Barnstable County

It was fortunate I set the alarm, because we were both sound asleep when it sounded. Sleeping in the room wasn’t completely easy due to the sound of people walking around upstairs, but it was nothing that earplugs couldn’t fix. Since we still haven’t acquired a taste for hotel coffee, we waited until we arrived in Salem before getting our caffeine fix. Fortunately coffee shops like those back home haven’t been difficult to find on this holiday!

Our tour guide in Salem was a local named April, who gave a good mix of humour and knowledge during the tour. Even though a large emphasis of the tour was about the Salem Witch Trials, it was interesting to learn about the city’s early history too. Some of the sights we saw included: the “Witch House”, which was owned by Jonathan Corwin, who was called upon to investigate the witchcraft accusations, and is the only existing structure tied to the Salem witch trials; the First Church in Salem which was built in 1836; Burying Point Cemetery, which is right next to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial; and Ropes Mansion, a Georgian Colonial mansion. But one of the coolest things was the “Bewitched” statue, featuring Elizabeth Montgomery’s character Samantha astride a broom and framed by a moon crescent.

Since we still had a long drive to Provincetown, we bought some sandwiches from the same coffee shop before heading off. I would’ve loved to have spent more time in Salem as it felt like we’d only scratched the surface, so hopefully someday we will get to visit again. We then headed south past Boston, which wasn’t as easy as we’d anticipated. Even outside of peak hour, traffic was horrible with a mass of cars fighting over a mishmash of lanes. A truck driver verbally abused us twice too!

We finally arrived in Plymouth, and it was a real treat. Known as “America’s hometown”, it was a beautiful seaside town, with plenty of English culture, like the red phone booths. We saw the famous Plymouth Rock (not very exciting!) and the replica of the Mayflower before continuing on our drive.

The drive to Provincetown was very relaxing through the Cape Cod area, and our Airbnb accommodation was not difficult to find. Our room is wonderfully large with a fair sized bathroom too. After unloading the car, we wandered down nearby Commercial Street to get into the atmosphere of the area. We ordered some corn chips and beer in a street side bar to people watch before getting some cheap Chinese food in a nearby food court. Since we’d been eating all day, we weren’t in the mood for much.

Provincetown weather is actually cooler than our last few destinations, so maybe autumn is finally coming. We may be changing our itinerary - we had planned to stay with friends Stephen and Woody after leaving Provincetown but their son has just been diagnosed with Covid. Since it’s a Thursday night, we decided to relax in our room for the evening.Read more