Weekend at Grace and Baldvin's, part 2
Saturday, Grace got up before the rest of us and secretly shopped for some more food for that evening's dinner. We had planned to all leave the house on a day trip by 10am, but it worked out to be just before noon that we left. We drove first into Boston to pick up Baldvin's sister Maria, and then the four of us drove up to Salem. We didn't go to the witch museums, which Grace said were kitschy, offensively opportunistic, and also with a dearth of actual, historical content. Instead, we walked along among the old houses and stopped at the national park that consists of the old Salem docks. They had a replica of the U.S.S. Friendship, a merchant vessel that circumnavigated the world 19 times but then was captured in the War of 1812. I wasn't particularly piqued by this ship, yet somehow the four of us managed to ask lots of questions from the park rangers who were all too happy to discuss anything beyond the most rote aspects of the history.
We then discovered that that weekend was the Salem seafood festival. So we walked another two miles, rather than take the shuttle, to get to the park where this festival was taking place. A lobster roll and some fried clams later, we were ready to head back, making pit stops along the way at the oldest candy shop in the US for some chocolates and at a French pasta shop, where we bought some Saint-Marcellin cheese (yes!) that we never ate because Grace forgot about it in her purse for more than 24 hours (boo!). We also stopped in a frozen yogurt place which happened to be playing the World Cup on a big screen and got to catch the last twenty minutes of the Brazil-Netherlands third place match. The Netherlands' final goal was pretty sweet.
Maria stayed for dinner, where we reheated the salmon from the previous day and also made shish kebabs with salmon, bacon, tomatoes and cucumber that was her secret purchase that morning. We also sautéed up some yellow squash from the previous day's market, and so even though we were four people, we had so much food that there was still a large hunk of salmon left. Cooking took us late into the night (we had gotten home late), so the four of us played only a few rounds of Guillotine, which is a fun card game.
We then discovered that that weekend was the Salem seafood festival. So we walked another two miles, rather than take the shuttle, to get to the park where this festival was taking place. A lobster roll and some fried clams later, we were ready to head back, making pit stops along the way at the oldest candy shop in the US for some chocolates and at a French pasta shop, where we bought some Saint-Marcellin cheese (yes!) that we never ate because Grace forgot about it in her purse for more than 24 hours (boo!). We also stopped in a frozen yogurt place which happened to be playing the World Cup on a big screen and got to catch the last twenty minutes of the Brazil-Netherlands third place match. The Netherlands' final goal was pretty sweet.
Maria stayed for dinner, where we reheated the salmon from the previous day and also made shish kebabs with salmon, bacon, tomatoes and cucumber that was her secret purchase that morning. We also sautéed up some yellow squash from the previous day's market, and so even though we were four people, we had so much food that there was still a large hunk of salmon left. Cooking took us late into the night (we had gotten home late), so the four of us played only a few rounds of Guillotine, which is a fun card game.