Walden Pond

A friend drove up from Rhode Island and took me to Walden Pond . We walked over to the site of Henry David Thoreau's original hut in the woods. Thoreau lived in the hut from 1845 until 1847 although he did have visitors and he often went into the nearby town of Concord. Walden Pond State Reservation is managed by the Division of Conservation and Recreation. There was a $5 charge for parking and the trails were clean and well maintained. Visitors were swimming, sunbathing, fly fishing, and kayaking, and of course walking around the Pond. Being a city dweller, it was the first time that I had walked over uneven terrain in quite some time. I had not been to Walden pond in three years. It seems that I always enjoy myself when I go there. With luck I will not have to wait another three years before I return.

Today we did not visit the rest of Concord and Lexington. The Concord Museum features the study of Ralph Waldo Emerson and other interesting exhibits. Nearby is the Old Manse where Nathaniel Hawthorne spent the first few years of his marriage to Sofia. It overlooks the Old North Bridge where colonists clashed with the British military in the first shots of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Two house museums owned by Historic New England , the Walter Gropius House and the Codman House are close to Walden Pond itself. This is just the beginning of the historic sites to visit in the area. In the summer Lexington and Concord are popular tourist destinations.