Minute Man Park - Day 1

Our workshop site today was Minute Man National Historical Park. We walked along part of Battle Road, visited the Paul Revere Capture Site, and saw a really good multimedia program at the visitor's center.

We visited Lexington Green, and had a catered box lunch at the Lexington Historical Society  at Munroe Tavern before returning to the park and visiting the famous North Bridge.

This evening we had some free time, so Rhonda and I wandered into Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to see Author's Ridge (the burial place of the Alcotts, Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne) before having dinner at Helen's. The food was fabulous!

Boston

Today our workshop to a quick trip to Boston. And by quick, I mean the pace we kept. It was a long day beginning with a walk from our Inn to the Concord Depot at 9:00, and returning more than twelve hours later.

Boston is a town made for walking and that's what we did. in the course of the day we saw: Copp's Hill Cemetery, Old South Meeting House, the North End, Boston Harbor, Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, Old State House, Old South Meeting House, King's Chapel, the Old Granary and Boston Common. Our tour was led by Dr. William Fowler of Northeastern University. And after we saw all that, we visited the Massachusetts Historical Society were we able to view some original documents from the Revolutionary War era.

One of our participants recommended Gennaro's for dinner. The food was great, (I had the chicken saltimbocca) but the service was slow. Part of that was the fact that our group was so large, but I don't think they're overly speedy.

Concord

Today we got acquainted with Concord. Our day began at the Concord Museum and a presentation by Robert Gross, author of The Minutemen and Their World. It set the stage for what will come both in April 1775 and for us teachers this week.

The museum has a very nice collection, which we were allowed to photograph. I probably went a bit overboard, but I'm enjoying my new camera and we'll need some photos for our lesson plan project this week. Besides, I've never been here before! Some of the most notable things in the collection are one of Paul Revere's lanterns and Ralph Waldo Emerson's study. Yes, the entire study has been recreated in the period rooms wing.

After dinner at the Main Street Markets and Cafe with Rhonda, (I had a very good gyro panini) the entire group went on a walking tour of town. It's cute, but very quite. Most of the businesses keep bankers hours and are closed by 6:00.

Massachusetts

Yesterday I flew from Knoxville to Boston. I have been accepted into a National Endowment for the Humanities workshop titled "At the Crossroads of the Revolution: Lexington and Concord in 1775."

Today I left my hotel in Quincy and took the T (subway) and commuter train to Concord. Luckily, I met up with my roommate, Rhonda, and Siggi at the station so I had some company for the trip. When the train arrived in Concord, we discovered there were many more of us on the train.

There are about 40 of us embarking on this adventure this week. We started this evening with a trip to the Hartwell Tavern, one of the sites in Minute Man National Historical Park. We were met by some of the inhabitants of 1775 Concord, who helped to set the stage for what we will be experiencing this week. It was a fabulous evening. I just wish it had been drier.

Dollywood!

One of the things we wanted to make sure and experience was Dollywood. Four years ago when we were in Tennessee we didn't have time, so this year we made a point of getting there.

The park has a policy of allowing a second day of admittance if you purchase your ticket after 3:00 pm, so we actually spent a couple hours in the park last night, and then went back today for more.

I love rollercoasters. And it doesn't take much to talk my father into riding them either, so I'm happy to say that we rode all of them with varying responses. We loved the wooden coaster, Thunderhead, and the steel coaster, Tennessee Tornado. The Mystery Mine was fun, but jostling. And I have to say that our favorite was the newest coaster, The Wild Eagle. It's a wing mounted suspension coaster with 3700 feet of track, a 145 foot drop, maximum speed of 61 mph, and it take 2 minutes 22 seconds. It was awesome!

In addition to riding the coasters, we watched local craftsman, toured Dolly's bus and museum, rode the steam train, did some shopping and eating. It was a really good way to spend a couple days.

Cemeteries

One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was to visit some ancestors' graves. Thanks to Find a Grave, I knew were to look, so this morning we set off with google map instructions.

Our first stop was Emert's Cove Cemetery. It is the final resting place of Frederick Emert (1754-1829) and his wife Barbara Neidig Emert (1755-1842). They are my 6x great-grandparents.

Our second stop was the Middle Grove Cemetery where we found many other Emerts. I just wish I'd known how close some of the others were and we'd have visited some more!

Cades Cove - Smoky Mountain Park

It had been recommended to us that we should visit Cades Cove in the national park. The Cove is actually a valley that was home to a farming community for more than 100 years. The park was established in 1934, displacing most of the people who lived there.  They left behind several old cabins, a grist mill, two churches and a few cemeteries, which are still open to burials.

It's a beautiful drive into the Cove. We saw several deer and a black bear wandering across one of the meadows to an apple tree.