Salem & Boston, MA. July 21st -25th

The drive to Salem was a breeze after our last travel day. There aren't many RV parks near Boston so we stayed in Salem, which is about a 45 minute drive to downtown Boston. Winter Island Park was the first state campground we've stayed in. Had good reviews and a great price at $45/night, which is why you have to make reservations WAY in advance. We booked five months ago and had to make two different reservations. One for the first two nights and then we had to move to a different site for the next two nights. I thought our first two nights were waterfront. Not so much! We were in the RV Field (aka dirt lot). 😕😂 Oh well. We planned to spend most of our time in Boston anyways. Our second site had a water view but it was still in the parking lot of a state park. The campground had minimal amenities but it did have a nice beach and great views along the shoreline.

Salem is a unique town with a population of about 50,000. It sits on the shores of MA and has a military history. It has a diverse population with high end wealth mixed with poverty level income. However, as some of you probably know, it's most well known for it's witch trials of 1692, a truly tragic time when 20 people were hung for "witchery". I'll let you look it up if you want more history but it makes for a very eclectic downtown that mixes high end restaurants, street musicians, gothic shops, and tourists. Instead of the normal spring flower pictures, I added some storefront pictures of Salem to give you a better idea. I got the sense that people in downtown are happy and co-exist with mutual respect.

We made the most of our two days in Boston!

We boarded the dogs for our first day since it would have been too much for them. Then we were off to Seaport District, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston Common, China Town, Beacon Hill, Cheers Bar, Freedom Trail, and the North End. So much history! It would take me way to much time to describe everything but we had a great day with multiple stops for snacks, cocktails, lunch and even a 45 minute foot massage. We decided to do dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant back in Salem before settling in for a kid-less night.

Day two we picked up the girls and grabbed lunch at a pizza place near Harvard. Then I did a stadium tour of iconic Fenway Park (loved it!) while Melissa took the dogs to Back Bay Fens, a large public park near Fenway. We joined back up for lunch and walked the Rose Kennedy Greenway before heading to Yappier Hour. The Liberty used to be a jail but is now a swanky hotel. On Wednesdays during summer, they do Yappier Hour on their totally enclosed outdoor patio. Just bring your dog and a positive attitude for drinks, music, vendors and socializing. Super fun for Rita and Stella including snacks and dog cake!

We had perfect weather here! This was our 24th stop and it's the first time we didn't have some form of rain during our stay. Got to spend some time relaxing at our campground and watching the local boats on the water.

Today we moved on. Lots of traffic on our drive but we checked into Sweetwater Forest Campground in Cape Cod this afternoon. Can't wait to explore Cape Cod, Nantucket, Provincetown, and Martha's Vineyard. Enjoy your weekend and we'll catch up next week!!