Embarking with Bear and Roger: About That New England, Part I (May 11

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from New England. We have spent this week in the Concord / Lexington area of Massachusetts, as well as Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.

We left Hyde Park, New York last Sunday morning, following the Hudson River north to Interstates 80 and then 95. We travelled along I-95, skirting the Boston area and took MA-3 to Bedford. Hanscom Air Force Base is located in the Bedford area and it was here that we stayed for the week.

Massachusetts welcomes us!

We spent our time in the Concord, Bedford and Lexington area relearning: 1. early American history and 2. visiting the haunts of mid-nineteenth century writers.

With a beautiful Sunday and Monday, we got to see old friends (Donna and Kent from Pentagon days) and take a bike ride along the Minuteman Trail. This biking trail runs from Bedford to Lexington.

Roger riding The Minuteman Trail.

What a gorgeous day for the ride.

Near Cambridge we stopped to take a pic of this swan in a pond.

On Tuesday we visited The Minuteman National Historical Park near Concord. After a movie about April 19, 1775 we drove along the road that was the sight of the first skirmishes, of what would become, the Revolutionary War. History came alive for us as we relearned the significant events occurring between Lexington and Concord.

Roger reads the plaque at the spot where Paul Revere was captured by the British.

The North Bridge

This was where "the shot heard round the world" comes. The British were at one end of the bridge attempting to cross into Concord, but were held back by the minutemen (men who were in a militia and could be ready with a moment's notice).

At one end of the bridge stands a monument commemorating the skirmish.

The Minuteman statue stands at the other end of the bridge.

Within sight of the North Bridge, stands the Old Manse. Ralph Waldo Emerson's grandfather was a local minister at the time of the skirmish. His family watched the Redcoats turned away by the minutemen from their upstairs bedroom.

Roger and I took a tour of the Old Manse. It was here that writers of the mid nineteenth century met. Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne were contemporaries.

On Thursday, we ventured into Lexington. It was on the Commons of Lexington that eight militiamen were killed.

Militiaman

Lexington Common

Buckman Tavern
We took a tour of this tavern because it was the place that the local militia assembled after being warned by Paul Revere that the Redcoats were coming.

As a Louisa Mae Alcott fan, I had to tour Orchard House, where the book, Little Women, was written.

Orchard House

We left Bedford on Friday morning and headed to Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. Here we got to see our friends, Mary Beth and Bill. They were great tour guides.