Just got back from Salem, MA. It was my first significant trip (3.5 hrs away) without my parents, which made it a thousand times better. Just me and my gf, who was the driving reason behind going (she loves the Halloween season).

In terms of things to do, Salem is great. Plenty of tours, museums, and other things to do. We went on a night tour that told us all about the witch trials of 1692, filling in a lot of the background info that tends to get left out (even in the 'official' witch museum). At one point when we were waiting for some stragglers to catch up, the guide asked if any of us were New Yorkers. My gf spoke up, and we were booed -- guess everyone's still a little sore over the ALCS (: The weather was decent and the crowds weren't too bad, though we did spend an hour just trying to find a parking spot on the first day.

This was my first experience driving in New England, and I hope it's my last. I was worried that my Mapquest directions and maps would be innaccurate or outdated, but they turned out to be spot-on perfect. Unfortunately, maps are no good when streets aren't labeled. We spent an hour trying to get to our hotel (which was 7 miles from Salem and on a major road) simply because we could never tell where the hell we were. Note to self: don't go back there without a GPS receiver.

I was long overdue for a parent-less vacation (I'm 22), but no money and lack of a dependable car made it pretty much impossible till now. I'm hoping to take some more mini-trips to Quebec City, Montreal, and maybe even NYC or Boston if I can find a reasonable way to get there (I'm not driving into the city!).

On one hand, it's the Yankees (who I hate) versus the Marlins (who I could care less about).

Pretty boring stuff.

On the other hand, the Marlins put up quite a fight against the Cubs, so it could get interesting, possibly even a 6- or 7-game series. Unfortunately, I still have to put my money on the Yankees.

If only Pedro was pulled in the 7th so I could be celebrating right now instead of moping.

Since my girlfriend is obsessed with Halloween, and we were looking to take a weekend off together, we settled on Salem, MA. After much (online) searching for an actual hotel (not bed 'n' breakfast) that didn't cost an arm and a leg, we're all set for a mid-October weekend. It'll be our first trip by ourselves (still in college, so we haven't had much opportunity) and I'm really looking forward to it.

Anybody ever been out to Salem during this time of year? There are plenty of events to keep us busy, but we're looking for suggestions on what things we should make sure we get to.

I got my first submission accepted today. Well, actually it was rejected, at least that's what my submission page says. However, it appeared just a couple hours after I submitted it, with two minor changes ("forwarding" changed to "joke forwarding", and the addition of the "return receipt" option). Oh well.

btw, this is my first JE, after spending the last while lurking around in other people's journals.