Newburyport, MA

Hopped on the commuter rail and made my way to Newburyport, MA today.  I am doing my best to get out and explore this corner of the globe, I currently call home. 

 

When I arrived in Newburyport I was disappointed that the commuter rail station was not located downtown, as I had read on the internet. Wandering around the station and parking lot I eventually saw a phone number for a taxi service-which unfortunately did not work-Damnit!  Thankful that I decided to upgrade to smart phone a few months back, I was able to use my maps feature and realized town was approx. 1mi away.  So... I started walking...

 

 The walk ended up being quite pleasant.  The recent rains we've had here in New England has made everything exceptionally green.

 Couldn't figure out if George had any special connection to Newburyport, or if he just gets a statue cause he's George

 A nice lake with walking path.  Any guesses on what the statue is on top of the fountain?

 

Originally settled in 1635, Newburyport population is currently around 20,000.

 The downtown area is packed with artsy shops, boutiques, and restaurants. 

 Cute walkway in the downtown area.  I loved the green and flowers.

 Because of the rain there were very few people wandering about.

 Not sure what these stones are for.  I'm assuming that people use them to take a moment and rest their feet when it isn't pouring.

 I thought this statue was fun

 It was nice to be able to duck into a shop to escape the rain on occasion.  I enjoyed a nice cup of tea at "Angie's Coffee Shop".  Love it when there are independent coffeehouses and not just Starbucks.  Reminds me of Flag

 Also treated myself to some of the lotion testers and body scrub at "Soak" Oh man, my hands feel amazing! Wondering if I should have bit the bullet and bought some.

Hmmm, is that building allowed to be green.  How rebellious.

 Whoever is in charge of these window planters is doing a wonderful job.  Although mother nature is definitely doing her part to help.

Newburyport is considered to be the birthplace of the USCG (US Coast Guard) Est. in 1790 and the US oldest, continuous maritime service. 

A monument for the Coast Guard

How have I not made friends with anyone with a boat? Seriously?!

I love the water and all the boats. 

Went to the Custom House Maritime Museum.  They had some interesting photographs, shipwreck logs and various other information about Maritime History. They are currently working on a book from the excerpts from Elizabeth Bray's journal.  A woman who, in the 1850's, traveled the seas with her husband and journaled about her adventures and how much she loved them.  I think we may have been friends : )

 Was happy to discover a bus to take me back to the commuter rail station.  This is the bus station stop.  Wow, even it is beautiful. 

 

Had a wonderful time.  Am planning on venturing back when the weather is nicer.  I really want to see Plum Island.  Wish it could be this weekend when they are having a lobster and music festival.

 

 

 

 





Salem, MA

Amazingly after almost 3yrs of living in Boston... I finally made the trip to Salem.  Not sure why it took me so long, as it's a relatively easy trip on the commuter rail.

 



The town of Salem has a population of  approx. 42,000 people.  With the main tourist attractions being walking distance to the commuter rail.  Very convenient.

 

Checking out the sights around town.  Definitely a lot of opportunity for one to get their palm read or fortunes told.

 

 

 Look there's a red line like Boston

 Enjoyed the brick

 

I really enjoyed the colors here with the purple house and the pink of the cherry blossom tree.  My camera didn't do it justice.

 

The window of one the local bookshops.  The inside of the store was rows and rows of books piled this way.  I have no idea how one is expected to find what they are looking for. 



 

 

While in town I visited a couple of museums.  The first one dedicated to the Salem Witch Trials.

 

Here are some facts you may or may not know about the "Witch Trials"

• Although known as "The Salem Witch Trials" Salem at the time was Salem town and Salem village an area much larger than what we today know as Salem  and also included the surrounding towns.
• The trials went from March 1692-May 1693
• The trials started when three preteen girls began acting in "strange" ways.  When the town physician was unable to diagnose them he proclaimed them to have been inflicted by the devil
• These girls then accused others of being witches.  Approx 200 people were accused with 19 being executed and 5 dying in prison
• Unlike popular belief the "witches" were hung and not burned at the stake.  Burning was done in England. 
• The first person to be executed was Bridget Sarah Bishop
• They even hung a couple of dogs
• Giles Corey was crushed to death instead of hung.  They later hung his wife
• The trials came to an end when the girls started to accuse some prominent figures of also being witches

A memorial.  In the early 1990's they started a tradition of honoring a humanitarian, in memory of those who died at the witch trials, to remind of us the harm that can be done by being judgmental of one another. 

Local Cemetery- those accused and hung were not allowed to be buried in the consecrated ground at the church. 

Statue of Elizabeth Montgomery as "Samantha" in Bewitched. 

 

Salem has more to it than its witch history.

 Had a fun time checking out the boats and the water. 

 

 Ahoy!

 

I also walked over to the "House of the Seven Gables".  Made famous by the book written in 1851 by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

a gable is the area of the roof that comes to a point.  The house in the book belonged a cousin of Hawthorne-Susanna Ingersoll who was an independent woman of her day. Refusing to get married so that her inheritance would not be passed off to her husband.

 When the house was reconstructed in the early 1900's it was remodeled to include both historically accurate parts and parts that came from the book.  No pictures were allowed in the house so unfortunately don't have any.

 Nice garden at "Seven Gables".  Interesting tour- I would recommend it to anyone visiting Salem.

I had a great time visiting Salem.  Feel I could have spent some more time.  Hope to make it back that way for some more exploring.

 

 

 



Kirkenes, Norway



Our final stop on our Norway Tour, Kirkenes is located way at the far northern tip of Norway, East of Finland and borders Russia.  

Audra just couldn't resist that slide

 



 

 

Wandering around the streets

 



Although relatively small their was quite a few shops and restaurants here.  Surprisingly we never went to this one

Being so close to Russia all the street signs are posted in both Norweigian and Russian

We wandered all over the city and then to help us thaw out decided to go see the museum.  It had a section on World War II, art work from a local artist and some other sections too.  It was actually very well put together and although mainly in Norwegian they had books with brief synopis on the exhibits in several languages.

That night we went and stayed in the Snow Hotel.  They explained that they make the hotel by blowing up giant balloons and then packing snow around them until they have enough to form a solid wall.  They then deflate the balloon and are left with the room. 

 

 

There were 24 rooms total all with different carvings on the wall

 

 

 

Our room. Some how I don't seem to have a better pic.  

 

 

After a yummy dinner we went and took the kicksleds out.  Which unfortunately did not provide as much glide as we would have liked

 But is was a beautiful night and nice to be out

I'm pretty sure we have the distinction of being the first people to oversleep at the snow hotel. 

 

The next day we had a relaxing morning and then went snowmobiling in the afternoon

 

It was fun! But I definitely preferred being the passenger. We had Reindeer burgers for lunch.  Was very tastey, but the food from the King Crab outing definitely looked mouth watering.

 

That evening we went and had some drinks with a couple we met during our travels Joe, the only other American we saw and Sylvia a German. Bitte!  We ended up hanging with  some locals who were singing/playing guitar in the pub.  It was a great time. 

 

Kirkenes was a lot of fun! Definitely could see how people would want to live here.