Update 30: Salem, MA to Rhode Island

Update 30: Salem MA to Rhode Island  Sept. 14-19

Between seeing Boston and places beyond Boston, we took a day for errands. When we picked up Derrille's meds at Walgreens they helped us find an orthopedic doctor for Derrille. We started the day doing laundry and then drove into Duxbury to see the doctor.  Derrille received a cortisone shot in his knee that relieved the pain he had been experiencing. 

Before heading off for Costco, we drove toward the beach at Duxbury past more beautiful homes.

An old wooden bridge took us to the beach area on the outer strand. A sign declared the beach was for residents with the appropriate sticker. We stopped and peeked at the beach anyway.

Derrille calls this kind of thing the selling of America.  Here is a public beach, but only a select group people can access it.  We have seen areas of the beach that are restricted to club members only that go on for several miles.  We also felt that $4/person wasn't a fair price to drive 10 minutes through a State Park to the see the top of the mountain.  It appears that unless you have money many of America's treasures are not open to everyone.

Our red and green Molly the Trolley bumped over the cobblestones of Salem's downtown pedestrian mall.Only people and trolleys can use this space. Ron our knowledgeable guide reminded us that Salem is famous for its seaport and fishing industry. When Boston was blockaded by the British, all trade ships were diverted to Salem.

We did past the Witch House, which isn't the house of a witch, but rather the home of the judge in the witch trials.  We saw the House of Seven Gables made famous in literature circles. We also passed a candy store The Olde Pepper Company that supplies Oprah with some of her favorite chocolates. One of the original owners was the Earl of Spenser, an ancestor of Diana.  The Earl sold the shop and moved back to England.

The State Park now has an old sailing ship among things to see.

The tour included a Willow Tree Park.  The trees were a gift to the city, from someone I can't remember.

Several nice beaches surround Salem. The town of Beverly is across the harbor.

We saw some of the stately homes and heard their stories.  The red brick house has a smaller door adjacent to the main door. This door was opened to allow the hoop skirts to pass easily in and out of the house.

We went to the Salem Witch Museum and found it overpriced. The story was retold of the three hysterical little girls who became ill and accused a woman of being a witch. The domino effect convicted several women and one man. The little girls later recanted, but the panic they started and a fanatical judge had done the damage.  No one was burned at the stake in Salem...only in Europe. However, several members of the Wicca religion do reside in Salem, and the idea of witchcraft draws lot of tourists each year. Salem a town of 40,000 people expands to 98,000 people during the month of October each year.

For lunch we dined at Red's Sandwich Shoppe.  The food was delicious.The old sign declares this is the London Coffee House 1695.

Salem sits on the SE corner of Cape Ann. We toured the cape.  In Manchester On the Bay, neighborhood of mansions and estates spoke of lots and lots of money. Some looked out toward the Atlantic where the dark blue water goes in and out against the white granite rock breakwaters.

Harbor and cove similar to what we saw in Canada punctuate the coastline. Gloucester the home of Gorton's of Gloucester fish dinners, provides a huge harbor for pleasure boats, and the fishing fleet.

On our way up Cape Anne, turkeys in the road stopped traffic. They hung out around the center line and pecked at car wheels.  Then a black truck nearly drove in them and dispersed the traffic jam. He must be a local who thinks of the turkeys as a big nuisance.

At the tip of the peninsula the small community of Rockport also has a marina and harbor.  North of the harbor we happened upon Bear Skin Neck.  I have no idea where the name came from.  However, this tiny, one lane neck of land supports several interesting tourist shops.  We walked the two-three block neck and explored the neighborhood before heading back to Plymouth.

Rockport harbor exemplifies the coves and harbors of the cape.

Cape Cod disappointed all of us.  We think we envisioned towns like Kennebunkport along the cape. We expected to see more of the big, fancy homes.The road travels down the center of the cape to the park at the end. We veered off the main road to explore the little towns; however we couldn't find two of the towns on the map and missed a harbor even following an arrow to point the way.

At Barnstable we did find a small piece of sand to observe the harbor. Across the water a lighthouse rises out of the sand spit called Sandy Neck Beach Point.  The houses next to the lighthouse are only accessible by boat, a four wheel vehicle, or hiking in about 6 miles. Because of the limited access, these homes cannot be sold. They are passed down through the family. No tourist allowed!   I'm not even sure they get fire or police help.  We found it interesting that a Whale Watching business left from here and that if you wanted to go, you paid the tour fee and an additional $15 for parking.

We passed Yarmouth and Dennis, two towns we did see. Police power trucks with big brush bars on the front sit next to regular cruisers.  Resident stickers are required in several places.

The Cape Cod National Seashore Park contains 44,000 acres along 40 miles of coastline.  The Cape is a glacial deposit constantly undergoing change by the sea and the wind.  It loses about 3 feet of land each year.

We drove to Provincetown at the very end of the cape. The main street accommodates one line of cars all traveling the same direction. Art galleries, restaurants and gift shops clamor for space on this tiny street. People fill the streets, sidewalks and businesses.

The Race Point Lighthouse can be observed from the observation deck of the visitor center. We noticed RVs on the beach and inquired about driving down to the beach.  To get that privilege requires going to a class on survival and carrying a long list of required equipment such as: cables, tow bars, large shovel, big lanterns, flashlights rope, etc.  We continued around the loop.  

We stopped a three or four beaches.  It was late enough in the afternoon that parking fees were stopped for the day. At one beach this couple hunkered down under their umbrella to sit on the beach. The guys walked to the waters edge and noted the lady had on a woolen hat and ear muffs.

 We saw lighthouses at a couple of  locations.

As we went further down the coast the parking lots became higher and higher up from the water. Steep hills of soft sand needed to be negotiated to reach the water.

 In Hyannisport we went in search of the Kennedy compound.  With a little help from a local, we spotted it. Nice, but it's nothing like the Bush compound in Maine. Another late day and time to head home. This would be the end of our look at Massachusetts.

Our look at Rhode Island would be limited to Newport.  We drove down from Plymouth and hopped on their trolley tour. Our driver was informative.  We viewed their large harbor with a cruise ship in port.

We looked at the mansions. and heard about their history. Most of the big estates were hidden behind trees and so I didn't photograph them.  I found it interesting that a lady and her children lived in one big mansion, while the husband lived next door with his collection of porcelain Chinese urns. We decided not to tour any of the mansions.

We finished the tour  of Newport and returned home.

Next: Mystic CT