10/15/2011

We wanted to stay one more night (the last night the campground was open) but we couldn’t. They had a water problem yesterday and had to turn it off so we had leave today. The park ranger told us we didn’t have to hurry so, we drove to Lexington and Concord. We went to the Minute Man National Historic Park in Concord. We started at the visitor center and watched a movie about the battle. This was the first battle of the American Revolution and where the phrase, “the shot heard around the world” originated.

We stopped at an old Cabin in the park. Also, the Orchard House where “Little Women”, was written by Louisa May Alcott. Just down the road was another house called the Wayside where the Alcotts also lived, as did Nathaniel Hawthorne. Then we drove to the North Bridge where the first shot took place between the British Regulars and the American Minute Men. At the bridge is a monument to the battle and a bronze statue of a Minute Man. This battle was won by the Minute Men and forced the British back to Boston. Paul Revere’s ride on this day warned the countryside that the British were advancing on Concord to disarm them. The British were forced back to Boston by the steadily accumulating patriots who eventually outnumbered them.

We left the park and drove to Walden Pond. We walked to the edge of the pond and also saw a replica of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin where he lived while he wrote his book, “Walden”. We returned to the Casita, hooked up and moved to Sandwich, Mass., between Plymouth and Cape Cod and got a site at Shawme-Crowell State Forest. Today is their last day open also. We will move again tomorrow. But first we will drive back up the road to Plymouth Rock.