Weather has been on and off rainy, and we decided to take the enclosed trolley for the Liberty Ride, starting in Lexington, and going to Concord passing historic sights and narrated by a colonial costumed guide. Though we have visited probably most of these places in the past, and toured the buildings, I thought it would be neat to hear what they had to say, and perhaps learn a little more.
While we did learn some additional facts about the Revolution, the guide had a French accent, and was sometimes hard to understand, and sometimes stammered, and had absolutely no personality! So many of the reviews raved about the guide and how they brought history alive, I was very disappointed to have ended up with her! The trolley itself also just sort of passed by everything except the Old North Bridge, which we have visited countless times, and it would have been better to get a closer look. But all in all it was OK, and we enjoyed the ride.
The road all along the center of town was part of the Battle Road, so the militia and the British soldiers marched right through the center of town, and one man is said to have been injured during a skirmish on the green , and crawled to his doorstep, where he died in his wife's arms.
The first war memorial erected on the green in honor of the war, and though the guide did not say it, I assume it is where the old belfry stood, where the bell was rung to warn that the "regulars" were coming.
She did clear that up, saying everyone was British, so they would not have said " the British are coming."
The stone structure in the rear along the Battle Road shows the place where Paul Revere was captured that night on his ride.
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| The home where Abigail Adams grew up. |
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| The Wayside, home to several authors at different times, including Louisa May Alcott and Henry W. Longfellow. |
 The Alcottt House, where Lousia May wrote "Little Women", from the room above the front door. Her father started a school for Transcendentalism in the building on the left, and it was attended by Longfellow and Thoreau, and other notables of the time. ( Odd....I cropped this photo before importing, but it came out full size! ) (fix later!) The building to the left of the Alcott house , called the Chapel, as it appeared when Mr Alcott, shown below, started his school for Transcendentalism.  |
Old North Bridge, where fighting caused Longfellow to write, "the shot heard round the world". Today it is believed Lexington was actually the place of first shots fired. 
The British soldiers who fell, unless they were officers, were shown little regard, and were buried where they died, rather than being transported back to Boston and home.  |
| A Minuteman statue at the bridge, depicting a farmer with his musket, ready to drop his farm equipment and rush to battle on a moments call, hence their name. |
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| Not the original bridge, but the Old North Bridge rebuilt in its original location.It was apparently flat in those days, but now is arched to allow boaters passage beneath. |
Wright Tavern in Concord, where ammunition for the war was stored until it was buried and moved to prevent the British from stealing it. 
We had never visited Beckman Tavern in Lexington, so at the end of the trolley tour, we decided to check it out. The taverns played an integral part of the battle, and this one has what is probably the most important tap room in the country located inside. Here the colonials met and waited for the British to arrive, discussing the battle, and waiting for the bell to ring to alert them that they were coming. 
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| The tap room |
April 18 of every year is Patriot's Day, and the battle is reenacted, and the Minutemen march down the center of the street in Concord, past this tavern.
"on the 18th of April, in '75, hardly a man is now alive, who remembers that fateful day and year....."
It all happened right here, and it is so neat to retrace the steps of such a significant part of our history.
Back home, I made one of Clem's favorite dishes, sausage and peppers, for dinner, and we went to see Mama Mia! Here We Go Again!
Had tried to get tickets the previous evening and it was sold out! Neat new luxury theater
right up the road, and a great movie! We could have watched it again!
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