A Staycation to Write Home About

In 2009 the Merriam-Webster dictionary added the term "staycation, defining the word as "a vacation spent at home or nearby". In this summer of recession, many are opting to stay home by the pool or the beach rather than take an expensive vacation. We sometimes forget that some of the most beautiful and interesting places are less than an hour's drive away.

This past weekend I took my family on a "daycation" (okay a day trip) to Salem. Breaking free from our South Shore cocoon, we figured we'd see what that other shore had to offer. My last trip to Salem was almost ten years ago. My sisters were visiting from out of town and we thought it would be fun to check out one of the haunted house attractions (with my two-year-old in tow). Chasing after my son as he fled the premises was not one of my finer parenting moments, and so I hadn't been back to Salem since.

Now that my children are eight and eleven, Salem seemed a more manageable expedition. We began our day at the Peabody-Essex museum. The admission fee for adults was seriously discounted (thanks to a pass from The John Curtis Library) and our kids were free. Our first stop in the museum was an incredible exhibit called Trash Menagerie. The exhibit featured a variety of animals, insects, fish and other creatures made from recycled trash and other found objects. The rabbit made from cigarette filters and an insect made from Singer sewing machine parts fascinated my kids. With lots of hands-on activities, this was the perfect way to start our visit.

Our next stop was the Yin Yu Tang house, a 200-year old Chinese house that was dismantled, shipped and completely rebuilt inside the museum. Stepping across the threshold was like stepping back in time, and the free self-guided audio tour gave us a wealth of facts about what it was like living in such a home in China. My kids loved the koi fish but were less than thrilled to learn that the children of the house were the ones who emptied the various chamber pots.

After our tour of Yin Yu Tang, we wandered through the rest of the museum, viewing everything from photographs of surfers to figureheads from old sailing ships to a wedding dress made entirely of seashells. When my younger son accidentally triggered an alarm, we decided it was a good time to leave and have our lunch.

We timed our visit perfectly as the town common was the site of the Salem Culture Fest, a gathering of artists, artisans, musicians and other unusual vendors. With the smell of patchouli wafting past, we sat on the grass, listening to music and eating our picnic lunch. At one point, a group of adults and children set up a tent nearby, carrying armloads of gauzy, brightly colored scarves. We assumed they were vendors preparing to sell their wares, but then everyone in the group grabbed a scarf in each hand and began swaying and waving them in unison. Interpretive dance? Religious cult? Whatever they were, it was our cu e to finish lunch and move on.

After lunch we wandered down to the waterfront, stopping briefly at Crow Haven Corner, the oldest Witch shop in Salem (more patchouli, lots of candles and a Chihuahua at the front counter greeting customers). We worked up a sweat walking out to the small, square lighthouse on Derby Wharf, so the kids cooled down with enormous ice cream cones from a nearby cafe. Passing by the Witch Trials Memorial we eavesdropped on a tour guide's description of the panic and hysteria that gripped Salem in 1692 and cost twenty men and women their lives.

As we walked back to our car at the end of the day, the kids caught glimpses of the Pirate museum, the Wax museum and several other attractions we hadn't had time to see. "Can we please come back to Salem again soon?" they pleaded as we headed for the highway. My husband and I exchanged a satisfied grin. Our daycation to Salem, Witch Capital of the World, was a "wicked" success.