This month’s “dating my husband” post is pretty special because it wasn’t just a date, it was a TRIP! We decided to cross something off our bucket list and go to Salem, MA in October. If you have never heard of Salem… it is known for its thick history of witches and magic. This is where The Witch Trials took place in 1692 and more recently… where the movie Hocus Pocus was filmed. We planned this trip back in March and I was so excited it was finally time to go!
We started our journey by driving 2.5 hours to the airport in Detroit, then hopped on a plane into Boston. Then we Ubered (for our first time) into Salem. From Boston to Salem it was about a 45 minute drive. We arrived at the CUTEST B&B (also our first time staying at one) called Morning Glory Bed & Breakfast. There are only three rooms, each named after one of the witches that were accused of witchcraft back in 1692. We had the Elizabeth Howe room. Staying at such a historic home made us feel so emerged into the Salem history. The owner Bob was an awesome host and made a DELICIOUS breakfast every morning. I will definitely be staying there again!!
On our first day we headed out to explore and grab dinner. Salem just had a Nor’Easter come through the previous night so it was pretty chilly and windy still. We started at The House of the Seven Gables – Nathaniel Hawthorne’s (author of The House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlett Letter) birth place.
Then we walked by the harbor. I swear EVERY building/house in Salem was just beautiful. I loved all the black structures the most. Notice the overturned sail boat.. there were a few damaged boats because of the storm.
Once we were closer to downtown Salem, we stopped to The Old Burying Point Cemetery. This is the second oldest cemetery in the United States. You can find the graves of a Mayflower pilgrim and a judge from the witch trials. None of the witches that were hanged were buried here because of the Christian values. However, the witch trial memorial is right next to the cemetery. This is where you can find the names of those hanged (or pressed to death) and leave flowers.
We stopped by Town Hall, which is where the Halloween ball portion of Hocus Pocus was filmed.
I’m not really a Bewitched fan but this statue is a popular photo op. I guess some of the episodes were filmed in Salem.
I’m so glad we stopped to The Witch House at night. I was getting ALL the spooky vibes and really felt that eerie feeling I was chasing after. The Witch House is the ONLY house in Salem that is directly tied with the witch trials. The house belonged to Jonathan Corwin – one of the judges who sent 19 people to be hanged. Corwin fathered 10 children but only eight of them made it to adulthood. The eight children passed away in this house and it is known to be very haunted. People who have taken the tour have felt someone touch them when no one was there and have also heard children’s voices in the upstairs bedroom. The tour wasn’t open this late at night so we head back the next day and go inside!
We ate dinner at The Boston Burger Co. It was DELICIOUS! We discovered a new cider we both loved called DownEast. It’s an unfiltered apple cider and I’ve been trying to find it near our house but have failed! I’m so sad but determined to get some more of it!!
We headed back to our B&B because it was late and we were exhausted from traveling all day. This cool alley way was near there and looked awesome. I love how the residents of Salem embrace the creepiness. Even their police and fire department have witches as their logo! The local school mascot is a witch too!
On day two, we woke up and headed straight into town. I wanted to stop to Gulu Gulu Cafe for a coffee because I had heard amazing things about it. It was so good we ended up grabbing coffee there a few times on our short trip. It was still pretty cold so our coats stayed on! I got this cute witch hat off of Amazon!
We met some really fun characters during our exploring!
The only thing I booked an advance was Cry Innocent. This was a live action show that showcases the pre-trial of Bridget Bishop, who was accused of witchcraft. The show started outside and we got to watch Bridget get arrested in the street and followed her into the courtroom. It’s immersive, so the audience acts as the Puritan Jury and gets to cross examine the witnesses and hear all the evidence. At the end we vote to either send Bridget to trial or let her walk free. It was an amazing way to learn more about the trials and the actors were so legit!
We went through a horror movie museum called Count Orlocks Nightmare Gallery. Photos were not allowed but it was awesome! It was basically a wax museum of classic horror movie killers from Frankenstein all the way to present day. If you love scary movies like us, this is a must.
After that we ate at Rockafellas. This restaurant is in the Daniel Low Building. This building is known to be haunted due to the tunnels underneath that were used for slavery after is was already outlawed. The basement is haunted by the “lady in blue” who is said to roam the tunnels. Her apparition has been seen by employees along with a woman’s voice being heard when no one else was around.
The food and drinks were to die for. I got this apple cider mimosa that had a cinnamon sugar rim. GOOD LORD I’m already craving another.
Next, we headed back to The Witch House. I HAD to go inside after the creepiness of the previous night. We took the tour and it was neat to see the house all set up. It still had the original flooring!
A few houses down is another familiar location. The Ropes Mansion which you might recognize as Allison’s house from Hocus Pocus. We did not go inside but we toured the back gardens. The house is beautiful!
We explored SO much this day and went into a million little shops. I’ll save you from the upsurd amount of photos I took. Another thing that was a MUST see was Max and Dani’s house from Hocus Pocus. This one is off the beaten path – it was a 30 minute walk. It wasn’t too bad but if you have bad feet or anything, I would suggest taking an Uber. This house is actually someone’s private residence so you have to be respectful, hence why I stayed in the road for the photo. It’s a must see if you love Hocus Pocus!
After another 30 minute walk back to the B&B, we rested for awhile and then headed back into the action. Since this day was a Friday it was more lively at night! We ended up at The Salem Hotel which has a rooftop bar. Of course we got some DownEast cider again! 😉 We didn’t make it very long though because it was freezing. We went back to our room and ordered a pizza and watched Scream.
You guys… this was the best and much needed trip ever! We missed our kids and talked about them constantly but it was nice to not wake up to someone asking for cereal and to sit at the bar for dinner. It’s the little things that you forget you miss when you become a parent! Our mom’s are THE BEST for tag teaming with the kids back at home. Cody’s mom stayed with them all day and then my mom took over in the evening and spent the night. We are lucky to have such amazing parents who are willing to help us out all the time.
When it comes to “dating your husband” I think it’s a great idea to throw in a weekend trip somewhere too! Plan a trip somewhere you both have always wanted to go do! Make it a road trip, or fly. It could be close to home or farther away. Either way it will be good to reconnect and remember what life was like before kids. I’m so happy we did this trip!
I also vlogged!! So if you want a real-time look into our trip you can watch it below. I’m sure some of it will be repetitive but some people prefer the blog and others the vlog.
2019 DATING MY HUSBAND POSTS SO FAR
