My family knows me. I love a good puzzle to solve. For my birthday this year they outdid themselves with a mystery gift consisting of 10 clues. I won’t list them all because it’s embarrassing how many clues I went through to come up with the correct answer. A pebble, a bunch of paint swatches (of my favorite colors), traditional American music, photos of famous movie characters named “Mary”, and more. What finally gave it away for me were two small black lanterns. That’s right, the kind Paul Revere saw in the Old North Church tower on that famous ride of his. “BOSTON?!?!?” I exclaimed. “Are we going to Boston?” The answer was “YES, Boston and more!” It took us a few months to find dates that worked for both daughters and myself and plan the trip to New England. October was the perfect time to go. Home for a couple of weeks now, my heart is full of wonderful experiences and I’m anxious to share some highlights with you. (This may be rather long, so feel free to skip around in this post to find what might interests you.)
Plymouth, Massachusetts
"So they left that good and pleasant city (Leyden), which had been their resting place for nearly twelve years; but they knew they were pilgrims, and lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits." William Bradford (The Plymouth Settlement Chap 7)
Starting at the beginning of our vacation, AND the beginning of our American family, here’s where the “Mary” clue comes in. I’ve long been teased by my family about how often I mention that we descend from the Isaac Allerton family and their daughter, Mary Allerton, who traveled across the Atlantic in 1620. 4 year old Mary was the youngest child on the Mayflower voyage other than a baby born to another family. Her mother died on board, in the harbor, months before the women and children came ashore. We all know about the brutal winter and loss of half of the passengers to illness and the elements during that first year, and the first thanksgiving right there in Plymouth. We stood on the street where they lived, looked out the window of our Airbnb on Town Brook that supplied them with fresh water, stood on the same piece of land where Thomas and Mary raised their family, visited their graves on Burial Hill and had lunch overlooking the famous rock and the replica, Mayflower II. It was surreal to see my 8th great-grandmother’s wooden cup and William Bradford’s Geneva Bible, items that came across on the Mayflower in 1620 and and passed down through families to the Pilgrim Hall Museum.
Honestly, being a Pilgrim descendent has no direct impact on who I am or what I am like. I could have just as well come from a long line of pirates, but it does awaken me to the history and the fact that we came from the puritan group of the voyagers, who loved God’s word like I do, makes it extra special. Technically, the little group on the Mayflower were “separatists” not “puritans.” (NOTE: Puritans wanted to “purify” the existing church in England. Separatists wanted to completely separate from the state controlled church in England and start fresh with biblical worship without fear of persecution.)
Another family member of special importance to us is Robert Cushman. He was a member of the original pilgrim group who stayed back in Leyden, Holland to arrange the finances and trade agreed upon by the “Adventurers.” (investors who funded the voyage of the Mayflower.) Sailing on the Anne, he and his son, Thomas, made a visit to Plymouth in December, 1621, and when there, he preached the “first sermon preached in New England.” My hunch is that it wasn’t the “first” sermon since Elder William Brewster would have preached many sermons that first year, but perhaps it is the first one that has been saved. At any rate, my girls and I enjoyed reading the sermon together when riding in the car. This sermon, “Sin and Danger of Self Love,” is just as pertinent today as it was then. It is based on 1 Corinthians 10:24 “Let no man seek his own; but every man another’s wealth.” (Let no man seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. New American Standard version) Robert left his son, Thomas in the care of governor William Bradford and returned to Leyden. There’s more to the story, because after several years, Thomas grew up and married our Mary Allerton. Thomas became the Elder of the group when William Brewster died and he and Mary raised their 8 children there in the Plymouth area. Mary was the longest surviving passenger of the Mayflower. (Died at the age of 83)
By 1630, the Puritans had made their way north about 30 miles and began to settle the Boston area.
On to Boston, Massachusetts
As we drove through the city my head was on swivel trying to capture the mix of old and new, with 300 year old buildings sandwiched between skyscrapers.
Our first stop in Boston on a rainy morning was Abigail’s Tea Toom where we had fun sampling and enjoying authentic British tea flavors thrown overboard at Griffin’s Wharf, where the Sons of Liberty had a “tea party” of their own in December, 1773. A replica ship was complete with “bundles of tea” from the British East India Company.
