We woke up this morning to a city in lockdown mode. Bombers on the loose (actually only one by the time we woke up) and a massive manhunt underway.

It turns out that the violent activities of last night and early this morning were taking place practically around the corner from the hotel. The street of the bombers’ apartment in Cambridge? We walked right by it yesterday. The MIT campus? We also walked by it yesterday.

It is incredibly surreal to be in a city this large that is essentially deserted. Kind of post-apocalyptic, really.

Our weekend was not going to be derailed by this craziness, but we needed a plan B for the day. So by majority vote we ended up in Salem, where centuries ago crazy people also murdered innocent victims. We spent the afternoon exploring the town. My favorite site by far was the cemetery, filled with the gravestones of poor souls who died in the 17th and 18th centuries.

We returned to Cambridge around 5 pm. And the streets were just as deserted then as they were when we left.

When the lockdown was finally lifted at 6 pm, we made our way to the North End for dinner, which remained open for business even before the city came alive again.

It’s hard to believe that a 19-year old kid managed to bring Boston to its knees for so many hours. Also hard to believe that he and his brother inflicted this much tragedy and chaos on innocent people.

I hope the authorities capture the teen alive. I’d like to be able to understand what in the hell caused him and his brother to commit such heinous crimes.