Wicked Cold Out on the Peeah

We covered a lot of ground today. Well, actually, not so much ground, but lots of historic places. We left our hotel in Chelsea and drove north to Marblehead--exactly what you would imagine when someone talks about a small New England town. The streets were narrow, crooked, and hilly and led to dead ends around every corner. There were Cape Cod houses and Victorians, three-story-tall condos in every color. Parts of Front Street led to sweeping views of Massachusetts Bay with Boston in the far distance--very pretty. From there we went to Salem. We didn't spend much time there. It was either almost non-existent or completely commericalized. We knew we didn't want to spend too much time there anyway (no witch jokes or anything). From Salem we visited the House of Seven Gables, the inspiration for the novel of the same name written by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Tim lead the way as we "marched" the Battle Trail from Lexington to Concord. Intertwined on the Battle Trail are many authors' homes. Thoreau, Emerson, Alcott, and Hawthorne all lived in the Lexington-Concord area. We started at Walden Pond, walking to the spot where Thoreau's cabin stood. While I don't worship nature, I can see God's hand in the creation of the earth, and I can agree with Thoreau's wish to live a simplified life.

The actual Battle Trail started at the North Bridge, north of Concord. This is site of "the shot heard 'round the world." The British had come out to Lexington to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams and to destroy gunpowder and munitions in Concord. They thought this would be a easy mission with no resistance. Little did they know that three horsemen and a motley band of ragtag soldiers known as the Minutemen had another idea in mind. Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott were the actual men who warned that the British were coming. Thousands of soldiers came to fight for freedom against the "Lobsterbacks." Along this trail, Minutemen pushed the British 16 miles in a three hour march back to Boston. We followed the trail back to Lexington, along which the British were constantly harrassed by the Minutemen. We also stopped at the exact point where Paul Revere was captured by British officers.

When we got back to Lexington, we headed down the coast to Cape Cod. We found a cute little inn with an innkeeper couple who quickly led us to a great little seafood spot within walking distance of our place. I just can't get enough when it's good...and it's good! Tim and I both ordered the seafood platter again! The innkeepers were more than helpful in getting us to a beautiful beach/marsh from which to watch a sunset--ahhhh. Tomorrow we will spend a few hours apiece on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard...until tomorrow.