Today we engage with American History, Revolutionay Battle #1. After another nice breakfast at the Salem Inn, we drive to Concord to visit the Minute Man National Historic Park. After an uninteresting drive through the burbs north of Boston, we arrive at the Park. There are 3 main locations comprising the running battle that was Lexington and Concord. The earliest, Lexington Green, we will visit later. Next, the middle part was on the "Battle Road" from Lexington to Concord's North Bridge. Then there was the confrontation at the North Bridge (we visit this later), then the British retreat along the Battle Road as the Redcoats were harassed unmercifully by the Minute Men. We first stop in at the Battle Road's Visitor Center and take in an Excellent Presentation describing how the battle proceded.
We next walk along the actual road. A lot has changed in 250 years, but many of the historic sites on this road are noted, including the place where Paul Revere was arrested.
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| Paul Revere's Capture Site |
Returning to our car, we head into Concord proper in search of lunch. Where else would we eat but at The Colonial Inn? We each have a cup of Gazpacho. Amy has the Alcott Sandwich and Wayne has the Small Farmboard (cheese, meat, crackers and savory spreads). Happily sated, we stroll around Concord's Green then reboard the X3 to head to the North Bridge.
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| Concord's North Bridge (from the Colonial's side) |
The development of the Battle: 1) Redcoats march from Boston to Lexington in search of Guns and Ammunition to confiscate and/or destroy, 2) at Lexington Green, Redcoats storm past Colonials, leaving casualties & initiating conflict, 3) Redcoats march up the Battle Road to Concord, 4) at Concord's North Bridge, Redcoats seize the bridge, 5) Concord colonials, assembled on the northwest side of the bridge march down the hill in disciplined order, causing the Redcoats to panic. 6) the Redcoats, trying to regroup, retreat back down the Battle Road 7 miles to Lexington. We listen to the Park Ranger describe how the North Bridge Battle proceded. All very interesting. They take great pains to describe what we know and what we don't know about the actual events. The presentation is quite entertaining.
We get back in the X3 and we head south to see one more of the interesting sites around Concord.
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| Walden Pond |
It's a fine day, so we take the 1.5 mile walk around the Pond. How times have changed since H. D. Thoreau! After we leave the beach area to walk around the lake, we are in a narrow path about 5 feet wide with metal fencing on both sides, presumably to keep the deer at bay. There are signs warning hikers about avoiding tics and the dangers of Lyme Disease. Still, it is a lovely day and we enjoy the walk.
We head back to Salem and have a short rest before dinner. Tonight's locale is Italian: Bella Verona. Amy starts with the Aperol Spritz while Wayne has some Montepluciano. We share the Eggplant Napoleon for our starter. For the main, Amy has Tagliatelle Primavera while Wayne has the Linguine alle Delicie del Mare. We cap it off with Profiteroles & Cappuccino. A wonderful meal. New England continues to delight us with its excellent seafood. Amy's vegetables were also great. We have a nice stroll back to the Inn before retiring.
The next morning, we hope to tour some houses from the late 18th century, but we get the timing wrong; the one house open for showing has a tour in an hour. We don't want to wait that long, so we end up at Lexington Common. This is where the fighting all began (but only Colonials suffered casualties; the locals obeyed orders and held their fire). We definitely recommend a walking around the green, a detailed map is available in the Visitor Center. At the Center, we learn more about the battle and about the five ships in the US Navy that were named Lexington. There are interesting displays both inside the visitor center and in the gardens outside talking about them. One of the sites on the Green is The Buckman Tavern, gathering place of the Lexington Militia.
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| Buckman Tavern |
Back to Salem for lunch at Casa Tequila. Amy has the Fajitas and Wayne has the Enchilada Suizas. Very good, but too much food. We rest in the afternoon and for dinner visit the Brothers Taverna. Amy has the Grilled Salmon, Wayne has the Fish & Chips with a cup of chowder. Again, too much food.
In the morning, we bid "Adieu" to Salem and visit two sites on our way to our next stop. Orchard House was the family home of Louisa May Alcott. I didn't know that she was the daughter of one of the founders of the Transcendentalist movement and that she knew both Thoreau and Emerson. A well connected family!
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| Orchard House |
After immersing ourselves in mid-1800's New England, we drive to Essex. This small village was an important center of shipbuilding in the early Colonial/American centuries. Some 4,000 wooden ships were built here before steel took over. Before exploring the Shipbuilding Museum, we visit Woodman's of Essex, where the Fried Clam was created. For lunch we share one Platter, which is fried clams piled atop Onion Rings and French Fries. Yumm!
After lunch, we stop in at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. There are photos and artifacts here and our host tells delightful stories of ships and the sea. The yard contains many surviving vessels that give some idea of sailing at the time. Thoroughly entertaining!
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| Intricate Cabinet, built in the style... |
After a too-short stop in this little town, we get back in the car and head to our next stop, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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