"What should we be for the Halloween Contest?"
(Discussion: Blah, Blah, Blah, Idea, Idea)
"Wouldn't it be fun to go to Salem, Massachusetts over Halloween?!"
"Yah. Let's go."
It was as simple as that. We were no longer going to attend the Halloween Contest because less than two weeks later we were on a plane to Boston!
Day 1 Eve
Our trip began on the Thursday before Halloween. We headed to Omaha to stay overnight with Jake's cousin and his wife. We were treated to steak, corn on the cob, and brussel sprouts and a game of darts, and a decanter of wine. It was a great night - even if I did hit the wall with my dart....Owen, you and I are two VERY elite dart throwers. Regardless, sorry there's another small hole in your wall.
Day 1
3:30 am - Awesome time for a wake-up call. FYI - There's not much traffic at 4:00 in the morning.
5:15 am - We began boarding the plane. Boston, here we come! Okay - St. Louis first. Wifi on the plane made the flight so much faster. So glad that was invented.
When we landed at the St. Louis airport, we walked past Vino Volo. "We need to stop here on our flight back!" "Agreed." Then we had breakfast at a bleh restaurant. We probably grabbed Starbucks, too. We always make time for coffee. Actually, I know we got Starbucks across from Vino Volo during one part of the trip because there was this ridiculous woman who, and I'm not being insensitive because she was in a wheelchair - I swear, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, she was in a wheelchair, and one of the airport employees was pushing her AND her dog around. She had him order her some fancy caramel coffee, and of course it wasn't right...and had him take it back. Lady, we didn't get what we ordered either! It was the most uncomfortable thing. He was so patient. Anyway...
Another comical event that happened at the St. Louis airport was that Jake kept tripping....over nothing. It just kept happening, and I just kept laughing.
Luckily for Jake, he didn't have to walk to Boston. We boarded the plane, and this time, we would be landing in Boston!
Oh the Boston airport. It's okay. Certainly nothing to write home about. There's a Dunkin' Donuts by the baggage claim - it's tucked in the corner, if coffee excites you. We took a bus to the rental cars...we sat in the middle where it split like an accordian...I don't remember ever being on a bus that bent. ;) Well, we picked out our vehicle - a Nissan Rogue. It was either silver or black. Didn't matter what color it was, I wasn't going to remember then, and certainly not now. I'm a notorious "wrong car goer upper".
Holy cow...the tunnel leaving the airport was horrendous...talk about panic-inducing. "Why is it so long?! Where are all of these cars even coming from? Watch out!" Aaah. Then we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel...what a relief. At some point we drove past Fenway Park, drove over the Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge before realizing we were going in the opposite direction we wanted to be going. So we drove over the bridge again. Hi Fenway Park! Bye Fenway Park.
And goodbye Boston! We weren't staying in Boston that night. We were actually going to Portland, Maine.
The drive to Portland was pretty boring. Not much to see...or eat. We ventured off the interstate in search for lunch. Where is this McDonald's that is right off of I-95? Where?
And then we drove into the most charming city. Portland, Maine. Downtown Portland is the quaintest place ever. It has literal cobblestone streets - not bricks - cobblestones. Our hotel, the Portland Regency, was an old armory. How cool is that? It was a beautiful hotel that uses "real" door keys. Big metal fancy keys. So neat.
The Regency was across the street from Jake's business associate. Their building was so neat! When you walked inside, you walked through a hall with a brick in-lay floor - the walls were a stucco/plaster white. I tell you this, because it was so rustic yet so modern. I wish I would have taken a picture, but I thought that might be "weird" so I didn't. Anyway, I loved it! We went out onto the rooftop deck for the most spectacular views. It was so nice to just...stand there...and take it all in. I'd never been to the east coast, and this was QUITE the introduction.
We dined at Scales. I'm not much for seafood, but I knew there would be something I could enjoy. I ordered the Grilled Bavette Steak. It was good (but holds nothing to a good Midwest steak!). The STAR of my entree was the Mushroom Ragu. OMG. It was incredible! But it was probably the most fun when we indulged in the "Fantastic Four" - the dessert. I rarely order dessert, so this really was a treat! We all ordered something different and taste-tested each dessert. And they were ALL amazing. I ordered the Goat Cheesecake, and it did not disappoint. Delectable.
After dinner, we explored a bit of the night life. Discovering underground bars, secret entrances and such...all while weaving through the cobblestone streets....and confidently stepping into crosswalks - even when cars were coming. Did you know that's a "thing" there? Seriously. People step out into the street, and cars stop. It's very unnatural. Anyway, we found a "Nebraska" bar. Jake tried to be right at home....we didn't stay long. ;)
Jake and I ended our evening at a restaurant I wish I had paid better attention to. Well, I paid attention to it, just not its name. I tried searching for it online, but there are so many restaurants, and I just couldn't find it. But it, too, was precious. When you walked in, you felt like you were walking into an old Italian barn or house. I've never been in either, so it's merely an assumption. But straight back was a concrete bar with rustic wood shelves behind it, and the bartender took such pride in the beautiful cocktail he made for me. I think there was a candied lemon rind and sugar cube involved. If we hadn't been awake for nearly 24 hours, I think we both could have stayed there for awhile. :)
Day 2
We started our day with breakfast at Twenty Milk Street (the restaurant in our hotel). I felt like we were dining in a real dining room. Like duh...it is a dining room...I know it sounds weird, but it was quite intimate. I ordered the Veggie Bowl. Avocado? Yes please. Jake probably ordered eggs and bacon. I'm sure it was lovely.
