Onward and northward

Hanging out on "our" Cape Cod beach

With great regret we said good-bye to Cape Cod. Our stay there was far more than we had imagined. The Cape Cod National Seashore is 40 straight miles of undeveloped land along the furthermost eastern coast of the U.S. Henry David Thoreau said of Cape Cod, "A man may stand there and put all of America behind him." We did. We also turned around and had all of America and the possibilities of the future before us. It is a two-sided idea.

All of America behind us

I spent time thinking about putting things behind, a strong theme in some of my journaling. Isaiah and Paul both talk of leaving the past behind in a couple of my favorite verses. Isaiah says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" 43.18,19a NIV

The church we attended on Cape Cod regularly sings a verse of "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" in their service. I was so moved to know that right there, on the edge of the nation, there is a small group of people lifting up those who work and live on the sea. I leak tears at things like this.

We found a quiet, nearly secret beach and spent many of our days there. We soaked in the view, strolled along the cold, windy shore, journalled and read and just spent time in the moment... after moment... after moment. We were among the first in the nation to greet a new day and cooked coffee and eggs and toast right there at the shore after our early arrival. We patiently and successfully watched for whales. I think my addictive tendencies run toward whale-watchaholism. If I didn't live in Indiana, I would need a program.

Good-bye, Cape Cod. Thank you for the wonderful week.

Concord, Massachusetts, has been a destination goal of mine for nearly a lifetime. Louisa May Alcott called Concord home. Henry David Thoreau lived here. Nathaniel Hawthorne lived here. Ralph Waldo Emerson lived here. Margaret Sidney lived here (Five Little Peppers books). We saw lots of houses and sites on the drive-by. Oh, and the birth of the nation was here with the first shot fired in the Revolutionary War from the Old North Bridge.

Our timing was not great. Last week was Patriot's Day, Massachusetts schools Spring Break, and the edging into Easter weekend. Concord was busy! We were not daunted. We picked our top choice destinations and maneuvered and winded our little white turtlevan into parking lots and narrow lanes and windy roads through all the traffic. Let me just say, Jerry the Wheel is a patient, skillful, courteous marvel.

I have no words to say how intimate an experience it was for me to stand in Louisa May Alcott's home, still 80% filled with family furnishings, artwork and decor. I stood in her bedroom, in front of the desk where she wrote Little Women. She was so much more than a young person's author. And there I was. In her space. No pictures were allowed inside, but I bought post cards. Lots of post cards.

We arrived early and found a parking space

Second floor, two windows on the right side - Louisa's room

We hiked through Walden Nature Preserve to Walden Pond. It was so very peaceful. We enjoyed a visit to a replica of Thoreau's cabin near the Visitor Center. We found the original site in the woods where Thoreau built his cabin. We breathed in the woods and stillness. We saw very few people, even though the parking lots were pretty full. I leave you with images from our time at Walden Pond. Blessed Easter, praise the Risen Savior. We're headed north.