Aaron and I got back from Massachusetts last night. We had the most wonderful time together seeing the sights and just enjoying one another's company. It has been a long time since I've been away without one of the kids. I really needed a break from Katie who seems to be attached at the hip and particularly needy lately. I sure felt bad leaving her, but boy was it nice!
We stayed at a hotel on Cape Cod in southern Massachusetts. It was right on the ocean - so beautiful! It is 3 hours later in Massachusetts, so it was somewhat late by the time we got there. We had dinner at a nice restaurant on the water and had some of the fresh Codfish from the ocean. YUM!
On Saturday, it was raining. And it was COLD! We ventured out anyway, and had a great time in Lexington and Concord. It was so fun to learn all about the Minutemen and the impact of the "Shot Heard Round The World". Aaron had never been there before, so I really enjoyed seeing him soak up the history and how much more it came to life for him. It came even more to life for me also. The anniversary of Paul Revere's famous ride is April 18-19. He left Boston the night of April 18, and on April 19 all of the Minutemen were called to action and flocked by the thousands to the road leading back to Boston as the tired Redcoats tried to flee.
We got to see part of a reenactment of Paul Revere's capture in Lincoln. I say part because it was raining so hard and we didn't have umbrellas, so we ended up leaving after following all of the reenacters to the spot where he was captured.
We also stopped by the Old Manse, a house whose back window looks right onto the bridge where the Minutemen and the British soldiers met and where the "Shot Heard Round the World" was made. It was the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson's grandfather and grandmother. His grandmother watched through the window at the confrontation at the bridge. Later, Ralph Waldo Emerson lived in the house for about a year after his wife died and he had come back from being abroad for a couple of years. Nathaniel Hawthorne and his bride lived in the house for 3 years. They had their first baby there. Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife took her diamond ring while she lived in the house and wrote messages on the window panes. The messages are still there today.
We saw the bridge from a distance, but it was too cold and windy to go all the way up to it.
Walden pond was our next stop, and I saw a recreation of Henry David Thoreau's cabin. Aaron walked/ran all the way around the pond and saw the actual site where he stayed. I stayed in the nice warm car!
We stopped by Lexington and saw where the first Minutemen were shot.
The last stop of the night was the Boston Symphony. We parked, had a quick dinner at Chicago Uno, and got to the ticket office about 5 minutes before it started. We quickly found out that I had made a terrible mistake when purchasing the tickets - I had actully bought tickets for Tuesday night! They were sold out except for a few single seats here and there, so the man said there was nothing he could do for us. We left, then went back in and asked again. Again we were turned away. We stood in the room wondering what to do. We figured we would just stay until it started, then figure out something else for the night. Then the man gestured to us, and gave us 2 tickets. Not just any tickets. 5th row back, dead center. I couldn't believe how close we were. And what a beautiful building - to say nothing of the music! Lets just say they were amazing. One of the pieces they did was a piano solo with the full orchestra accompanying. The pianist was incredible. A very wonderful evening!
