While I enjoyed every thing we saw and did on our vacation to the Boston area, I have to admit that my favorite day was the day we spent in Concord. We rented a car and drove from Salem to Concord on Tuesday morning. Well . . .late morning. We had made great plans to get an early start and be in Concord as things opened and then mid afternoon head south of Boston to Plymouth and finish with a later evening in the Plymouth area. As we all know - Enterprise picks you up. No where does it say on time. They ended up going to the wrong town to pick us up. So by the time they arrived to where we really were and carted us to the office to sign the car out I had already told Peg I now had two letters to write. While filling out the paper work I clearly explained to the Enterprise representative that now because of them I would never see Plymouth Rock in my life time. By the time we left, the $49 24 hour rental cost us $18.50 and we were under no obligation to refill the gas tank. As we drove to Concord I told Peg I was back to only one letter to write. The directions were not so clear but some how we found the Concord Museum by accident and it was delightful.
http://www.concordmuseum.org/
The Ralph Waldo Emerson home was not open but we visited the outside of it.
http://www.rwe.org/emersonhouse/
After a casual lunch down town at the Main Street Cafe we toured the home where Louisa Mae Alcott grew up.
http://www.louisamayalcott.org/
I want to take some time with rest of the day in Concord so I decided to divide it into three parts. TBC.
I really enjoyed the tour with you... I found the Alcott home and school of philosophy very interesting... rather dreary looking from the outside - what was it like on the inside. I know little about the life of Louisa May Alcott...other than her writing. Now I will read your links.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your travels! Sandy
I loved these quotes from the Alcott Museum write up:
ReplyDelete“Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!” ~Louisa May Alcott
“Mr. Alcott sat behind his table, and the children were placed in chairs, in a large arc around him; the chairs so far apart, that they could not easily touch each other. He then asked each one separately, what idea he or she had of the purpose of coming to school? To learn; was the first answer. To learn what? By pursuing this question, all the common exercises of school were brought up by the children themselves; and various subjects of art, science, and philosophy. Still Mr. Alcott intimated that this was not all; and at last some one said “to behave well,” and in pursuing this expression into its meanings, they at last decided that they came to learn to feel rightly, to think rightly, and to act rightly.”
~Elizabeth Peabody, Record of a School, 1835
“The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple.” ~Amos Bronson Alcott
We were not allowed to take pictures inside of any of the homes we toured on this trip. But the Alcott had no money to speak of for quite a large portion of their lives. In later years, after the publishing of "Little Women" and other events, there was money. This is the house that Louisa Mae and her sisters grew up in.
ReplyDeleteThose are wonderful quotes on education Rosie. The Alcotts were an odd ball but neat family. In the gift shop some of the biographies and videos looked interesting. And of course the Madame Alexander dolls caught my eye.
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