Living full time in our RV means we have plenty of down time so TV is a good thing to have around. For the six years we have been RVing (3 winters, 3 fulltime) until now we chose to “suck it up” and have been relying only on the antenna that is on the roof. It doesn’t always get the job done and was especially failing us here in New Hampshire, so we finally broke down and bought a Dish tailgater satellite dish. No more RV satellite envy! It worked great during our time visiting family in Keene. All we need is a clear view of the southern sky and we’re good to go.

Our New Tailgater

We left the Keene, NH, area to do some exploring of the New England area before we go south for the winter. We decided on Wakeda Campground, on the southeast corner of New Hampshire for two nights. This is a beautiful campground, many seasonal campers here, but they have room for transients like us too. The whole campground is in a forest, thousands of trees everywhere you look, its beautiful.  But guess, what… all those trees mean no clear view of the southern sky so no TV for the two nights we reserved.  I think we forgot that almost all of New England is a beautiful forest, that’s why the “leaf peepers” come here in droves to see the fall colors. Oh well..

Wakeda Campground, #D12

Salem, Massachusetts, was on our bucket list. So off we go to see it today. Ugh! Driving in New England is so stressful.. narrow streets that make no sense at all, and heavy traffic. After we found the parking ramp and the visitor center the first thing we did was find the red Salem Trolley. This was the best $14 each we have ever spent. The narrated tour brought us by many of the old and historic homes and places of interest. Very interesting. Taking pictures from the trolley was too difficult so no photos for you.

Salem Trolley

Downtown Salem, Massachusetts

On a corner near the Visitor Center is a Stickwork sculpture by Patrick Dougherty. constructed entirely from local saplings. Over the past 30 years Dougherty has created more than 260 Stickworks throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Stickwork by Patrick Dougherty

A memorial commemorates the 20 men and women who were put to death between June and September during the Salem Witch Trials. It is a small grassy area surrounded by a granite wall inset with an inscribed bench for each person that was killed.

The Salem Witch Trials Memorial

19 were hanged and one was pressed to death. None were burned at the stake like you might see in movies.

An Inscribed Bench for Each Accused “Witch”

The threshold to the memorial is inscribed with their protests of innocence.

The Salem Witch Trials Memorial

After the tour we returned to the Visitor Center and watched a movie about the history of the witch trials, how and why it began and how it ended. Very interesting. If you go, don’t miss the movie.

On the way back to the campground we drove through the Hampton Beach recreation area. It’s a long beautiful sandy beach, and a long row of shops and restaurants for all the beach goers. There were some people out, but it was pretty quiet. It’s a week day and school is in session.

Hampton Beach

A stop at Applecrest Farm Orchard for some fresh picked apples and peaches. They also grow blueberries, raspberries, and lots of other garden produce..and pumpkins, of course. Yum.

Applecrest Farm Orchards

• Lodging:  $48 total for two nights (Passport America 50% rate)
• Gasoline:  none
• Admission:  Trolley $28
• Admission:  Movie $6