Lexington and Concord and Louisa May Alcott

 

Friday we went to Lexington Battle Green – walked to each little memorial statue commemorating that important first skirmish between the Regulars and the colonists.  10 men (colonists) were killed and 8 wounded.  The Regulars lost 2 men.

Here in Lexington – the day was beautiful and sunny.

  the Green where the confrontation occurred.  Just a small triangular park which didn’t take long to walk around.  Right in the center of Lexington.

  In front of one of the memorials to the soldiers.

  near the green, was a path up to the old belfry, where the bell was rung to alert the town.  At the top was the belfry (locked) and some tall, stout rocks sticking out of the hilltop. 

  Here are the kids heading for the rocks, of course, while I stand back uncertainly, wondering whether or not I should:

a.  Tell them to be careful, but let them climb the rocks

b. Tell them to stay off those really fun and adventurous looking rocks and they would thank me later for keeping them safe.

Which do you think I did? 

 

 

  You guessed it! 

 

They then marched onto Concord for that first pivotal battle in the War for Independence – April 19, 1775. 

  In the middle of town, a nice memorial.  Then we went to the cemetery which climbed a very steep hill, dotted with headstones all over it from the base to the top.  Many of the headstones were marked with dates from the 1600’s and 1700’s. 

         contemplating lives lived…near the top.

  I don’t think the sign is visible, but this is the building where the colonists met on the morning of the Battle of Concord.  Later, the British used it for their meeting place.

 

  Concord is a beautiful little town.  We know, because we walked all around it looking for a bathroom. 

  This is the rise just above the Concord bridge where the actual battle took place.  There is a manse there still, that has a door with a bullet stuck in it from the fight!  The family watched from their windows.  Olivia likes for us take pictures of her in this stance.  We have one of her from the Christmas Tree Farm almost identical to this one.

  By now, Glenn’s friend had dropped him off so he could be with us part of the day.  They had finished work just after lunch and Boston is only about a 30 minute drive from Concord.  So – our last stop!  The Louisa May Alcott home.  (Little Women author)

It was an outstanding tour.  We learned an incredible amount and were able to sit on the carpet in her bedroom, and see the desk her dad made for her to write at.  There was original furniture and art by her youngest sister, May Alcott, whose work hung in the Louvre for a time.  I think we were here about an hour…

going in…

  We took this shot before we knew we weren’t supposed to – oops!  It is in May’s (Amy in LW) art studio in the house.  On the wall, are tracings she made of her friends and family while she lived there.  The art was discovered around the 1950’s and a special light was brought in from Harvard which showed the pencil lines.  The lines were traced carefully onto that plexi-glass sheet.

 

After leaving the Alcott Home, we realized that one of our favorite This Old House homes was very near, and decided to see if we could find it.  We drove about 15 minutes north and I spotted it as we passed it on the main road.  Of course, we had to turn around, get some shots.  Now, we could finally head back to Indiana!

there’s a little more in the middle – but you can kind of see what it’s like.

Restored barn on one end, middle section joining the other 2 story end.

Plimoth Plantation

Thursday, the kids and I went to Plimoth Plantation.  It was raining a little on our way there, but stopped about the time we arrived.  We had a great time going into the houses, talking to the “re-enactors”, who stayed in character the whole time, and just generally getting a better idea of what life was like for our Pilgrim forefathers.

Here are a few pictures..

  here we are entering the village – ready for any possibility of rain!

here is a barn..             

t  the vegetable gardens behind a house

typical of the outside of the houses…

 

most looked like this inside…

and then you turn to the left and see….

 

 

  the kitchen, of course!

 

That’s it!  Almost the same in every house, bed with curtains in one corner, maybe a wooden dresser like this.

..

possibly even a chicken.. 

a table and no more than 2 chairs

  and that glorious “kitchen”.  All had dirt floors, and usually a “broom”, made out of several sticks chopped evenly on the bottom and tied to a sturdy branch with reeds.  Some had a kind of loft upstairs, obtainable by a ladder of sorts, or just by pieces of wood nailed into the beam near an opening in the ceiling.  Here you can see a couple of houses, plus a large stack of cured wood, which was enough for one family for about a month’s needs.

 

After spending time in the town, we went into the Family Center and found a room with toys and period dress up!  Oh boy!  (thought the girls) 

Luke was taking a break at that point. 

Noah was fishing..

  

while the girls dressed up and set the table for a nice meal.

                        (notice that they saved a little money on Sophia’s skirt – the back is missing – hmmm.. or maybe it was an apron?)

