Newton, Boston and Salem

Rhett and I had a fantastic time visiting our good friends in MA this past weekend.  Correction from a previous post- we got to cross off 3 new states on this one road trip! Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Hurrah!

Jackie and John live in an adorable town called Newton, which is about 10 miles outside of downtown Boston.  Rhett and I couldn't get over the quaintness of the town- this was our first time to New England, and it did not fail to live up to our expectations.  We walked along the Charles River, which is just a short walk from their house.

Charles River, Newton

Trail along the Charles River

Jackie and John

Rhettster and me

Beautiful fall foliage!

Every town around Boston has its own town center, very much like England's high streets. By the end of our visit, I'm sure Jackie and John were tired of hearing "this reminds me so much of London!" We said this A LOT, especially while walking in downtown Boston. 

I want this shirt.

On Friday night, we drove into Boston and had drinks at Mr. Dooley's Irish Pub, where there was a live one-man Irish band. This of course reminded me and Rhett of Ireland (see a trend here?). We also hit up Beantown Pub- I liked Mr. Dooley's better because of the atmosphere, but both had a great beer selection.

On Saturday, we spent most of the afternoon walking around the North End of Boston, hitting up some historical spots along the way. 

Paul Revere's home

They love this guy here!

"One if by land, two if by sea."

After Boston, we drove to Salem, MA.  Now, I'm not sure what I was expecting in Salem. The Salem witch trials are a fascinating subject to me, and I love the literary works of Nathaniel Hawthorne.  So I suppose I was somewhat expecting a bit of eerie spookiness in a quiet, haunted New England town.  Well, that's not what Salem is these days, at least not in mid-October.  The best words I can use are commercialized and hokey. However, we went on a ghost tour that was indeed very creepy at times, as we stood on no less than three burial grounds and saw the 3rd most haunted place in America (according to the tour guide). He left us a lot of info to speculate upon, though (Charles Dickens got the idea for "A Christmas Carol" from Nathaniel Hawthorne? Not convincing).  The four of us agreed that if you were to visit Salem in the dead of winter at night, it would probably be extremely creepy and you might even see a ghost or two.

Adorable house in Salem

Bewitched

So. Many. People

Haunted graveyard

We ended our visit Sunday with brunch and walking around Harvard Square.  There was a big regatta going on, so Cambridge was bustling with people and activity.  It was a gorgeous campus, and I'm excited to explore it more someday. I could have spent hours in the Harvard Book shop.

Harvard.  I was accepted here but chose to go to OU. (Ha)

Dear British and European friends: 375 years is actually a very long time in America!

Publishing friends: A book machine! Makes bound books in minutes.

Beautiful books

Gorgeous gift editions

Smart people studying

Jackie and I decided this building must be a secret society.

Fancy schmany mimosa in Hahvard

 Of course, most of the fun we had was hanging out with Jackie and John. We always have such a great time with them- we miss them so much! We're already planning another trip to hopefully see them in December, en route to a wedding in New Hampshire.