Concord, MA & Harvard

While we were in Massachusetts of course we had to drive to Concord and Lexington, the towns where the first battles of the Revolutionary War were fought. Concord is also the town where Louisa May Alcott lived, as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. I grew up on Little Women, and of course have read The Scarlet Letter, and read several other works by these authors, so it was so fascinating for me to learn that they were all very close neighbors, and are even buried very close to each other. This tiny little town is like the literary capital of America. We also drove by Harvard quickly and visited the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was a memorable day. We had to say goodbye to Nate's family, and especially Nate's brother who will be leaving soon to serve his mission. We are going to miss you Devin!

The Alcott Family Home 

The Wayside, Nathaniel Hawthorne's home

Lexington - first battle of the Revolutionary War

Saying goodbye to Devin

Thoreau's Cabin Site at Walden Pond, where he lived
for two years while writing Walden.

Wading at Walden.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.” 

Boston Temple

Home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and George Washington's
Headquarters during the Revolutionary War

Quick dinner at Wagamama's in Cambridge