Salem, MA

Today was my parents last full day with us. They fly home tomorrow. :(

We decided to go visit Salem, MA today. As most probably remember from our history classes, Salem was the location of the infamous witch trials. Our plan was to go to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and tour the Friendship, a tall ship that is maintained and available to tour in the Derby Wharf area. Unfortunately, it set sail on Monday, for Maine, for a haul-out to have work done on it's hull. (Okay, re-reading that, I realize I've spent WAY too much time around my father and the marina back in California, because I TOTALLY understood what all that meant WITHOUT having to look it all up!) Anyway, it doesn't return until July. Well, after looking at the Friendship's schedule, it's gonna be HARD to get there to see the Friendship in between her "guest appearances." LOL

We then walked down Derby street toward The House of the Seven Gables which was the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's book by the same name. But... it's SUPER pricey, so we did NOT actually go in. Another trip. It was a beautiful home though, and I am very interested to learn more about it before we go visit again.

So then we continued our walk, admiring the beautiful historic homes. It really gave you more of a sense of what life was like "way back when." And then we arrived at Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie. OMW... So many delicious treats. And MANY of them were safe for BFF's DS. :) That is always a GOOD thing! We walked out of there with SEVERAL things. Some chocolates for my parents, salt water taffy, some sour apple melt away candies, a treat for each of the boys, and one of my personal favorites, Girbralter's. These are so delicious. They were the first candy sold commercially in America. They are still made using the same recipe. They are a wonderful treat.

We also purchase some soda's that I am in LOVE with. Mercury Soda Pop is caffiene free, and corn syrup free!! ALSO, it appears to be completely dye free. We ordered an Orange Cream, Black Cherry, and Root Beer. NONE had dye, all tasted delicious. :)

Finally we went back to the van and began a driving tour around the area. We drove through bits of Salem, but as BFF and I do OH SO WELL, we got lost. And loved every minute of it!!! We ended up in Marblehead, MA. It is a beautiful little town. We drove by Abbot Hall (see also these pictures), Old Burial Hill, and Balch House. Again, we saws DOZENS of historic homes, and I so enjoyed seeing them.

Alas, all good things come to an end, and we knew we needed to get home for dinner. So we headed home where I enjoyed a DELICIOUS Greek Chicken Orzo meal with Mango's on the side. mmmmmmm. Now I'm hungry again LOL But it is time for me to get to sleep.

On the plate for tomorrow is church, followed by taking my parents to the airport, and then BFF's DH, DS's, and I are going to the theater on base to see the Hannah Montana movie. Please pray for me :)