Just a touch of Hocus Pocus

So again you get two days of our activities for the price of one.  Yesterday morning was so mentally taxing that by the end of the day we couldn’t muster the energy to write about it.

It all started with a lovely breakfast in Portland and our very cute little B&B.  We left there at 8:30am to be on the road and have the car back in Boston by 12noon although we had to drop our hefty suitcases at the hotel before dropping off the car.  So Boston traffic sucks!  After taking a few wrong turns we got to the hotel to drop the bags off.  That was all good.  It was the “10 min” drive from the hotel to the car depot that was the hard part.  You would think that driving this distance would be all good.  Not so my friends.  A street we needed to go down was blocked off and not sign posted early enough (and the GPS was running a little slow, obviously feeling the pressure too), we had to fill up the car, we couldn’t find a gas station even though we had looked them up earlier in the day, we were both busting for the loo, we were running close to the deadline.  We at this stage were tossing up whether to pay extra for dropping the car off with half a tank, paying a late fee with a full tank or paying a late fee, no petrol and also a soilage fee as there are no toilets anywhere either.  So, Boston traffic, busting for the loo, no gas stations and running the clock down to nothing you will be pleased to know that we returned the car with a full tank, on time and only half our bladders empty (Toot was sacrificed as Gordo was driving).  So by the time we dropped the car back, Toot was almost crying because she needed to pee so badly, there are no public toilets open and the lady in 7 Eleven was a bitch and had no idea and was of no help.

The day could only improve from here, you would think.  We went to buy a map of Boston, as I mentioned the bitch in 7 Eleven was useless, so we went to look at the hop on and off buses which got us a free map and our next couple of days organised.  We booked a return ferry trip to Salem which also got us on the hop on and off bus there.  After all of this was organised we decided to walk back to the hotel and check in.  Of course our back pack with rain jackets and Toots jumper were back at the hotel with our stuff.  Yep, it rained the whole way back.  A 45 minute walk with no rain jacket, no umbrella and only Gordo with a jumper on. 

We finally got back to the hotel and checked in.  Only to find out that there is no internet in the rooms unless you pay $15 per day, yep that bites.  I know first world problems, but in this day and age in a Hilton hotel in Boston and no free wifi.  Even our shanty hotels in the middle of India could provide us with this service. Hence you now get two days for the price of one(of our blog).

Once checked in and dried off we decided to have an afternoon off and pretty much spent all day (from 3:30pm) sitting down doing nothing.  It was quite nice.  We decided to venture out looking for dinner (did we mention another cheesecake factory across the road). Of course there was a massive line for a table so we went to the Asian place upstairs instead.  We would have been better off waiting for a table at the cheesecake factory.  The service at the Chinese place was shit and slow. At least the food tasted ok.  After dinner we found a supermarket nearby to get some fruit and yogurt for breakfast for the next few days. After this it was time to head back and get ready for our trip to Salem the next day.

So this morning we got up and had breakfast then caught the subway to the ferry wharf.  Once we figured out the subway it was all good. We got to the wharf with 10 mins to spare (it was looking close at one stage) and hopped on board.  The ferry ride takes about 55 mins out through the harbour of Boston and through the islands out past Marble Head and onto Salem.  Once there we hopped on board the trolley to give us a tour and hear about the history of the place.  Then once we had done this it was time to get off and go into a few things such as the Witch dungeon, the Witch house and also look through the memorial for the 19 people who were hanged and the one crushed to death for Witchcraft in 1692.  It was all quite fascinating hearing about all the hysteria that happened back then.  Believe it or not all the Witch trials make up only a very tiny portion of the history of this place (9 months out of 386 years).  It was good to hear the history of the other stuff as well as the Witch trials.  Due it being the month of October, Salem has gone a little crazy with all things Halloween.  It started with a parade on Thursday night being the 1^st of October and will end with an extra 100,000 people visiting for the 31^st October to wrap up the celebrations and do some trick or treating.  Before boarding the ferry back to Boston we visited the oldest candy store in America.  We of course had to purchase so we could sample and tell you all about it.  It’s no Haighs but it is tasty none the less.

 

 

Once we returned to Boston, we boarded the subway back to the cheesecake factory for an early dinner.  There of course was a massive line but only a 15 min wait.  They seem to have the turning over of tables down to a fine art.  Very organised in what seems chaos to those who don’t work there. We had dinner and got a piece of Snickers cheesecake to take back to the hotel room with us for later this evening.  We did a little browsing in the shopping centre there and then returned back to hotel to turn in for the evening.  Tomorrow more investigating of Boston and all it has to offer us.