A few days before we left we used the website airbnb.com to book a room in a house for only $80 each night. The owner of the house was very nice and has several rooms that she rents out. When we arrived we briefly chatted with a couple from Bulgaria that was staying there also. The house was less than a 5-minute walk to the T (Boston’s subway system) and only took about 10 minutes to get to downtown Boston.
Friday afternoon we walked around the Boston Common and Public Garden, which had dozens of people enjoying the beautiful weather. After seeing the Make Way for Ducklings statues and Cheers, we started the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail’s painted red line and sometimes brick took us around to places such as churches, Faneuil Hall, and Paul Revere’s House. For dinner we went to the Union Oyster House, which is one of my two must eat places on someone’s first trip to Boston. For desert we split a piece of the classic Boston Crème Pie.
Saturday morning we took the T to Cambridge and walked around Harvard for a little while. This is one part of the Boston area I am not too familiar with and we didn’t have a map, so we walked around for a bit until we found visitor center and picked up a map. After looking at the map we discovered that we saw most of campus except for the law school and residences. I thought the layout of the campus was very different compared to Yale’s.
We made our way back into the city and went to Collegefest, where several companies set up booths to promote products to college students by giving free samples or coupons. We all got a lot of free stuff and sampled stuff such as black water, which has something in it that turns it black and is supposed to have lots of nutrients. While I was hesitant to taste it, it ended up tasting just like water!
For a late lunch we went to Legal Seafoods, which is my other place Boston first-timers must visit. Their clam chowder is one of the best in the country. We had a few hours before the band We the Kings were to perform at Collegefest, so we walked along Newbury Street, which has restaurants and lots of stores. We saw an a capella group from Northeastern University performing, which we all thought was pretty cool!
Later that night we went to a sports bar and restaurant called, The Blarney Stone, a block from the house, so I could watch the UW Badger game against Nebraska. It had the most incredible pumpkin and mascarpone cheesecake!
Sunday we drove to Salem, about 45 minutes north of where we were staying. I had never been to Salem, but had learned about the witch trials in schools, so I was very excited to go. One of the first things I noticed was that it was much bigger than I was expecting. We stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up a walking tour map and learned that Salem has a painted red line that takes you to the major sites, just like the Freedom Trial in Boston. Once staring the walking tour I quickly realized that almost everyone was a tourist and those who weren’t were there to sell stuff (tours, souvenirs, etc.) to tourists. We didn’t want to spend money to go into the museums along the trail because we weren’t exactly sure what they were and if it would be worth the price of admission. My favorite stop on the tour was the cemetery, which had memorials for some of the people who were hung for being witches. Just days before, I had learned that one of my ancestors, Samuel Wardwell, was hung in Salem. I was very eager to find his memorial, which I luckily did after looking all over the cemetery! The tour also took us to a lighthouse, the smallest one I’ve ever seen, located in Salem Harbor, which was gorgeous. 
Salem had the best coffee shop I have been to since being here! It was called Jaho, and what I loved about it was that it had unique seasonal flavors. I had the white pumpkin mocha, which was SO GOOD! There was another drink I wish I could have tried, too (I don’t remember the name of it).
Before driving back to Westfield we stopped at a nearby beach, so Baylea and Britney could go in the ocean. Even though they water was freezing they were so excited and loved it. It was so much fun being a part of their weekend of firsts! Also this weekend, I decided that I think Boston would be a great place to live... if I can live with the snow!
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