We left New York City on October 30th and drove 4-5 hours up to Salem MA. Just in time for Halloween.
Poor Sierra thinks that she needs to trick or treat this year at the old age of 14. I disagreed, but allowed it if she coordinated with Isabel's outfit. Her Mother complained that Cici has ALWAYS been a vampire. I stood my ground and the two of them dressed as ninjas this year.
We arrived in Salem in time for dinner, and since we were in Massachusetts, we NEEDED lobsters. We headed to The Sea Witch (because I liked the name) and partook of lobster. Cici's wasn't quite ready to try that yet, so she ordered the shrimp. Isabel, Chris and I delighted in our lobster heaven.
The next morning, I was CRAVING bagels for breakfast. I had missed out on getting some in NYC, so Chris ran out to the local Bagel King and we partook of a feast in our hotel room before heading out for Halloween fun.
^^She looks this happy every morning^^
Cici was familiar with the story of Salem and their Witch Trials, but Isabel hadn't learned about it yet in school. Our first stop in Salem was the Witch Museum. It was a hokey set up in a large room with a narrated story depicted my mannequins set up in scenes. About midway through, Isabel had HAD ENOUGH and started crying. "It is scary Mama!" Isabel and I sat in the gift shop until it was over.
We then traversed through the town streets, where many of the witchy stores were located. We pursued the merchandise as I explained to Isabel how she needs to be "accepting" to people who think they are witches.
It is an interesting conversation to have with your child when you encounter people who share different beliefs than you want to instill in your child. I, personally, don't believe in witchcraft or the idea of spells, charms, etc. I straddle the fence on how "accepting" to be when teaching your child your own beliefs. We decided to tell Isabel that "we don't believe these things, but they do, so be respectful and keep you mouth shut if you disagree." I think that was the best way to do it.
^^Some founder of Salem, who WAS NOT a witch!^^
Look! It's Samantha!
Chris found his buddy, Locutus!
We went to this historic cemetery in Salem, and when I mentioned to Sierra that she probably isn't supposed to smile in cemetery pictures, she gave me THIS face instead. Her sarcasm comes back to bite her in "the blog"
Sierra is trying out of America's Next Top Model soon...
After wandering for a while, the rain started and we escaped to a local sushi restaurant near the center of town. The most interesting part of this restaurant experience was that I ordered a tuna tartare that was presented prettily. Also, Cici, who has been eating different seafoods while on the road with us, decided to try rolls other than Californian. Score!
The official town rules of Salem is: No Trick or Treating until 5:30, then it ends at 7:30. We were anxiously waiting outside our first house at 5:25, and darn if they didn't make us wait until 5:30 on the dot to approach for some candy collecting.
Salem is built around a town square with streets projecting out from the main square/commons. It made it very easy to trick or treat and we were accompanied by another family from Apopka (weird, right?) for the beginning. We trick or treated for about an hour until Cici's ankle started hurting and I slipped a little on the cobblestone and twisted my own ankle.
The kids had plenty of candy, so there were fine with wrapping it up.
Overall, Salem was a cool experience to do for one day. I know that Cici definitely understood how cool it was to be there on Halloween. Hopefully, Isabel will realize it one day too.
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