Salem, MA
Last weekend, we attended a Wilson family wedding in Salem, Massachusetts. It was a fun weekend of catching up with relatives, exploring a historic town, and of course, celebrating!
Our flight to Boston left Friday morning from Denver Airport, less than an hour’s drive from Boulder. “DEN” is the largest airport in the Western hemisphere, and fortunately we had allowed ourselves plenty of time to navigate it. Just finding a parking spot was a small adventure - the “shuttle lot” was a surface parking lot with 8,000 parking spaces! Jeppesen Terminal, with its distinctive white fabric roof, was impressive on the outside and rather confusing on the inside. We eventually found our gate, and the rest of the trip went smoothly.
Photo Credit: Denver International Airport
At Logan Airport in Boston, we met up with our daughter Amy (who had just arrived from New York City) and took a ride share to Salem, about 25 miles north of Boston. We stayed at the historic Hawthorne Hotel, in the heart of picturesque downtown Salem. From the Hawthorne, it was easy to explore on foot.
Salem is widely known for the Witch Trials of 1692, and there were shops with cute witchy names selling witch-themed souvenirs. We even saw a statue of Elizabeth Montgomery from Bewitched (a television series from the 1960’s). The city appears to be walking a fine line between embracing “witch tourism" and acknowledging the unjust persecution of innocent people. I was glad to see multiple efforts to educate the public and honor the victims. Have fun, but learn something, too.
On Friday evening, we walked along Essex Street and had a delicious dinner at a Moroccan restaurant. Then we attended a welcome reception for wedding guests at the hotel. On Saturday morning, Steve’s parents joined us for a visit to the impressive Peabody Essex Museum, just a short walk down pedestrian-friendly Essex Street. That afternoon, we walked to Salem Harbor, where a historical reenactment was in progress at Derby Wharf. It was a nice reminder that we were in the seat of the American Revolution.
Finally, it was time for the wedding of Zoë (Steve’s niece) and Bill. The ceremony took place outdoors, and the weather was perfect! Cocktails, dinner, and dancing were in historic Hamilton Hall. We all had a wonderful time celebrating with the happy couple!
