Boston, Salem, and Ghost Tours

We have been graciously given a week off of our job to spend the 4th of July in Boston. We arrived here on Sunday night, and we've kinda been going non-stop since then.

On Sunday, we walked around to get our bearings on the city. It's pretty big, so we didn't get too far. 

On Monday, we decided to do the Freedom Trail. After all, it's free and it takes you to massively important sites of American history. We stopped by the graveyard where Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Mother Goose are buried. Yes, Mother Goose was real.

John Hancock's burial marker. 

A statue dedicated to General Hooker. 

Part of the rotunda of the new Boston state house. 

The chamber for doing politician-y stuff. 

In front of the plaque, there is a bronze donkey (not pictured). If your stand where I'm standing, the donkey is "bowing" to you, while you stand on the elephant. Pretty cool stuff. 

Not sure what building that is, but it's pretty cool. 

After the graveyard, we walked all downtown, stopped for lunch at The Green Dragon--otherwise known as the "headquarters of the revolution". Paul Revere and others would plan their moves at that little pub. It was really interesting to eat there. 

The Green Dragon tavern. The "headquarters of the revolution". 

That night, we did a Ghost Night Tour of Boston which took us to interesting places around downtown with unique stories. We even did a modern-day seance. We seemed to contact a spirit for about a minute or two. It was pretty neat. 

A beautiful chapel in Little Italy. 

We walked a lot on Monday. 13 miles to be exact. It was totally worth it. 

At one end of the Freedom Trail, you're right next to the USS Constitution and a beautiful area to get a great picture of the Boston skyline. 

Yesterday, we went to Salem. Ever since I did a paper on hysteria during the Salem Witch Trials when I was 13 years old, I have wanted to visit that infamous place. What's really sad, though, is that most buildings/artifacts from the 1692 witch trials were all destroyed in a massive fire in the late 1700s that burned nearly 3/4 of Salem down to the ground. Only one building remains that has a direct tie to the witch trials, and that's the house of Corwin, who was a judge during the trials. 

The Corwin "Witch House". 

Even though it doesn't have any of the old buildings from the 1600s, it still has a nice charm and a unique incense-driven energy. It was a nice town to be in. 

The Salem "Friendly". 

A real-life bookstore in Salem, MA. This is one of the most crazy places I have been. All books were 50-75% off, and they were literally covering almost every square inch of the shop. Floor to ceiling, just books everywhere. 

Waiting for the train in Salem. 

We topped off the night with the Salem Night Ghost Tour. It's by the same company who did the Boston Night Ghost Tour, but this one was incredibly awesome. 

We learned that the Parker Brother's designed Clue and Monopoly off of buildings in Salem. We also learned that a murder inspired the brothers to create Clue. There was a man who lived in a large mansion, complete with a library, study, parlor, kitchen, etc. His daughter wanted all of his inheritance, so she decided to have him knocked off. 

A man came into his room late at night, and using a dagger and a lead pipe, killed Mr. White in the bedroom. Really cool murder story. 

All in all, Boston and Salem are treating us very well. We are tired and sunburned, but it's so worth it.

Becca and I. We're so happy! Salem and Boston are awesome!