It all began with Nathaniel Hawthorne and his novel “The Scarlet Letter” which we had been reading in Honors Seminar 11. Honors is a difficult course where we read books and then discuss them, getting us ready for college. Mrs. Christine Arsenault, an English teacher at Monmouth Academy, brought us to Salem.

We had an early morning on October 20, leaving the school at 6:15 a.m. After nearly three hours on the bus, we entered Salem, Massachusetts. Our tour guide for the morning was Hazel, and she first brought us to The Friendship of Salem, a re-creation of a ship during Nathaniel Hawthorne’s time. After we toured the boat and played the part of ship crew, we headed off to the Custom’s House, where the beginning part of “The Scarlet Letter” takes place. We toured the Custom’s House, then we were off to the House of the Seven Gables, another novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. We ate our lunches, and waited until it was the Monmouth group’s turn to go through the house. We learned the origins of the novel, and some of the secret passageways through the house. We then quickly went through Hawthorne’s birthplace.

This next place was what we waited for all morning the oldest candy shop in America, “Ye Old Pepper Companie.” After a brief break to buy some sweets, we went to The Witch Dungeon Museum where we got a chance to walk through the recreation of what the accused witches were forced to live in.

The day had been running smoothly, and because of it, we got about an hour and a half of free time. We broke into groups of four and traveled the streets of Salem, staying close to the little shops near the common area.

After free time, we stopped at the witches memorial and graveyard to see some of the graves of people who were executed during this time. We then went to supper and headed home.

This experience really brought together our reading of “The Scarlet Letter.” We got to see in person some of the things that were mentioned in the book and we had a great time which makes learning fun.