"One if by land two if by sea"...the famous words that sprung Paul Revere into his famous midnight ride from Boston to Concord and Lexington to warn the Colonist's that 600 British troops were coming to sieze their arms and ammunition.  "The British are coming, the British are coming" didn't refer to the Beatles coming to America to indoctorate the American youth into the evils of rock and roll or long shaggy hair...it referes to Revere's ride.
Yesterday Ruby and I invaded Boston to catch some of the overwhelming amount of history that exists in and around the city.  When I was talking about how bad the drivers were in Boston that was referring to the ones outside of Boston..in the city take that level of idiocy and multiply it by 4.  My blood pressure probably went up 30 points!  But, it is a beautiful city, one that reminded me a great deal of of an east coast version of San Francisco.
This photo shows Paul Revere on his horse (duh) with the famous Old North Church in the background...the church steeple is where the warning lanterns were shown setting Revere off on his ride.
Paul Revere's ride happened on April 18,1775.
Lexington and Concord are where the first shots of the Revolutionary War occured.

Meet Steven!  Steven is a very charming Englishman who earns his living by giving tours of the Independence Trail that meanders throughout Boston.
What kind of a slant do you think he put on the British's role in our battle for independance?

As has been a common occurance on this trip this sign was displayed in abundance throughout Boston!
This one was outside of Copps Burial Grounds, very close to the North Church.  The cemetary has been in use since the 1650's.
It's probably a good thing Ruby had to stay outside...given her history on this trip she probably would have peed on one of the graves...if not doing something worse!

This is for my dad...happy early birthday dad!
Cambridge (where MIT and Harvard are located is within spitting distance to Bunker Hill or as it was referred to on June 17, 1775 " Breeds Hill").  It is on the opposite side of the harbor from Boston.  This battle which was one of the bloodiest of the war took place on a hill that commanded the entire area around it..the Minutemen dug in at the top of the hill with the British coming up the hill under withering fire from the Colonists.  It was this battle where another famous phrase originated, still used to this day...mostly in the car business (kidding)..."Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes".
There is a huge monolith (very similiar to the Washinton Monument) located at the top of the hill commemorating the sacrifices made by our early heroes.

I had to drag Ruby to the famous Walden Pond..it's located outside of Boston where Henry David Thoreau wrote the iconic masterpiece "Walden".  An extremely beautiful and tranquil spot it served as the backdrop for Thoreau's book on the beauty of living a simple life...something we could all take note of during these hectic and trying times.

This is Walden Pond...another dreary day...read Ruby happy, Clay not as much!  Rain, little wind and warmer...66 degrees!
Nonethless this is a wonderful spot for self discovery and internal contemplation...things that I have been doing a great deal of these past 4 weeks..not looking at a beautiful lake all day but rather through a windshield.
Both equally effective.

"I do not propose to write an ode to dejection, but to brag as lustily as chanticleer in the morning, standing on his roost, if only to wake my neighbors up".  So wrote Thoreau...this is a statue of Thoreau standing in front of his extremely spartan and small home...unbelievably small!
Thoreau was truly one of the greatest writers in American history. 

I think it's time to give you all another Ruby stick picture!   This was taken at the Concord battlefield...dogs are allowed at battlefields!
Ruby has colected rocks, but mostly sticks at places we have stopped at around the country..her own souvenirs I guess.
I've labeled them all and trust me the Jeep is carrying a lot of wood these days!  Toward the end of the trip I'll do photo's of them all.  You will be shocked to see from which places she has collected them!
We made the drive from Boston to Portland, Maine yesterday to spend some down time with my extremely dear friends Misty and Bill Crawford.  Today is their anniversary.  Happy anniversary Bill and Misty!
Misty wins the big prize after correctly identifying the mystery flower from the other day, it's a Honey Locus in case anyone other than me was curios!
We probably will be here until Sunday, then heading off to the really isolated portion of this trip...northern Maine and into the wilds of Canada!
Try to live each day as if it were your last...