Great museum-i

Before I went north, a friend told me that I needed to see the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, said it was his favorite museum in the world, and this guy has seen a few museums. Established in what was once the premier port of the coast, the museum started from the miscellaneous treasures brought back by sailors and the seafaring culture of the place. For instance, they have a prime collection of maritime materials. One of the guards told me that he used to come to the museum when he was a kid and that it was like his grandmother's attic in those days. It's grown and become organized since then, though the salty stuff is still very important, with things like these figureheads from old ships. The buxom chick with the hypercleavage came from The Indian Princess.
There's also a lot of art, including a bunch of really nice Asian stuff that came back with sailors in the tea trade. Also, a lot of American Indian art, old and modern. Most of the modern stuff was of a predictable ironic tone, but these skateboards tickled me no end.