"Hocus Pocus", Our Friends Appear

Our drive to our next destination in Salem, Massachusetts, was eventful to say the least.  First, it was a long trip; we would be driving for over five hours, not including stops.  Second, we drove along New York and Massachusetts Highway 2, also known as the Taconic Trail in New York and the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts.  The road is two lanes, with sharp curves, and sometimes rather narrow.  Third, because of the heat, the altitude, and the constant braking while descending on the hills, our tire monitor warned us on two different occasions that the front tires were getting too hot.  This meant that we had to stop two different times to let the tires cool off.  We made the first stop at a grocery store and took advantage of the stop to get groceries and eat lunch.  We made the second stop at a scenic overlook park with a historic graveyard from the early 1800s.  Indeed, the positive thing about this drive is that we got to see some amazingly beautiful hills, valleys, and rushing rivers along the way.

We finally arrived at our destination in the late afternoon: Winter Island Park in Salem, Massachusetts.  Winter Island Park is situated on the waterfront of Salem Harbor and our RV site backed up to Salem Bay, which is adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean.  The RV sites are located in a large parking lot that also accommodates cars and boats.  Our RV site had a picnic table, but no fire pit or grill.  We had water and electric hookups, but no sewer hookup, which meant that we would have to use the park’s shower facilities so we wouldn’t fill up the gray water tank.  

That evening, our friends Tommy and Don, who live in Salem, came to tour the RV, and brought us dinner.  Tim met Don over 30 years ago when they were both in the Turtle Creek Chorale in Dallas, Texas.  Separately, Pat met Tommy in Dallas through a mutual friend almost 30 years ago.  Tim and Don knew each other before Don and Tommy started dating, and Pat and Tommy knew each other before Tim and Pat started dating.  So, there is a lot of history there; including history before either couple started dating.  This makes for interesting conversation.  Tommy and Don stayed with us at the RV until late in the evening so we could have an opportunity to chat, just the four of us, before Don had to leave town on business.

The next day, Tommy and Don picked us up early afternoon and drove us to their new house for a tour.  We had visited Tommy and Don in Salem and stayed with them at their previous home before they moved to Iowa for a few years.  When they returned to Salem, they purchased a new home.  While at Tommy and Don’s home, we did some laundry, and Tommy took us to the grocery store and liquor store.  That evening, we ate dinner at a restaurant called Barnacle in nearby Marblehead, Massachusetts.  Tim had shrimp scampi, while Pat had baked stuffed jumbo shrimp.  

Later that evening, we went to the home of our friends Greg and Jimmy for a Tiki Party.  Greg and Jimmy have been friends with Tommy and Don since Tommy and Don first lived in Salem.  We met Greg and Jimmy on a cruise many years ago when many of Tommy and Don’s Salem friends took the same cruise that Tommy and Don had invited us to take.  Since then, we have been on many cruises with Greg and Jimmy and other Salem friends of Tommy and Don’s.  In fact, Greg and Jimmy were on the cruise we took from Ft. Lauderdale this past February (2023).  At that time, when Greg and Jimmy found out that we would be traveling through Salem, they promised then that they would throw a party to welcome us – and they did!  We had a great time at the party and really appreciated that Greg and Jimmy put it all together!

The next day was our last full day in Salem, and we wanted to invite the whole Salem crew over to the RV for grilled burgers and hot dogs.  We ignored the park rule stating that “public consumption of alcohol is prohibited” – oops. 

We laughed all afternoon with these wonderful guys: Tommy (Don left for a business trip), Greg, Jimmy, Paul, Shawn, Bob & Bob, Jim & Jim, and James.  These are all great guys, and we are lucky to call them friends.  We hope to have many more cruises and other parties with these guys.   

That evening, we cleaned, relaxed, and went to bed early since we would be leaving early the next morning.  We also noticed a small water leak on the bathroom floor near the corner where the sink meets the shower and wondered what was causing it.  We had many theories.  More to come in a future blog entry on the bathroom water leak mystery.

Review of Winter Island Park

Winter Island Park is owned and managed by the historic city of Salem, Massachusetts. It is situated on the waterfront of Salem Harbor, a short distance from the downtown area.  It is the closest campground to Boston, Massachusetts, on the North Shore. The campground offers 22 tent campsites and 28 RV campsites (eighteen 50-AMP and ten 30-AMP RV sites).  All RV sites have water and electrical hookups, but no sewer hookup (the park has an arrangement with the nearby Sewage Treatment Plant for campers to dump sewer for free).  Each RV site also has a picnic table, but no fire pit or grill.  Tent sites are equipped with a grill and picnic table, but no water or electricity.  The front gate locks at 10:00 p.m.; any cars returning after 10:00 p.m. can obtain a gate code before 10:00 p.m. or wait until 6:00 a.m. the following morning to enter.

Amenities include a public beach and a playground. There is also a bathroom/shower facility, which all campers must use since there are no sewer hookups.  We found the bathroom/shower facilities to have really muddy floors since it is also used by those utilizing the public beach.  Otherwise, the showers worked well and had hot water.  

In addition, Winter Island Park provides a number of recreational opportunities for the public including swimming, fishing, camping, and boating.  The Winter Island Office and Store provides basic camping necessities including snacks, drinks, and toiletries as well as Winter Island memorabilia such as T-shirts and sweatshirts.

We enjoyed the beautiful view of Salem Harbor that we had outside of our back window.  We also loved that the park was located close to downtown Salem, and it was not difficult to get an Uber or Lyft from the park (as our friend, Tommy, demonstrated when he decided to Uber to and from our RV site on the day we grilled).  Once in Salem, it is also easy to get a train to Boston.  For these reasons, we would consider returning to Winter Island Park if we find ourselves in Salem again.