HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I can’t believe my last post was on the 4th of July!  Time always has a way of escaping me.  Sigh…but, I’m back now with a new post featuring the classic and classy Sam Edelman Hazel black patent pumps.  Aren’t they so sexy?!  Of course, I am wearing torturedSoles non-slip pads to keep my narrow heels in the pumps.  🙂

I’ve been traveling A LOT this year.  That’s part of the reason why I’ve been absent from the blog.  However, being the paranormal enthusiast that I am, I could not miss posting for Halloween.  I’ve had such a fun month!  It started with a girls trip to Salem, MA with my two besties:  my childhood Forever BFF, Tammy, and my college BFF, Packy.  We had a bonus friend, Beatriz, who is Packy’s friend from her neighborhood.  I was really excited about this trip because I’ve always been interested in the witch trials of 1692.  During the hysteria, 19 people were found guilty of witchcraft and executed by hanging.  The 20th victim was a man named Giles Corey.  Corey was pressed (crushed) to death over three days because he refused to enter a plea.  

Today, Salem’s Puritan past remains in the past.  It is now an eclectic town with a festive atmosphere.  It reminded me a little of New Orleans (minus the public drinking) with throngs of people wandering the historic district and browsing the mom and pop shops, many of which were witch and occult shops.  Spooky!  I remember asking where the “normal” souvenir shops were.

Can you spot, Tammy, Beatriz, and Packy??? 😉

We ran into many spooky characters!

We took a day tour our first day in Salem.  Our guide was wonderful and gave us a great intro to Salem’s history as well as other notable facts.  I quickly learned much of Hocus Pocus was filmed there.  I’ve never seen Hocus Pocus, but it is now on my list of movies to watch.  Several episodes of Bewitched were filmed in Salem too!  There is a statue of Elizabeth Montgomery across from the Gulu-Gulu Cafe. 

Beatriz took this capture of me with my besties at the Bewitched statue on our last night in Salem. Packy couldn’t resist buying a witch hat. Lol!

We had a night cap at the Gulu-Gulu Cafe. Beatriz had wine while, Packy, Tammy, and I had sweets. I couldn’t resist a chocolate fix. Some random guy photo bombed this shot!

The next day we did more tours and also some shopping.  It’s funny because when I’m a tourist, my mind is all about doing as much as I can in a day.  So much so, I rarely fit in eating at appropriate times in our itinerary.  Tammy and Packy know this about me and will tell me when they need to eat.  Beatrize got a crash course on my high energy go, go, go mentality combined with my neglectful eating habits and brought snacks to carry her over until meal time.  Lol! 

The Witch House tour was sold out the whole time we were in Salem. I was really bummed, but it gives me a reason to go back. :).  It has direct ties to the witch trials because it was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin.

This is the closest Tammy and I could get to the house.

We did get tix to the Witch Dungeon Museum. This tour gave us a re-enactment of a witch trial + we got to tour a replica dungeon. I love Packy’s expression. She’s not too happy that we are being led to the dungeons!

The last day we were there, we did more shopping and then left the main historic district in search of Proctor’s Ledge, site of witch hangings.

Tammy loves animals and furry friends tend to gravitate towards her no matter what city we are in. This little one did not want to leave Tammy’s side.

Locating Proctor’s Ledge Memorial was challenging.  Waze insisted we were there, but we could not find it.  We drove in circles before asking for help.  I saw a couple facility guys and called out to them.  They didn’t speak English and my Spanish is very broken.  So, what came out of my mouth was gibberish…”donde (where) bruja (witch)?  Que (what)?  No comprendo (I don’t understand).  The men looked at me confused and I kept repeating, “bruja, bruja…”  Meanwhile, Tammy is trying very hard not to laugh.  Then, I realize we had a fluent Spanish speaker in the car:   Beatriz!  Tammy nudged her to speak to the men.  She did and we finally found it. 

The tree in the middle represents the hanging tree. The names of all 19 victims are etched in stone. Sarah Good was the first person to be executed by hanging.

I would love to go back to Salem and see the sites I missed, like The Witch House and the cemeteries.

Moving on, the rest of Ghostober was spent visiting Halloween attractions.  It’s an annual tradition for me and Packy.  This year, her son, Tristan, is 12 and old enough to come with us.  He brought his friend, Cameron.  They were concerned there would be monsters popping out of nowhere and chasing them.  We said, “Yes, that’s something to be concerned about…”  Lol!  Field of Screams MD was a perfect initiation for Tristan and Cameron.  Though, Packy and I were disappointed that it wasn’t as scary as previous years.  Despite, the boys did great and we will be in search of something scarier next year.  😉

Cameron didn’t get the memo to look scared! LOL!

Last week I was in NC babysitting my brother’s three kids.  My oldest Godson, Andrew, is now 15 years old and towers over me.  I had been promising to take him to one of these Halloween attractions and made good on that promise last Friday.  We invited his friend, Palmer, to join us.  Like Tristan and Cameron, Andrew and Palmer have never been to one of these attractions.  When we got to The 13th Acre, we walked around a bit, played games, and I got the boys refreshments before we got in line.  They too were asking questions about what would happen.  I didn’t want to give away too much and when it was our turn, I put myself in the middle of them grabbing each of their arm to their annoyance.  Haha!  It was fun, but Andrew would not admit he was a little scared.  He was!  Even Palmer admitted some parts scared him.  I could feel both boys freeze and jump at different parts of the trail.  Absolutely expected and they survived!  And, yes, I got scared at certain parts too.  The boys didn’t really scream, but I had no problem screaming.  LOL! 

Andrew (right side) is almost 6 feet and Palmer tower over me!

These pics featuring the Sam Edelman Hazel stiletto heels were shot at the Indian Head Rail Trail in Southern Maryland.  It’s a great go-to spot when we want to stay local.  

Have a safe Halloween!  Thank you so much for being so patient with me.  Lizzy’s Latest will be back soon with a new post!

Style with a Smile!

XoXo,

Lizzy