   Isabella seems to have gotten the short end of the stick – I’m pretty sure this was a boy’s outfit that Alix modified with an apron to disguise the fact.

  I think it was a fitting end to our time at Plimoth Plantation!

more about Massachusetts

Since Glenn had to work Wednesday – Friday, the kids and I struck out on our own.

Wednesday, we saw Plimoth Rock – the Plimoth Rock.  It’s protected by a small stone canopy type structure, but we could look down at it, just a few feet away.

The date “1620” was stamped on the remaining part of the rock in the mid 1800’s.  Due to moving it a few times to a different locations, and the fact that people were able to chip away at it for souvenirs for a time, the rock is much smaller now than what it was in 1620. 

Next, we met some good friends, the Beveridges, for lunch on Cape Cod.  Their daughter, Kate is a close friend of ours here at home, and her parents live right there on Cape Cod.  We have met her mom, Melody, here at church several times, so we had a terrific time with them and their 17 month old granddaughter.  They took us to a fish hatchery where 4 types of trout are “raised”.  They even brought little ziploc bags and 4 quarters per child, so the kids could buy some fish food and feed the fish.  Talk about a feeding frenzy!!  The fish went crazy when the kids dropped them some food – splashing, pushing, shoving, whipping tails about.  It was hilarious and amazing!  

We got to see a huge barge go by on the Cape Cod Canal – yards away from where we stood on the dock. They took us to Sandyneck Beach, which has protected dunes, and is covered as far as the eye can see with beautiful white, gray, and speckled rocks.  We carried home a teeny amount of the rocks.   

Thanks, Beveridges!!

The last place we stopped on Cape Cod was the Train Bridge.  It looked especially beautiful in the mist – it was up, and unfortunately, there wasn’t a train in sight or we would have been able to see it lower, and watch the massive counterweights rise.  Still, we couldn’t be disappointed.  It was so neat!

Luke got a great picture

Then it was back to Boston to pick up Glenn from work!

Boston!

We spent Tuesday together on the Freedom Trail in downtown Boston.  It was amazing.  The kids were terrific and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

 

Here we are starting out in the Boston Commons.

The trees blossoming there were stunning – we saw lots of magnolia, cherry, redbud, and forsythia.

next to Paul Revere’s grave..

the Old Meeting House – we did a scavenger hunt here, provided for by the staff.  

standing in front of Paul Revere’s home after touring it.  There were several pieces of furniture there which belonged to the Revere family – and which they used while living there.

       Noah trying to lift this heavy chain.  Not quite..                                             

Look at the cobblestone street and imagine pushing strollers on that.  Ok, now imagine you live in the 1700’s and have to lift your skirts over the muddy streets that aren’t paved with cobblestones.  We didn’t complain.  (well, not too much anyway)

  There were actually 16 sites on the Trail – including 3 cemeteries (which are one of my favorite things to see anywhere), the USS Constitution, the State House, and the Bunker Hill monument, among others.  We saw all of them – it took us all day – and we loved it.  It was so good for the kids – and us – to see places, and the graves of people, who were so instrumentally used by God to secure our freedom.  They were brave and self-less and they had a vision for their children and their children’s children that they were willing to sacrifice their lives to attain.  We’ve read about them in books – but to see where they lived and worked made an impression on us that I hope we won’t soon forget. 

Easter and Boston

We had a wonderful time of worship at our church on Resurrection Lord’s Day. 

 

we even finished the girls’ and my dresses with time to spare (this year)

And we celebrated it in a way we never have before – away from our families.  Glenn had work in Boston, Wednesday – Friday last week, so we decided to make it a family field trip.  So after church, we came home for a simple ham and bread Easter lunch – just the 9 of us.  Afterwards, we left for Niagara Falls, Canada!  We arrived there around midnight on Sunday night, and got settled in our hotel in Canada.  Before we got ready for bed, though, we all stood at the window, gazing in wonder at the beautiful waterfalls tumbling and roaring – just a few hundred yards from our hotel‘

here’s how it looked at 1:00 am …

and here it is at about 7:00 in the morning. 

 

We visited the observation tower and the whirlpool (where the waters end up in a swirling mass after falling and then rushing downstream a bit. 

 

Next, we visited the Robert Moses Power Plant – which was fabulous and taught us all about how Canada and New York harness half of the water from Niagara and use it for energy.  It was really a neat place, and since we were literally the only people there, we had a great time.

Here’s Kate trying to muster up some power on her own – go Kate!!

 

From there, we continued on to Massachusetts- destination… Boston!  About 8-9 hours more of driving….