For those hearty travelers that made the trip the weather was certainly on our side. What a thrill it was to be on the open road with a string of Vettes laid out like a windy snake in front of me. The ride to Salem took less than an hour and was uneventful other than the constant swerving by the gawking drivers in front of us trying to get a better look at America's best heading down the road at an 80 MPH + plus pace set by Bob F. Our Daniel Boone like navigator led us right to the gracious Hawthorne Hotel in downtown Salem to take advantage of the free parking. I'd like to thank the hotel for allowing us to park at their best rate (free) as we visited the Salem Witch Museum located right across the street from the hotel. The museum tour was lovely and it seemed October was the month to view its offering. The museum has static life size figures which are highlighted in scenes from the witch trial era. It gives one pause to think how close we could be to acting nationally at any time. The figure with the glowing red eyes did remind me of Hutch when he was an active duty prison guard. Do you think he's old enough to have been at the trials in Salem?
After about a 45 minute show we took the short walk back to the hotel for brunch. This hotel is amongst the leaders in the current trend of older boutique lodging restored to the utmost. It was just lovely, just as one might imagine it to be in its previous glory days; fine wood trim, beautiful doorways and plenty of glass. Oh, the food! Six chefs did their best to keep us happy but we just couldn't find what we liked so we kept going back for more hoping to get hold of that one special item for which we were looking. After many trips to fill our plates we called a truce and surrendered. Did we need to walk?
Salem is America's Halloween home town. The town was decorated to the hilt. Corn stalks, witch hats, and broom sticks were everywhere to be seen. The people were in costume including their pets. Everywhere you walked people were out celebrating this great town. From the harbor to downtown there were loads of revelers just out having a great time. Our walk was pleasant as it could be and certainly burned off 100 or so of the 6,000 calories we consumed. Thanks to all who made the day so wonderful.----- Alan Factor
