Here are a few shots from the family day out.
You need food for a picnic so first stop was Mighty Subs
This is Needham
We came at lunch, there is always a line then:
At lunch hours the line will stretch out the door into the street
Art and Karen have been doing this for 20 years. He is always a friendly face at the register:
4 a.m. every weekday Art is there
You know that a marriage is strong when you can work together 20 years every day while being married:
Karen hates having her picture taken, I can't see why.
It is one of the hardest working teams you will ever see:
This is a well oiled machine that handles crowds quickly and correctly
Once the Subs are in hand it was off to Concord and the Old North Bridge:
This is the first info plaque you will see
Before this was any “official” place the citizens put up this monument.
Here is the inscription:
Park Rangers give a regular talk about every half hour or so. The young lady who gave the talk was from Indiana and had previously worked in National Parks in Montana:
She is a very nice young lady
She informed up that the actual grave of the British soldiers killed at the bridge in the first actual exchange of fire is unknown as people were worried about grave robbers:
I've always been struck by the inscription
The bridge and the river are things of beauty a great place to picnic
The old north bridge in concord
Or Canoe:
I saw more canoes on this river Friday then I ever have before
Or relax and Paint:
The shot was almost iconic
A thing of beauty:
You can't get more iconic that this
Another thing of beauty 22″ of pure perfection!
The Monument on the “American” side of the bridge went up at the 100th anniversary of the battle:
The most iconic monument
Several views and the inscription:
From our picnic area
The most famous inscription of the concord minuteman statue
It's quite a sight
The main building is across the river and up the hill. It is where the colonial force mustered. When they thought the town was being burned they came down and attacked.
One of the primary targets of the British expedition were 4 brass cannon that the colonists managed to snatch from the British Army. They were hidden at Barrett farm one mile from the bridge. They were not found by the British but two of them were later captured during the Canada campaign. One was located at the Boston navy yard in storage when it was being torn down:
This is one of the actual cannons the British were trying to seize
The barrel was inscribed in the late 18th century:
These are some of the weapons. Even though a total of 500 men were engaged at the bridge only 5 men were killed 2 colonists and 3 British regulars. The volunteer described firing smoothbore muskets as throwing knuckleballs and just as reliable.
It was as always a very pleasant day. Strangely enough I’ve never visited the primary visitor center about 5 miles to the east along the battle road. I’ll hit it in the next few weeks. I’ve also never been here on Patriots day when they have the reenactments. The place is really packed then.
It proved that you can have a very nice day without a PC anywhere near you. Minute Man park and Concord Bridge are a wonderful place to visit. Consider making it part of your Massachusetts Vacation.
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