Boston
Visited: Various times throughout 2016, 2017, and 2018
Boston is considered to be the birthplace of the American Revolution. Ties between the thirteen American colonies and Great Britain started to unravel in 1765. And Boston was at the forefront of years of protests and acts of rebellion to gain independence. Today visitors can tour many of the historic monuments and sites in downtown Boston and relieve an important piece of American history.
Cape Cod
Visited: June 2018 – 2 days
Cape Cod (often referred to as just “The Cape”) is a hooked-shaped peninsula off the eastern coast of Massachusetts. With its abundance of pristine sandy beaches jutting out into the Atlantic ocean, it’s no surprise that thousands of locals and tourists alike flock here every summer in an effort to beat the heat. With a heat advisory on the forecast for the weekend coupled with the fact that high-season was not quite in full-swing, the timing was just right to visit the Cape.
Martha’s Vineyard
Visited: October 2018 – 2 days
Martha’s Vineyard is an island located just south of Cape Cod. It is well known for being a (not so secret) hideaway for the rich and famous and for the filming of Jaws. So you know this island means business: in terms of money and great white sharks. There is always a tradeoff between visiting a popular destination in peak season versus shoulder (or off season). On one hand, the only way to enjoy the fabulous beaches in the Vineyard is during the summer months. But you’ll be sharing with swarms of other people. And if you visit during the shoulder season, temperatures are too cool to enjoy the water, but the roads, restaurants, and trails are noticeably quieter. We went with the quieter option and visited in October.
Salem
Visited: October 2016 – 1 day
Hocus Pocus is one of my all-time favourite movies. Ever. Set in the historic town of Salem, the movie follows a group of kids who inadvertently awake the Sanderson Sisters – a trio of witches who wreaked havoc hundreds of years ago by sucking the souls out of little children. The kids, along with the help of a talking cat and a friendly zombie named Billy, must defeat the witches by sunrise to prevent the sisters’ powers from fully being restored. We were pretty pumped to visit Salem (in October) to learn more about one of the largest cases of mass hysteria in the United States that triggered the infamous Salem witch trials in the late 1600s. And we were equally excited to go on a scavenger hunt for some of the locations used in filming Hocus Pocus.