Birthday in Salem: Saturday

The first leg of Birthday Weekend began on Friday. And after a very, very, very late start, we recommenced festivities on Saturday morning.

SATURDAY

Saturday the weather changed. We awoke to temperatures in the teens and icy cold wind gusts that would turn your coat hood inside out. But the good news was the ice sculptures had arrived! Apparently it was too warm for them to be displayed before and they had been at risk of melting. Global warming and all.

We had brunch at a lovely little diner called Red’s Sandwich Shop. I had a tuna melt because I’m a complete weirdo and it’s my favorite diner food upon which I judge the quality of the diner. And bottomless coffee because diner coffee served boiling hot in those super thick diner mugs is the best. There are no pictures because I was just that tired.

To kick off my actual birthday, we did the most Christina thing I could think of. We paid a visit to The Satanic Temple. And before you ask, no, I do not worship Satan. Neither does Mike. And nor does anyone at the Satanic Temple as a matter of fact. It’s used here as a symbol for rebelling against authoritarianism.

The Temple and Art Gallery is currently housed in a beautiful Victorian home which has been lovingly restored and decked out in true gothic splendor. Everything has been done with care and taste here. Not a whiff of the cheesy Hot Topic vibe you get from the Vampire Fang boutique downtown. The velvet flocked wallpaper and candelabra are simply stunning.

The ground floor offers a few small rooms of art gallery space, a lecture hall that also doubles for film screenings, a reading room, and a gift shop. There are rotating exhibitions.

As of now, it’s still newish and very tiny, but there are plans to expand to the second floor (currently offices) and make the whole venue more substantial. The centerpiece of the temple (and my main reason for visiting) is the infamous bronze Baphomet statue from Oklahoma City.

A few years ago, a statue of the Ten Commandments was placed on the Oklahoma state capitol grounds, which was a clear violation of the first amendment of the United States Constitution. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” So naturally, a group of concerned citizens lobbied for and installed a statue of another religion to be placed beside it, in the name of fairness. If the state is going to respect one religion, it should logically respect them all, equally.

Naturally that got all the conservative panties in a twist and now the statue lives here in Salem, where visitors may view it, photograph it, sit upon the lap of the statue, and take all the selfies they desire. There’s even been a marriage proposal there.

Naturally we staged our own photo shoot.

The mission of The Satanic Temple is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice, and be directed by the human conscience to undertake noble pursuits guided by the individual will.

You can read more about their tenets here. It’s quite inspiring.

After some raiding the gift shop for satan merch, we made our way back to the city center and strolled amongst the shops. Oak and Moss is a fantastic boutique filled with lush plants and all things green. Harrison’s Comics is the one-stop stop for all your comic book and pop culture needs. Mike adopted a miniature Darth Vader sculpture there.

Then there’s HausWitch, which I would describe as a magical, feminist-centric Anthropologie. The shop has a nice airy Soho loft vibe and it’s outfitted with candles, linens, aromatherapy oils, decorative throw blankets, herbal teas, artsy books, books on self-care and feminism, and a wide selection of reusable tote bags covered with empowering statements. I bought a moon pillow because I’m totally in a moon phase right now. Pun intended.

And if you only visit one witch shop in Salem, I highly recommend Coven’s Cottage.

This is where actual craft practitioners buy their supplies. Spell candles, resins, altar cloths, bones, and cast iron cauldrons. Even if you’re not a witch, visiting the shop feels like being transported back in time to a quaint 17th century European village wise woman’s home. Baskets of moss and peat hang from the ceilings everywhere, filled with dried herbs and flowers. Big long wooden tables covered in furs are heaped with oils, loose teas, salts, wood bundles, and balms. Soft heady incense drifts through the air. Bells tinkle somewhere unseen. It’s truly an experience.

After dragging my wares back to the room, we bothhad a much needed rest. This is a photo from a forth-coming series entitled Mike, Sleeping.

Once revitalized, we hit the streets once more and found some more ice sculptures.

In the mood for a bit of light refreshment, we walked over to Opus. Opus Underground is a fantastic venue for live music and burlesque. But while Mike had played downstairs, neither of us had ever been upstairs to the proper bar. Saturday night we rectified that with a round of pre-dinner drinks at the gloriously yellow glowing bar.

After a couple of ciders, I scrolled through a few restaurant apps looking for dinner ideas and couldn’t find anything appealing or without a massive wait time. So…we happily returned to The Olde Main Street Pub for a second visit. And we ordered the same meal as the previous night. I also added the smoked gouda and goat cheese fritters this time. They are divine, if you (like myself) identify as a cheese addict.          

After dinner, we strolled through the quiet streets…

…and stumbled upon more ice sculptures.

And after a time we wandered back up to our room and passed out into a deep, dreamless night.

Sunday is for sleeping in late and lazy brunches. We packed up and wandered over to the Fountain Place Restaurant for a mid-morning meal. I think Mike got something on the healthy side but my eyes stopped on the menu at “corned beef grilled cheese with home fries.” It was everything I had been missing but never knew I needed in my life.

And after that we hopped back in the car and headed home, trunk full of satan hoodies, spell candles, Star Wars figures, and a small bit of leftover cheese.