Concord, MA - Aug 12

A sunny day with friends!

Since its early days, the town of Concord was known for its wealth. Every prominent figure who visited Boston would also visit Concord. The resources concentrated in Concord drew the attention of the British army in 1775; those resources were Minutemen munitions. 

We visited the Old Manse, where Reverend William Emerson - the "Patriot pastor" - once resided. He was known as the Patriot pastor because he preached that people had the divine right to freedom and that there should be no taxation without representation. In fact, the British army and Minuteman had converged on the grounds of the Old Manse in 1775.

All of the men in the Emerson family attended Harvard College, followed by Harvard Divinity School. The top Harvard student would often become the priest of Concord, though most of the Emerson family became priests in surrounding areas of Boston. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the grandson of William Emerson, did not want to follow in this tradition. While he became a priest, he spent his free time writing. After traveling to Europe to immerse himself in the transcendentalist community, he returned to the Old Manse where he wrote his famous book, Nature. 

Emerson writes that people perceive the world through their eyes and what goes through their eyes passes through their brains. He wishes that what people saw didn't become tinged with the prejudice that lurked in our brains. He wishes that he were a "transparent eyeball" that saw everyone as the same. 

Given that transcendentalists believed that everyone is created equal, it is no surprise that abolitionists were frequent visitors to the Emerson home. Frederick Douglass was one such visitor and the Old Manse still housed the piano that Douglass likely once played as a visitor. You should have seen my face when the tour guide invited me to play that old Steinway square grand piano. I've been to so many museums where I itched to touch the piano but either figured or was told that it wasn't allowed. It took me a while after getting up from the piano bench to process the experience.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife were also boarders in the Old Manse for a while. Sofia Peabody Hawthorne was a talented painter and writer, who had to give up her passion when she married Hawthorne. Entrenched in emotions, she etched some words about her last painting onto an Old Manse window using her diamond ring.

Look at the engraving in the top middle pane. Also British soldiers and Minuteman once stood on both sides of the wall in the background.

In addition to the preeminent figures, we also learned about the slaves and indentured servants who cooked the meals, upkept the house, and took care of the children. The tour was very thorough and informative.

As the tour guide gave us a rundown of Concord's history, a fluttering object dropped from a tree. I thought it was a very tiny bird, but upon later examination it was a giant hornet consuming a cicada.

We stopped by the Old North Bridge, where "the shot heard round the world" was fired and the American Revolutionary War began. Besides the plaques of commemoration, it's hard to imagine troops among the flower meadows and peaceful tree-shaded trails.

By the Old North Bridge

"They came three thousand miles and died

To keep the past upon its throne

Unheard beyond the ocean tide

Their English mother made her moan"

...how nice 

Next, we headed to Walden Pond where Emerson had gone to ponder and reflect. Walden Pond is a lake formed by melting glaciers (fun fact: there is no precise difference between a pond and a lake). After a nice lakeside lunch, we popped into the beautiful water. The temperature was perfect and the water was clear. I can see why open water swimmers come here often, though I mostly stayed near the beach since I didn't have a buoy. 

In addition to the water itself, there are many trails surrounding the pond. The sandy beach with kids splashing in inflatables and lifeguards blowing their whistles juxtaposed with wooded trails with rocky ground and fantastical mushrooms made Walden Pond feel like all of summer tied up in a neat package. Before heading to the train station, we visited the site of Henry David Thoreau's cabin next to the pond.

Next to the train station, we got some delicious, soft, and velvety ice cream at Bedford Farms Ice Cream. It was almost like soft serve but still nice and thick. I got the Dirty Cow flavor, which is black raspberry with Oreo. I like the refreshing fruitiness with the pops of chocolate wafer cookies. The Oreos didn't overpower the fruit like the chocolate did in Fiona's raspberry chip ice cream.

Look at how huge the small cone is!