After a well-deserved vacation in Salem, MA, Daisy and I have returned to Pittsburgh and are looking ahead to returning to our regular routines this week. We really would have rathered to have stayed longer. I know, lots of people say that about their vacations - wish it was longer - but for Daisy and I, our trips to Salem are not the regular vacation, it is a return to our home away from home.
I love Pittsburgh. I was born here, I grew up here, and other than the two years Daisy and I didn't live here, I've basically lived here all of my life. Honestly, I thought it was a given that I would never want to live out our lives and raise a family anywhere but in Pittsburgh. Then, we went to Salem for our honeymoon, and suddenly, a whole new possibility was presented to us.
We fell in love with Salem immediately, and Salem similarly seemed to love us. Everywhere we went, people assumed we were local to Salem and somehow they just hadn't met us yet. They were taken aback when we told them we were actually from Pennsylvania. And then they'd give us the "locals" discount at their shops anyhow and said how glad they were to meet us. It was both unexpected and delightful.
Life in Salem runs at a sharp contrast to life in Pittsburgh. Besides the absolutely beautiful waterfront areas and charming architecture, few people in Salem are ever in a hurry. People take their time through meals and in their day-to-day lives. If you've ever wanted to see what a truly relaxed lifestyle is like, absent of the angry shouting, cursing, or honking horns that may mark a visit to downtown Pittsburgh, visit Salem.
The size of Salem is comparable to Pittsburgh, but you will not find any skyscrapers, and only the occasional high-rise building. Traffic is usually very light and rarely noisy, in no small part to the fact that if you live near the downtown area of Salem, there are few locations you can't get to on foot or via bicycle. And, since Daisy and I prefer to walk versus drive, this was a very welcome surprise to us. That first trip to Salem, we discovered that we could park our vehicle at the hotel and then not move it again until it was time to head home. It was so easy to reduce our carbon footprint that week.
Since our honeymoon, we head to Salem every year, at the same time - the first week of October - and we branch out a little more and little more. We discover new things that we love about Salem, like the coffeehouse Jaho on Derby Street with its big windows and comfortable chairs that are perfect to sit in and people-watch while enjoying a cup of coffee or tea.
We discovered Jaho last year when it rained most of the week, and we needed a dry place to warm up for a bit. We also discovered that rain in Salem is nothing like the soaking rains in Pittsburgh - you often don't even need an umbrella, because it's usually not much more than a very determined mist. We didn't even mind that it rained through most of our stay last year. (Of course, this year, the rain tried to prove us wrong about Salem rain, and it tried to drown the city for just one night and very unkindly put many inhabitants' basements underwater.)
This year, we again visited a lot of our favorite haunts, like getting Indian food at Passage to India on Washington and lunch at Victoria Station on the Pickering Wharf (thanks to Paul for being our favorite server this year). We tried some new places, too, like Engine House Pizza, that we can add to our list of favorites. We took lots of walks along the wharf and through the Commons, and we mused about the possibility of staying for months at a time, although that may be a few years off still. And, this year, we were finally able to squeeze in a trip to the beach at Salem Willows Park.
As soon as I transfer them to my computer, I will post a couple of pictures from this year's trip. No doubt I will also pine here and there to return to Salem in future posts, especially as Daisy and I ease ourselves back into our usual grinds and routines. Try to bear with me.
Penn
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