It was not exactly in the “room where it happened” but pretty close.
No doubt you’ve heard of The Freedom Trail walking tour. With a guide, we worked our way through historic sites, starting with the larger than expected Boston Common where so many important, and not so important things happened, including the staging of the British redcoats as they set forth to Lexington and Concord in 1775. The oldest public park in America, the Common was originally a cow pasture till 1830 when the Beacon Hill residents didn’t want them in their backyard. The Frog Pond, cemented now is a wading pool in the summer and ice rink in the winter.
We paused at the Massachusetts State House, and directly behind us, saw the Robert Shaw Memorial commemorating the black troops of the 54th regiment in the Civil War. Have you seen the movie, Glory?
Browsing the graves of Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, the victims of the Boston Massacre and others in Granary Burial Ground I couldn’t help but think about the inevitability of death, with so many tombstones carved with images to remind the living. It is always sobering to visit a graveyard.
Faneuil Hall
Original and restored brick buildings had a story to tell. At Fanueil Hall, and the Old South Meeting-House colonists and their leaders gathered to protest conditions imposed by the British government.
Old State House, Boston Massacre
At the edge of one of the larger intersections we looked across at the Old State House, where the Boston Massacre took place in March 1770. There’s a lot more to it, but simply put, tensions had ramped up to the point where a mob of colonists taunted, throwing snowballs and rocks at the British “regulars” who fired into the crowd, killing 5.
A stone’s throw from the Common, is the Beacon Hill neighborhood with its charming Acorn Street complete with the biggest cobblestones I’ve ever seen. I didn’t dare try to navigate them and chose the brick sidewalk instead. I can’t emphasize enough how lovely this little street is, even in the drizzle.
A a very quick pause for photos of Paul Revere’s house and the Old North Church before dinner in the North End where we had the most delicious Italian food at Antico Forno. I ordered Lasagna and the girls had individual pizzas.
That night, we arrived in Concord and got to our room in time for Kick-Off for the Chiefs game! Their WIN was a perfect ending to a very full day. I easily went to sleep, awaking in the morning, hungry to see more of beautiful, historical New England.
Lexington and Concord
Before looking at the Revolutionary War sites, we took a quick look at Louisa May Alcott’s childhood home in Concord where she endeared herself to the three of us by writing her wonderful book, Little Women. In the Price home, it became a part of our lives with quotes, plays and nicknames. Oh, how I love the memories it evokes.
Lexington Green
As the British “came by sea” and marched toward Concord, Paul Revere and others road ahead to warn the militia. Why Concord? The militia’s ammunition in Concord and patriot leaders, John Hancock and Samuel Adams in Lexington were the prizes. To keep it short, on the Lexington green redcoats fired on colonists, killing 8 and at the North Bridge, near Concord, for the first time, the colonists were ordered to fire back on the British Regulars, killing 3. This was “the shot heard round the world.” Standing on the manicured green, in the rain, surrounded by colonial homes, was surreal. In just about an hour we would be buying a coffee and pastry a few steps away. It is hard to imagine the emotions of all the people involved in this earliest conflict of the Revolution; The outnumbered colonists who faced the redcoats at Lexington Green, the clergyman’s widow who gave shelter to Revere, Hancock and Adams, the wife of Jonathan Harrington who watched her mortally wounded husband drag himself home and die at her feet in their doorway. What began with British Regulars arriving by “sea” and marching toward Concord, ended with the militia (4000 strong) engaging in battles all the way back to Boston, surrounding the city and laying siege. The general area between Lexington and Concord is called “Battle Road” and it was here, in the course of one day, April 19, 1775, the Revolutionary War began. For us, it was quiet, drizzly, quite beautiful and void of visitors, especially at the North Bridge. Here especially, with no cars, stores or modern homes nearby it was easy to picture the original conflict.
Old North Bridge
Portsmouth, Exeter, NH and Newburyport, MA
George Whitefield
As we worked our way north towards Maine, we encountered another historical figure, the popular English preacher George Whitefield (1714-1770). Over the course of his 56 years he preached in multiple countries, and journeyed to colonial America seven times. Someone figured out that he preached over 18,000 times, often seven days a week, over the course of his life. J.C.Ryle wrote “Never perhaps was there a man of whom it could be so truly said that he spent and was spent for Christ than George Whitefield.”