Then we were off on our next adventure...Starbucks! ;) If you read Jake's post about traveling with me, you know that he will always try to find me fancy coffee in the morning. So we ventured out into the rain, loaded up our rental Rogue, and searched for...what was literally right around the corner, come to find out.
I ordered a horrible drink. But when your end goal for the day is to end up in Salem, Massachusetts, "The Witches Brew" seems like an obvious choice. Do not pay the ungodly amount that drink costs. I'm sorry Starbucks, while that drink is beautiful, it ISN'T worth it. Next time, I'll stick to my tried and true, Skinny Vanilla Latte. :)
Okay - now onto our first adventure of the day, the Portland Head Light. We thought George Washington had something to do with this lighthouse. We probably told people that, too. I know for a fact we did. I think we might have been wrong, but it was my first lighthouse experience, and I was still so excited.
Honestly, I think my favorite part of the trip was seeing the ocean's waves crashing into the rocks. It was quite humbling, indeed. And wet...and a bit chilly. But definitely awe-inspiring.
We picked up a few souvenirs, and headed back onto the road.
We drove around the campus of the University of New England - contemplated stopping for the football game, but opted to listen to the Huskers on the radio instead. Go Big Red!
The order of events coming next might not be correct...it was hard to tell what time of day it was the entire day - it was just gray and rainy. I didn't know where I was... so I don't know what came first, but we had lunch at the Maine Diner as featured on "Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives". Jake said he had the best seafood chowder he's ever had. I had the Eddie Andelman. Look it up. It was okay. Anyway...I think that was the only place during our entire vacation I heard someone speak with a heavy New England accent, and do you want to know what she said? "I drawped the shugah in the whatah." I don't even know what she was talking about. But I heard it. So it counts. We bought some starfish in the gift shop, and then checked out some antique stores along the way to Salem. We might have antiqued before lunch, too, but like I said, I can't remember the order it all happened.
Salem, Massachusetts
We finally arrived! And it was packed full of crazies in costumes, and it was rainy! We watched the Witch Trials, went to the Witch Dungeon Museum. We checked out a gift shop, and then went off to find the Hocus Pocus house. Apparently the tenants recycle. :) How nice!
Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long. We had to get back to Boston. There were no hotels in Salem available. Guess that's what happens when you don't plan ahead.
We actually decided to take our vehicle back to the airport that evening. I had had enough of the traffic, and knew that parking would be a nightmare and expensive. We figured Uber would suffice. You might remember that Jake is also fond of Uber, too. So we had another fun adventure at the Boston airport, and one magnificent Uber ride later, we were at the Hilton in downtown Boston.
It was so swanky...and compact. True Urban living. We were starving, so we ate in the restaurant downstairs, Fin Point Oyster Bar and Grille. Naturally, I ordered steak. And naturally, I don't remember what Jake ordered. It was probably fishy.
After we finished dinner, we went down the street to Broadside Tavern. Jake made friends with some Tennessee fans, and then we went a little further down the street to The Warehouse to watch the Boston Red Sox play in the World Series. Oh yah. That was happening while we were in Boston! Go Red Sox! They won, and Jake made friends with some Florida fans, and we got invited to go to Mr. Dooley's. We did not go to Mr. Dooley's.
Day 3
Oh, I don't know what time we started that morning. I think it was kind of late. We slept in for a bit. Found a Starbucks. Bought some protein bars and good coffee, and started wandering around.
The nice thing about where we were staying was that EVERYTHING was in walking distance...
We hit up:
* Cheers
* Printing Office of Edes & Gill - this is where we picked up Weston's Declaration of Independence prints.
* Paul Revere House - We followed a French tour group! So entertaining.
It was in this area that we found a slew of Italian restaurants, and probably found the meeting place of the mob. Jake was excited to watch one of the "mobsters'" vehicles get towed. It was kind of entertaining, but made me uneasy....so we found a family Italian restaurant for lunch, L'Osteria. It was an authentic Italian experience. Our waiter was "Vincento". Very Boston Italian.
* Halloween Parade - After lunch, we came upon a parade. So we joined. Yep. We were in a parade in Boston.
* New England Aquarium - This was pretty neat, but we really are spoiled living so close to Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo!
* Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum - This was pretty neat. Jake had a speaking part during part of the tour. And we photographed two gals, "doing treason".
* Boston Ghost Tour - This was surprisingly educational. We went to two cemeteries (technically 3 cemeteries - Boston Common was part of the tour, and it's a massive gravesite!) and got a quick run down of the area along the way!
After ALL of that, we had dinner at The Warehouse, and decided to check out Vintage Restaurant & Lounge to watch the Boston Red Sox again. But it wasn't really all that impressive, and we were beyond exhausted after our fun-filled day, so we headed back to our hotel to relax, and pack. Guess what. We turned the game on, and after the Red Sox won, The Warehouse bar crowd was on tv - celebrating the victory. It could have been us. It could have been us.
Day 4
Our trip home wasn't too eventful. Pretty low-key, really. But we did visit Vilo Vino for a light lunch in the St. Louis airport. It was after lunch that we probably witnessed the demanding wheelchair woman. ;)
Overall, our trip was amazing. We both highly recommend making it if you can. We were able to see and do so much in a relatively quick trip!
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