Literary Landmarks

Moving on from Boston, we spied the Charles River and saw some students rowing. We managed to miss seeing the swan boats by three days. It took a long time to get out of the city. Our GPS was headed for Concord. I thought that was just a destination for getting on our way, but we stopped and Jean said, get out, we're visiting here. Where? Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott. According to the guidebook, we had missed the tour. My sister had already apologized for that. We were just going to take some outside photos. We did and I was surprised at how close to the road the house was. I guess I thought it would be set way back in the country. Well, it probably was country then.

The lovely ladies at the museum/gift shop said we were in time for the last tour. It was just the two of us so we got a great one. It's a lovely house. The beautiful drawings and paintings were mostly done by the youngest daughter, Amy in the book. Two of my favorite things were the actual desk where Alcott wrote Little Women, and on the couch in the parlor, he mood pillow. It actually existed. Fans of the book will remember it kept Laurie from getting too close to Jo. Seeing this place was an emotional tug for me. It may be hard to imaging, but the March girls from Little Women seem so real to me that I feel that I knew them, personally.

It seemed like we were always hurrying on this vacation and we now needed to rush over and see nearby Walden Pond before it was too dark to take pictures. We were the last ones going in to the park again so we got in free. We parked and walked to the site. At the facilities, women were actually changing into bathing suits. These mostly older people walked down the path and into the water. We could have "partaken" but decided not. Walden Pond was so peaceful and serene. Yes, it looked like so many other ponds, but the fall leaves were changing and the water rippled and I could just imagine Thoreau being so full of ideas that this place helped him get them onto paper. I took quit a few pictures and couldn't part with a single one. Each had its own beauty.

This travelogue is getting lengthy, so my next installment is the last. I still have several great places to share with you. Thanks for being an armchair traveler with me. Nancy