Traveling from Portsmouth, NH, traveling to Newbury Port, MA, 28 miles on horseback, while very sick, on his way, he was entreated to preach in the town of Exeter, NH. It would be his last complete sermon preached in his typical fashion for 2 hours to a very large crowd outdoors. In his sermon he exhorted them to “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” from 2 Corinthians 13:5. After a meal, he made his way to Newbury Port, MA where he had planned to preach on Sunday, but he died in the night. We stood on the sight of his last sermon, outside the house where he died, and stepped inside the church where he is buried. I have heard of George Whitefield for years, but after walking in his last few steps I want to learn more about him.
A few of my 2025 memories from these “1770 Whitefield” locations were lunch at “Popovers on the Square” in Portsmouth, and you guessed it, I had a delicious popover with my bowl of tomato bisque soup. In Exeter we found treasures in “A Pictures Worth,” a lovely used bookstore complete with the aroma of old books, and we indulged in apple cider donuts at Cider Hill Farm nearby. In Newbury Port, we wandered about looking at the many charming old houses.
Gooch’s Beach
We experienced a nor’easter for the first time too. Perhaps at sea it was more stormy, but for us, it was light to medium rain. We made a point of going to Gooch’s Beach, one of the few sandy beaches in Maine, near Kennebunkport where we saw larger than normal nor’easter driven waves which drew surfers and fellow observers.
Continuing north, we arrived in Portland, Maine, stocked up on groceries for the next few days where after a short drive into the mountains, we stayed in a lovely home amongst the fall colors overlooking a lake. The light intermittent rain didn’t prevent kayaking, and a visit to the picturesque Portland Head Light lighthouse which inspired a painting which is still underway.
Venturing north again, on our way to Acadia National Park, we spent some time in beautiful, quaint Camden. We all agreed that the best coffee on our trip was at “Zoot Coffee” in the middle of town. In fact we liked Camden so much, we made a point of stopping here again on the way back, this time spending over an hour (and some $) in “Antiques @ 10 Mechanic” around the corner from Zoot.
Acadia National Park & Bar Harbor
The View!
Acadia NP and nearby Bar Harbor were mostly lovely but the famous view from atop Cadillac Mountain was a bit cloudy, and so cold, but that gave us reason to laugh as we ran back to the warm car. We had to catch our view a little lower down the hill.
Jordan Pond was my favorite stop in Acadia. It was cool and windy (see the whitecaps on the water) but the colors were so beautiful.
I posed with the colorful swatches, one of the aforementioned “birthday gift clues” from back in May. I stuck them in my coat pocket hoping for a good “matchup” and to prove that my girls delivered on their promise that fall colors would be included in my trip. Maine really delivered! Do I look tired in this photo? That’s because I was. We packed so much into one week, I knew I’d need a vacation from my vacation but I wouldn’t want it any other way!
Heading Home
Gradually working our way south towards Boston we caught a couple of small lighthouses which I really enjoyed. New England lighthouses come in every shape and size and they are EVERYWHERE. I secretly saw each one holding up its hand trying to get my attention, and quietly heard them begging, “Paint ME! Paint ME! On this last drive together, we took turns naming our favorite foods, sites, and scenery and if we went back where we’d spend more time. TIME rolls along…and the TIME with Sarah and April was my most favorite thing. They doted on me, patiently put up with my quirks and limitations, and went out of their way to love me. Our conversations were funny, thought provoking and encouraging too. Yes, we are family, but more importantly, we are sisters in Christ so the fellowship was sweet. Many thanks to my daughters and their families who each made sacrifices, so this trip could happen. Ultimately our thanks is directed to the Lord for His loving care for us the whole time and every day of our lives.
My girls did the bulk of the planning, so I was able to “ride along” enjoying the sites, sounds, flavors and atmosphere of New England; the rugged coast, our American history, our family history, and the autumn leaves. Being predominantly a visual thinker, seeing a place, makes an indelible imprint on my thoughts. Bringing together these photos with my impressions help me savor and remember, and if you hung in there and read to the end, I hope this little “travelog” brought some joy to you too.
