Mon 13/8 – 13430 steps
Song: Theme from Cheers
We decided to do a Hop on hop off bus, and learnt more about the city. We drove through much of what we had already walked, but the commentary was good and we went to outskirts and also to Cambridge. You had to walk a couple of blocks to get to Harvard, so we skipped that as we were short of time. We did, however, drive past MIT and I tried to absorb as much brain power as possible.
We got off at the Cheers bar and walked back to the hotel, fetched our bag and headed off to the station. I tried to buy Boston bread, but to no avail. While waiting for the train to Salem, we had coffee and a croissant from Dunkin Donuts which David enjoyed. Luckily I can choose to never repeat that experience.
When we got to Salem, the rain had thankfully stopped and we could walk to the museum. It was a good presentation, first about the witch trials and then about perceptions of witches from healers, to hags as portrayed in Macbeth and the green faced witch of Wizard of Oz and finally modern day followers of Wicca. Also the famous witch trials did not actually happen in modern day Salem, but actually in modern day Danvers. That city changed its name and I am sure misses out on all the tourist trade.
Chuckle of the day. At the station in Boston I saw 2 ladies and guessed (correctly) that they were on there way to Salem. David went up and took a photo of them outside the witche’s house.
What I learnt: I really enjoy the art, parks and flowers I have seen in all American cities and towns. No matter how big or small a place is, money is spent to beautify it. I believe it has an uplifting effect on the community, a bit like the Broken Window Theory. I wish we could learn from this in SA, instead of removing statues, add new ones.
Kim's journey 