Mike & Kris - Enjoying The Ride

We left New York and headed north for a quick stop over in Newport, Rhode Island.  It was the perfect foil to the bustling city.  Although it is still busy, there is just something calming about the ocean.  We spent some time at a state park right on the coast and we found a lighthouse too.

We saw some beautiful mansions, the well-known Cliff Walk, and most importantly, it was the beginning of our quest to find the best lobster roll.

Stay tuned for more information on this! Unfortunately we also had some trouble with our trailer and this took up some mental and physical time.  It seems we have an alignment problem and one of our tires is wearing out in an unsafe way.  After wasting a day (and thinking we were getting it fixed) we now realize it is still not right.  Our new plan is to get it to Canton, Michigan, and get some help from our son-in-law, John!

Next stop–Salem, Mass.  We secured a site last December which backed up to the water in Winter Island Park and it was a beauty!  Our back window looked out on the perfect New England setting:  hundreds of sail and fishing boats gently bouncing on the water with cottages and houses perched on the cliffs behind.  We even had our own lighthouse. We didn’t feel the need to venture out–it was that pretty.  But venture out we did.  We spent the first two days exploring Salem.  It’s a historic fishing town with amazing restaurants.  Of course, we tried our fair share of lobster rolls as our quest continued.  However, it is also the location of a very serious and sad time in American history.  It is the location of the Salem Witch Trials.  We toured the “Witch House”  which was the home of Jonathan Corwin.

He was the judge who presided over the trials that ultimately killed 20 people.  We also stopped by the House of Seven Gables, a cemetery with the headstone of a captain who came over on the Mayflower, and a nicely done memorial to the victims of the witch trials.

It was now time to expand our New England adventure and head into Boston.  For our first trip in we used the Salem Fast Ferry.

The terminal was only about a mile from our home and the ride was great.  It was perfect weather and in less than an hour we were in Boston.  We spent the day covering half the Freedom Trail and getting a National Park Ranger tour which focussed on Paul Revere.

The Freedom Trail is a genius idea.  They have created a red brick pattern in the sidewalk that goes for over two miles and takes visitors to every important stop and building in the city.

For our second day in Boston we took the “T”–Boston’s subway.  The trip took the same amount of time–but it was quite a bit cheaper!!  Not nearly as pretty though.  But it was a super fun day.  Mike’s sister, Annett and her husband John, met us for the day.  We started with another tour along the Freedom Trail and learned even more.

But the best is yet to come.  We found the famous Mike’s Pastry shop.  Wall to wall people trying to buy every kind of cannoli you can imagine.  We took our purchase to a local park to enjoy before heading back into the North End for drinks.  We ended the day in a wonderful Italian restaurant.  It was great catching up with them and seeing familiar faces.  What a great day.

Our last day in Boston almost didn’t happen.  We woke up to rain and we weren’t sure if we wanted to buy tickets for a baseball game that might get rained out.  We waited as long as we could and then decided to go for it.  We got great seats (probably because of the rain) and had one of our best times ever at a stadium.

The history of the place is amazing but I think the best part of the experience is the people.  They were all so excited to be there.  We sat next to two young men who were both Mariner fans.  They didn’t know each other but both had ties to the Bay Area.  One of them lives in Walnut Creek.  They chatted with everyone around us and there was a lot a good natured ribbing and cheering going on.  Just a great fan experience.

We will miss this place, that is for sure.  Stay tuned, on our way to Portland, Maine.  The quest for the perfect lobster roll continues.