Day 2 found us taking a short ride down highway 2A toward Concord. This is historically referred to as the "great road". It is the path taken by Paul Revere (without the Raiders) and Dawes. I guess I forgot this tidbit of history-did you know that Revere was actually captured during his historic ride? and did you know that he didn't climb the belfry at the old North church and do the lanterns-it was a friend-he had to make the ride, he was on the town "safety" committee and delegated this job so he could warn the outlying townspeople-the Minutemen-there where actually 3 riders that night! More on Mr.Revere later.
First we went to the visitor's center and saw a short 20 minute award winning film about this historical event. Once we left there we toured the countryside to see the various memorials, statues and buildings. We went to the old tavern where they had costumed docents to explain the history and lifestyles of the day. We got the nickel tour and saw the muskets fired! We meandered along the road for about a mile just to get the feel of what it might have been like (my wife hates this part)! Then to make it up to her I relented an attended a tour of Mary Alcott's house which was where her and her siblings grew up and she wrote the book "Little Women". It was an excellent tour but a little to feminine for me! What i did learn was her sister was an excellent artist an while teaching abroad inspired a student and he eventually did several major pieces......like the Lincoln Memorial:) Also, it was fascinating to find out all the highly regarded authors that lived in this area: Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Alcott and others. It must have been something Friday nights at the local pub!
Next we travelled over to the North bridge where the first shots of the revolution occurred. What history, it actually felt eerie standing there!
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