I Put a Spell On You...

Monday morning, November 21, 2011 I woke up and took a short drive to Salem, MA. My first stop was the Witch Dungeon Museum.

It is on the site of the original Salem prison, but of course the original was torn down many, many years ago. But they had this stage where for an audience of one (me) they acted out part of the trials and then we moved downstairs where they had a replica of the prison cells. One man refused to say anything, so they couldn't convict and hang him. They then decided to put heavy rocks on him to force him to talk, he only said "more" and eventually he died from the rocks. CRAZY!

Click on the below pic to make it bigger and look carefully, its a woman in a cell barely wide enough for her and not even 5 feet tall! They also had to pay for their cell, food, and clothing so if they didn't have family support they starved or froze to death - a few, including a baby did.

Here's a painting of Gallows Hill, where 19 innocent hung.

All of this nonsense because of some stupid girls. In the Puritan faith, children weren't allowed to play and they got caught dancing and acting out the stories from their African maid in the woods. Witches were the perfect excuse to get to act out and get all the attention they hadn't been receiving. Stupid girls, yes I said it.

This was just a super funny set-up, again click on the picture to make it bigger and notice the blood spewing from the guy just punched. So funny looking! This represents when the girls described some tall guy all in black and everyone thought it was this guy (in chains) and townspeople went to pick him up.

This is right on main street, I thought it was hilarious! In case you didn't know its from the old tv show Bewitched.

The entire epidemic lasted for 16 months, what finally ended it was the fact that the governor's wife was accused of being a witch. The governor looked at the trials and found all the people had been convicted on spectral evidence - evidence that only the girls could see, feel, hear and not physical evidence. Spectral evidence was disallowed and the remaining people were let go. Below is part of the memorial for all those innocent people who died, in a such a sad, tragic hysteria.

On the water's edge is The House of the Seven Gables, the namesake of Nathaniel Hawthorne's book of the same name.

I then left Salem and headed to Concord, NH - the capitol. It was fairly small in comparison to others I've seen, but it was still elegant. And personal side note: I don't think capitols should be as crazy huge as they are, save some money.

This note was in the Senate guest balcony, I found it quite humorous.

 Here is the Senate Chamber. I also saw the House Chamber but it was pretty plain and there I actually cut across the room to try and get a picture. It had a sign and rope that said not to, but nobody was around and I wanted to get on the other side of the building without having to go downstairs and around. I felt quite adventurous unhooking the rope and crossing and nobody saw me :)

 After that quick stop, it was onto Cape Elizabeth, ME. If you've read my other posts or just even the title you probably realized I'm quite in love with my name. And I really wanted to see a lighthouse and I found a great one in a little old place called Cape Elizabeth, how perfect!

I got there right before the park closed and with still a little bit of light. How quaint and beautiful. I think I want to move into this lighthouse.

 The shore and the light was so peaceful, especially since the place was practically empty.

 Lighthouses are just pretty.

 After the very peaceful and happy moment and watching the stars come out over the ocean, I headed to find somewhere to have some good seafood. I was in Portland, Maine for goodness sake. I used the Yelp App on my phone and went into south Portland, only to find the restaurant closed on Mondays, what the heck! Then I found another one back in Cape Elizabeth that also had rave reviews, so I drove out there just to find it completely shut down. I headed to a third place in downtown Portland, this time it was a store, not a restaurant and closed for the night. But there was a place down the street that looked cute and had a lobster dinner special. Gilbert's Chowder Shop, one great find!
I love clam chowder and it having chowder in the name, I had to have some and OH MY GOODNESS!!! DELISH!!!

 This restaurant was right on a wharf and all sea decor-ed, it was really cute.

I love this sailor!

 My lobster, cole slaw, and fries. ALL of it YUUUUMMMY!!! The fries were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and perfectly seasoned. The cole slaw had a great zesty flavor and wasn't just cabbage and mayonaise. And the lobster, fresh and delicious. I finished it all and was sooo stuffed.

I had one more stop before headed to my motel - Augusta, ME, just a short drive from Portland and the capitol of Maine.

 It was only around 7:30 but it was sooo dark, a thicker darkness than I'm used to. And the streets were EMPTY, nobody was out, it felt so strange to me. PS I love the windows in the dome.

Then I drove to the Royalty Inn in Gorham, NH right at the top of the White Mountain National Forest. I totally recommend this place, its a great location, a lot around. Indoor and outdoor pool, arcade, spa and great rooms. There is an amusement park not far away and little antique places and hiking and waterfalls. I didn't actually go do any of these because I didn't have the time. But I would if I ever go back. As for me, I was just happy to be climbing into bed.