Salem, MA

I think the thing I love most about living away from Utah is being able to visit so many different places.  Most of the places we have been to are spots in history that I learned about while in school, but being able to see it, makes it all that much more real.  Salem has it's own creepy history.  From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft; dozens languished in jail for months without trials until the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts subsided.  We decided to read the Crucible written by Arthur Miller to help us understand more of the history.

Yes, that is Scott.  I know the picture is kinda creepy, but I think it is funny none the less.

Salem Witch Museum, where they do a Diorama of the witch trials.  They also help you understand the religion of the Wickens (present day witches)

The city of Salem is so cute!  I don't know how to explain it better than it is totally how I imagine a little beach side city!  I loved it!

Salem was once one of the most important ports in the nation. The historic buildings, wharves tell the stories of the sailors of the Revolutionary War, and merchants who brought the riches of the Far East to America.

Statue of Nathaniel Hawthorne

House of Seven Gables from Nathaniel Hawthorne's book.  Apparently there was a family member that lived in the home, and he visited often.  He was originally born in the home across from the garden.  I think the thing  I liked the most was the gardens.  They were so beautiful.