I should start by saying that I find ships boring.

Not like, pirate ships or ghost ships or ships with a cool backstory and name.

And not in an I Hate Boats way.

Just kind of boring in general. Why, yes, that is a boat. Look at its stick things with the flappy flags and sails. My, I am impressed. Next?

So I figured this stop on our journey was going to involve a quick google search for nearby ice cream (which there is VERY nearby) while my family looked at, oh, I dont know, old docks and probably rope or petrified wood or something.

But this place was pretty cool. It was very casual- a gift store and some informational signs along a pier, and a neat old building where old timey people had to go pay taxes for all the fancy stuff they just shipped in.

Now this building is the best part, even though it sounded dull. The staff inside were very knowledgeable and seemed to enjoy recounting chapters in Salem's past such as The First Ever Elephant Shipped To Salem (also referred to as OMG When We Said Bring Us Something Exotic We Meant A Parrot Maybe) and Let's Hide The Eagle From The Dutch Or At Least Paint It Black So They Don't Want It So Much Anymore, among other classic historical tales.

The old timey rooms are still set up with Cute Old Timey Things, and the guides were great at explaining different jobs needed around the place and ways to exhort sea captains and evade taxes. They also had a wonderful and horrible list of all the Stuff Shipped In, including lots and lots of wildlife that should NOT be stored in a basement together.

Surprisingly fascinating!