Is taking too much time off a concern for you? Is that the reason why you limit your vacations to once a year, if that? I’ve definitely been there. This is a major deal breaker for many people when it comes to getting away and planning a trip. But trips don’t have to be weeks long in order for you to feel fulfilled in your travel journeys. I’ve taken several long weekends in multiple places including both cities and beaches that were fun, memorable, and left me feeling fulfilled and satisfied.
Cities are filled with history, culture, architecture, and of course, great food. If you really love history and want to take a trip filled with museum visits, a city adventure is the way to go. For me personally, I visit cities for the tourist activities and definitely for a great meal. One of my favorite long weekends was spent in Salem, MA.
Salem was a girls trip for myself and my two in-laws, and we had a wonderful time. We booked a two bedroom Airbnb in Lynn, MA which was $70 per night, and was located just a ten minute walk from the train station. With routes to both Boston and Salem, we found this location to be pristine, as we never had to drive anywhere ourselves. After driving up (about a 5 hour trip from South Jersey) we passed some time by food shopping for the weekend and enjoying some views of the lighthouse at Winter Island Park. That night we made dinner, watched TV, and got ourselves rested for a fun weekend.
We spent our first full day in Boston, where we walked the city streets, admired the architecture of the old city, and got some lunch. We stopped at Caffe Dello Sport, a little Italian Café with the most delicious café mocha and prosciutto sandwich, and from there went next door to the famous “Mike’s Pastry” to take home at least a dozen of their mouthwatering cannoli’s. Unfortunately due to the time of year (we visited in February) and the Coronavirus pandemic, we were unable to visit some of the historic museums such as the “Boston Tea Party” museum, however, we did walk past the Paul Revere House which was very neat.
Our next day was spent in Salem, the city of witches. First we went to the famous Salem Witch Museum to hear the stories of the many people who’d been falsely accused of witchcraft. We also walked through the Salem Witch Trial Memorial and took a tour inside the Witch House (the actual home of a judge during the witch trials). After our museum visits, we walked throughout the city where we found several unique shops filled with spiritual items, souvenirs, and many other trinkets. If visiting Salem, I also highly recommend ordering takeout from Spitfire Tacos. We had their fish and pork tacos on our visit, and they were easily the best tacos we’ve ever tasted. With its’ gruesome history and unique shops, Salem definitely became my favorite day of this weekend trip.
On the last day, we took a short drive to the beach located right in Lynn and enjoyed a nice stroll among the sand. We then went for lunch at a taco spot in Boston (because Spitfire Tacos is closed on Sundays, WAHHH) and returned to Mike’s Pastry to bring some treats back home with us.
To wrap things up, our trip lasted 4 days and 3 nights which included the 10 hour round trip of travel, and we were able to accomplish a lot of fun things. If you’re from the East Coast and want a drive-able weekend away, I definitely recommend taking a visit to Massachusetts, and check out some of the links below to some of my favorite stops!
https://www.caffedellosport.net/
https://facebook.com/Bewitchedinsalem
Adventure Tips and Sips 