Wed 9th: Quite a night, babies screaming, shouting, doors banging, television on loudly until nearly 5am, I will have to have a word with Lorna, or Critt, perhaps he can sort these things out. We had seen a lady enter the room next door to us last night, and almost certainly not a tourist, Lorna thinks maybe a short term respite case, we're not sure. We believed that a lower floor was where women sheltering were roomed, but maybe our floor was also used last night. It's not a big problem, but it would have been good if our New England tour company had explained what The Constitution Inn was all about beforehand, where might we be staying tonight?
Well we need not have worried, it's a Best Western, and we arrive after dark, having had a slow start, and an off-the-I-95 journey up to South Portland, Maine. It's a beautiful morning to walk downtown and pick up the car, it takes me 30 minutes and that was the easy part. The Alamo office is packed and each client takes at least 5 minutes to service, some even more, and it's a further 30 minutes before a find a Toyota Camry waiting for me; the car rental people would do well to learn from the airlines with on-line check-ins, and bag drops. Anyway we should have taken this the offered car in Miami because both big cases fit the trunk, perfick, and we would have avoided a $240 upgrade!!!
In the mean time Lorna has googled Dennis McLaughlin, benefactor of the Constitution Inn, and it explains that the hotel provides help for people with substance abuse; we think that many of the people working at the hotel are people recovering and getting back into working life.
Our initial destination is Salem, seemingly the Witch capital of the world. October is halloween month, and everywhere is decorated with all manner of ghouls and pumpkins. One fantastic display of ghostly gore is set up by the Salem Lions, and they invite the public to make a donation; only pictures can do justice to the truly gory scenes arranged in their front yard. Overall they will make several hundred dollars. Turns out the florist next door is home to Dave & Jackie, formerly (35 years) of Hong Kong. They have both kept Salem Lions going over the years and I leave details and our web address.
After lunch we find our way to the Salem Witch Museum, which is well done with various scenes set up accompanied by a scary narrative. It's amazing, the witch hysteria and subsequent trials lasted less than a year between 1692 & 1693, over 300 years ago, but they define Salem, and Salem is known widely for no other reason. As they point out the witch hunts in Europe went on for much longer, and hundreds of thousands of people were drowned, or burnt at the stake, but to no avail. Salem's witches, 19 of them, were hanged, and one man was crushed to death under heavy stones. We just need to find something from the past of Oakham, and we can redefine the place.
90 minutes very pleasant driving takes us through a progression of well know places, Ipswich, Gloucester, Salisbury, Malden, and then finally onto the Turnpike before a 7pm arrival.
Spend today: petrol (card); Salem Witch Museum (card)
Well we need not have worried, it's a Best Western, and we arrive after dark, having had a slow start, and an off-the-I-95 journey up to South Portland, Maine. It's a beautiful morning to walk downtown and pick up the car, it takes me 30 minutes and that was the easy part. The Alamo office is packed and each client takes at least 5 minutes to service, some even more, and it's a further 30 minutes before a find a Toyota Camry waiting for me; the car rental people would do well to learn from the airlines with on-line check-ins, and bag drops. Anyway we should have taken this the offered car in Miami because both big cases fit the trunk, perfick, and we would have avoided a $240 upgrade!!!
In the mean time Lorna has googled Dennis McLaughlin, benefactor of the Constitution Inn, and it explains that the hotel provides help for people with substance abuse; we think that many of the people working at the hotel are people recovering and getting back into working life.
Our initial destination is Salem, seemingly the Witch capital of the world. October is halloween month, and everywhere is decorated with all manner of ghouls and pumpkins. One fantastic display of ghostly gore is set up by the Salem Lions, and they invite the public to make a donation; only pictures can do justice to the truly gory scenes arranged in their front yard. Overall they will make several hundred dollars. Turns out the florist next door is home to Dave & Jackie, formerly (35 years) of Hong Kong. They have both kept Salem Lions going over the years and I leave details and our web address.
After lunch we find our way to the Salem Witch Museum, which is well done with various scenes set up accompanied by a scary narrative. It's amazing, the witch hysteria and subsequent trials lasted less than a year between 1692 & 1693, over 300 years ago, but they define Salem, and Salem is known widely for no other reason. As they point out the witch hunts in Europe went on for much longer, and hundreds of thousands of people were drowned, or burnt at the stake, but to no avail. Salem's witches, 19 of them, were hanged, and one man was crushed to death under heavy stones. We just need to find something from the past of Oakham, and we can redefine the place.
90 minutes very pleasant driving takes us through a progression of well know places, Ipswich, Gloucester, Salisbury, Malden, and then finally onto the Turnpike before a 7pm arrival.
Spend today: petrol (card); Salem Witch Museum (card)
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