that the kids would enjoy and one that was short. We choose correctly. This is a little tour complete with wax pirate burying gold, being hung, and slaying their enemies. Luckily by the time we got to the really gruesome things, Levi and Claire were bored and ready to go!
Then we just wondered around Salem. We walked on very old cobblestone streets, saw very old churches, and LOTS of old graves. By the time we did all that, it was time for lunch! After an expensive meal (they all turned out to be expensive) we walked along the port and let the kids throw rocks in the sea. Seriously, this would be the best part of the day for them.
The ONE thing that I really wanted to do in Salem was go for a sailboat ride. I found a two hour sailboat tour aboard a replica of the successful privateer The Fame. It looked so cool! http://www.schoonerfame.com/ Of course, right when it was time to make our way to the boat, the kids were totally loosing control and were in desperate need of a nap. So Josh gave me the best gift ever. I got to go by myself.
I know, going two hours on a sail boat in Salem Bay on a BEAUTIFUL day might not sound like every bodies idea of fun. But it was a blast! There were only four passengers on our tour so we got great information from the owner/captain. He was a real history buff and had some amazing stories about the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
While I was out, Josh drove the kids around and got them to fall asleep in their car seats. For the record I think it took 3.7 seconds for them to crash.
After my ride, we drove back to my sisters. For dinner we stopped at Wendy's. My kids first visit to the fast food chain. This proved to be the beginning of an awful trend on this vacation!
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