Revolutionaries

Lexington and Concord, MA are well know as the location where the Revolutionary War began.  This area is steeped in history.  But the Colonists were not the only revolutionaries to come from this area.

 We began our day on the Battle Green in Lexington.  Here the British Regulars and the Colonial Militia faced off for the first time.  It was meant to be a bloodless surrender of the colonists, but somebody fired a shot.  When the shooting ended, seven militia were dead, ten wounded, and the Red Coats were marching to Concord to capture the arms stored there by the colonist "Minute Men".  And so the War for Independence began.

 We visited as many historical sites as we could squeeze in today, beginning with a tour of the Buckman Tavern, an old inn on the green where the Militia gathered after Paul Revere arrived with news that "the Regulars are out".

 Next we walked the five or so blocks to the Hancock-Clark Parsonage, where Paul Revere arrived to tell Sam Adams and John Hancock that the Red Coats were on the move.  This was a particularly interesting tour as the house was full of the actual furnishings used then, and we learned a lot of family history.  It was John Hancock, a wealthy man, who was funding the Revolution.

 This building on the green is the first teachers school in this country.

 We had arranged to have lunch with my sisters before we went our separate ways, so we shot up to Concord, to the old Concord Inn, to meet for lunch.

 I had Yankee pot roast, of course.

 The War for Independence was not the only revolution started here.  Revolutionary thinking also found its home in Concord.  Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne all lived here, and died here, and are buried here on Author's Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

                                    Thoreau

                                         Louisa

                               Hawthorne

                                          Emerson

 The North Bridge on the Concord river was the scene of the second battle, which sent the Red Coats fleeing back down Battle Road to Boston.  And as they went they we ambushed by militia around every bend and from behind every stone wall.

 Right next to the bridge was this farm owned by the Emerson family. Yep, the revolutions get all mixed together in the Concord pot.  And Nathaniel Hawthorne lived here too for a while.

 Over at the National Park Headquarters, located in an old "summer home" mansion, I had to have a photo of the magnificent old Copper Beach trees. 

 As you know, Thoreau was an early environmentalist, and dare I say, Hippie?  For about a year and a half he lived in a "hut" on Walden Pond.

 This is a replica of his house.

 It was located down this path, on the pond shore.

 Emerson's house was practically across the street from the Alcotts.

 This is where Louisa wrote Little Women.

 Her father's school.

 And the house where she grew up, which was another place where Hawthorne also lived.

 It was even a small part of the Underground Railroad.

 We were headed back to Lexington, following the Battle Road.  The Hartwells witnessed it first hand from their tavern along the road.

 Back in Lexington, the Munroe Tavern became a field hospital for wounded and dying Red Coats.

 And by now we needed a little aid ourselves, which we found at the Lexington Starbucks.

We Are Family

This morning was slow but productive.  After meeting up with my siblings for breakfast, we got our laundry done and got a room up grade to a suite, since there were issues with our first room.


The rain continued to fall most of the day, but about 11:30 we ventured out seeking a place to walk and be entertained.  We struck out on antique shops but ended up at The Lowell National Historic Park.  

 This is the Boott Cotton Mill, part of a huge complex of textile mills separated by canals which supplied the water power to the mills during the Industrial Revolution.

 With hundreds of looms clacking away back in the day, this was a very noisy and dusty environment, much sanitized for the viewing public today.

It was just the diversion we needed and was educational too.


But the big even of the day was my niece Janelle's wedding.


Now I have to confess something you may be shocked to hear, but in the process of getting ready and dealing with the rain, I FORGOT MY CAMERA!


My sister Ilene was kind enough to let me borrow her little Nikon Coolpix, so at least I have something to post, but I'm afraid I can't really do the event justice.


The bridesmaids were all beautiful.

 Maid of Honor Laura was all smiles as she watched her sister exchange vows.

 It was a lovely and very personalized ceremony.


And then we were off to the reception.

 The Mother and Father of the bride joined us at Table 1.

 Janelle and Pete were front and center.  I had a chance to talk to Pete finally and we bonded immediately.  It may have something to do with Janelle mentioning that she heard I was the "liberal one" in the family.  Looks like we've added a Democrat!  Good!  I need a few more political allies in the clan.

 Cake and kisses.

 And lots of visiting and sharing.

My sisters and I are so glad we made the trip to be here.  We were the only members of the bride's family, since everyone in Don and Sheree's families lives on the west coast.  But as we said, "We are the sisters and we show up!"  We are family.  We needed to be there, and we feel very fortunate to have been able to represent the family.

Clan Gathering

We are in Chelmsford, Mass today for my niece Janelle's wedding.  She is the cutie on the right.


Last night we all gathered at my brother Don and sister-in-law Sheree's home for dinner and visiting.  It was a lively evening.  Sheree is in the middle with their son Brett.  Don is the tall guy on the left, with their daughter Laura.  My sisters Ilene and Laurie are the other two women in the group, along with Tom and Laurie's husband Arnie.


It's cold and raining hard here this morning, disappointing for the wedding day, but a message to me that it is a good day to slow down, get some laundry done, and take it easy.  That is after we meet up with the siblings for breakfast.


We're off, with rain jackets!

Last Day in Vermont

It has been a joy traveling the back roads of Vermont.


This morning we packed up and left our Best Western hotel in Bennington and set out to find a few more treasures before leaving the area.


The sun was shining, the breeze was mild, and the birds were singing as we located these final Vermont covered bridges just outside of town.


This is Henry Bridge, over the Wollomsac River.

 It leads to the Henry House and farm.

 Just up river is the Paper Mill Bridge, 

 and then the Silk Road Bridge.

 Before leaving Bennington, I wanted to make one more stop, at the  Bennington Museum, where they have a collection of Grandma Moses paintings.  We were there before it opened at 10:00.

 Grandma Moses grew up and later spent her older years at her family home just over the border in New York, about eight miles from Bennington.  This is her school house, where she and her children attended school.  It was moved to the museum site for preservation.

 I wasn't supposed to take photos inside this gallery, but I did sneak one photo of her painting table.

 And then we were off back across Vermont, which isn't very wide, through the Green Mountains once again.  We stopped at Willmington, where we found this wooden bowl factory.  Actually they made much more than bowls.

 Fittingly, we bought a cheese board and a little wooden covered bridge ornament.

 Lupine were blooming in the field behind the shop.

 The center of Willmington was badly damaged by the flooding from Hurricane Irene.  The water was above the windows on Main Street.  Much reconstruction is still in progress.

 A favorite local restaurant was destroyed.

 So were other businesses.

 This old house dating from the 1700's still stands, though, and is a quilting shop.

 We had purchased lunch food before setting out today and enjoyed a picnic her at a little park in Willmington.

 Over Hogback Mountain we stopped for the view.

Now we are in our hotel in Chelmsford.  Soon we will be going to my brother's house for dinner, where my other two sisters, who just flew in today, will be joining us.


Tomorrow is the wedding, in the evening.  In the morning we'll do laundry and have a slower day.  It's time to rest and enjoy family.