Salem, Massachusetts

Another road trip in the books! Jeff and I love to travel during the Fall season so we decided to start Fall early with a trip to Salem, Massachusetts. We know how popular the city is around Halloween time because of the witch trials and the fact that Hocus Pocus was filmed here, so we wanted to see what it had to offer first hand! Let me tell you, it is a must see. Jeff planned out some activities to do, we booked a car rental, an Airbnb, and then to Salem for a fun filled weekend!

We drove through the night and arrived in Salem early Saturday morning. First stop was coffee! When we travel, we like to look for the best coffee in town and we found an amazing local coffee shop called Brew Box on Essex Street. It was so cute and had bomb coffee and breakfast! We had brunch reservations at a restaurant later in the morning so we got something small to tie us over. Jeff got a cereal milk latte, I got a cappuccino, and we each got a homemade vegan apple butter pop tart. They had cute apparel so we each got a shirt to support their small business. We walked over to the cutest little park area and enjoyed our coffee and pop tarts on a bench that overlooked the small town and cute cobblestone streets. The park reminded me of something you’d see in a movie. Our next stop was brunch! We ate at The Ledger. The ledger is an upscale restaurant & bar that serves New England cuisine in a 19th-century bank building. We got a coffee again – shocker and we got the house donut to start. It was fruity pebbles with strawberry frosting – SO good! For my meal, I got their eggs benedict and Jeff got their french toast pancakes with a side of bacon. We highly recommend going here for brunch. The atmosphere is everything! We look forward to trying their dinner options next time we are in town.

After brunch we walked down the cobblestone streets and went into some of their stores. They had lots of spooky Halloween and witch themed stores. Some of our favorites were Emporium 32, HausWitch, and VampFangs amongst others! After we shopped for a little, we decided to visit the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. In 1692, 14 women and 6 men were accused of being witches. They were tried, convicted, and executed. The Memorial consists of 20 granite benches cantilevered from a low stone wall surrounding an area adjoining the Old Burying Point. The benches are inscribed with the name of the accused, the means and date of execution. There was something so eerie but beautiful about the memorial. Descendants of some of the women and men still visit the site to this day to leave notes of remembrance. After walking though the memorial, we took a stroll through the Old Burial Point Cemetery. It was astonishing to see some of the old headstones dating back to the early 1600’s! After that, we decided to take a trolly ride to learn more about the history of Salem. The trolly took us throughout the city stopping at different famous locations such as the Witch History Museum, House of the Seven Gables, Witch Dungeon Museum, and the Salem Witch House. It was a must do activity to pay respect to the history of the area. You will learn a lot!

After the trolly tour, we started to get hungry again so we went to The Roof for drinks and appetizers. Located at the top of The Hotel Salem, The Roof offers Salem’s only rooftop bar and restaurant serving strong drinks and simple food. It was amazing to overlook the city as the sun set. They didn’t lie about the drinks – they were strong! After the appetizers at The Roof, we walked over to Rockafellas and enjoyed dinner. The seafood here is a must try! All of the seafood Jeff and I had was some of the freshest we have had in our lives. We were supposed to have an after dark witch tour to cap off the night but we decided to call it a day instead and get some rest for more activities on Sunday! I know the tours are popular though so we’d definitely recommend it.

Sunday was our last day so we decided to start the day early. We went to Brew Box again for coffee and did a little more shopping. We went to Gulu Gulu Cafe for brunch and then headed out to some nearby cities to site see. We decided to drive to Marblehead Old Burial Hill where some scenes from Hocus Pocus were filmed. The graveyard itself was beautiful. Old Burial Hill is one of the most picturesque graveyards in Massachusetts. It affords a view the harbor and the sea. Established in 1638, it’s the burial site of an estimated 600 Revolutionary soldiers. After the graveyard, we drove to Castle Rock Park which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. Absolutely breathtaking views. We then headed back to Salem for some more shopping, a monster museum and dinner. Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery Monster Museum was the highlight of Jeff’s trip and it is a must see if you are a fan of horror movies. The museum has a private collection of James Lurgio, features full-size creature creations that are made of resin, latex, and silicone. Many of the artists who created the figures in the collection work in the movie industry, some on the actual movie the piece is based on, which is so cool! After the museum, we headed to dinner at Turner’s Seafood. It was hands down the best seafood we have ever had. We started with oysters rockefella, crab cakes, and New England clam chowder – YUM! Everything was so fresh and flavorful. You would have thought it was just caught off the coast. For dinner Jeff and I shared a lobster roll Massachusetts style, which is warm and served with hot butter. Next time we are in town we plan on trying it Maine style with mayo! After dinner we stopped at Goodnight Fatty for dessert. They serve fresh baked cookies, milk, and ice cream. Such a cool find! That capped off our short, but sweet weekend trip to Salem, MA. We cannot wait to come back next year around Halloween!