Made it to Carlisle

I pulled into Carlisle today after driving 4,343 miles in 9 days (including one very fun rest day in Solvang CA).  Woot!  a very fun trip but I am also pretty tired. I listened to 6 full Audio Books from Amazon’s Audible application – which was fantastic  – very engaging Old Man’s War – John … Continue reading “Made it to Carlisle”

I pulled into Carlisle today after driving 4,343 miles in 9 days (including one very fun rest day in Solvang CA).  Woot!  a very fun trip but I am also pretty tired. I listened to 6 full Audio Books from Amazon’s Audible application – which was fantastic  – very engaging

  1. Old Man’s War – John Scalzi
  2. The Ghost Brigades – John Scalzi
  3. The Last Colony – John Scalzi
  4. Zoe’s Tale – John Scalzi
  5. The Human Division – John Scalzi
  6. The Cosmic Computer – H. Beam Piper

They ran out about 2 hours before making it home – great timing!

Amazon’s John Scalzi author page – highly recommended

H. Beam Piper author page – an all time favorite of mine

Lots of snow here – by far more than literally anywhere I was going across country

I left the hotel around 7am this morning and managed to beat most of the traffic around Buffalo NY.  I noticed this morning that the many jet contrails in the sky looked like fractal frozen ice crystals on a window pane – a macro version of what they actually are way up there 😉

Driving was pretty straight forward and I was struck by the highway rest stops – much bigger and more trafficked than further west – which I guess is obvious – but NY has some interesting history along route that they point out.  The I-90 travels quite a bit alongside a number of historic canals, including the Erie Canal – which I did not get a photo of unfortunately – since it was all frozen over and not very obvious under the snow.  All across the country, I found rest stops which had interesting things to show and to say and to teach – along with a place to use the rest room and maybe grab a cup of coffee.  I am glad people have gone to this effort – it is kind of neat!

New York I-90 rest stop information.
New York I-90 rest stop information.
New York I-90 rest stop information.
New York I-90 rest stop information.
New York I-90 rest stop information.
New York I-90 rest stop information.

I made it to Concord MA before travelling the last 5 miles or so of the trip and I decided to stop at Minute Man National Park to bookend the trip.  Despite the mud (it has been cold but the temps shot up today to 54 degrees) and snow, there were a number of people walking around and the Old North Bridge was fully plowed out and accessible.  The Concord River is still frozen over and has lots of Nordic Ski tracks and animal tracks on it – not something you get every winter.

If you would like to learn more about this historic area – literally a walkable distance from my house – I suggest checking out the wikipedia link here

I remember when I was a kid and President Ford came out in 1975 on the 200th anniversary of the battle and dedicated the site as a National Monument (it latter got upgraded to Park status) – tens and tens of thousands of people were on hand to participate and watch.  This was on Patriots Day – April 19th, 1975

I still collect the Bicentennial Quarters when I can find them – they have the Minute Man statue on them and I like to think about all the hands they have passed through since 1975 and what the people thought about when they looked at them.  A surprising number are still in circulation 40 years later.

One of the things that I take away from this site, every time I visit, is the positive value of forgiving and not letting the past to prevent you from making new friendships.  After the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain, relations got better and have been productive ever since.  An important lesson

Anyway – enough of that – I hope anyone who is reading this has enjoyed my tripography (not a real word I am sure!).  I have a few more days of vacation before back to work in our Boston office – I will be doing some shoveling between now and then I am sure!

The Old North Bridge across the Concord River. The National Park preserving the location of the second battle of the American Revolution and the location of what became known as "The Shot Heard Around the World..."
The Old North Bridge across the Concord River. The National Park preserving the location of the second battle of the American Revolution and the location of what became known as “The Shot Heard Around the World…”
The monument at the Old North Bridge, erected on the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 61st anniversary of the battle.
The monument at the Old North Bridge, erected on the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 61st anniversary of the battle.
Closeup of the inscription on the monument. An interesting look into the mindset and memory of that time
Closeup of the inscription on the monument. An interesting look into the mindset and memory of that time
The Minute Man - the statue erected for the Centennial anniversary of the battle in 1875. Crafted by Daniel Chester French, it contains the quote from Ralph Waldo Emersons' famous poem - the "Concord Hymn" By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world
The Minute Man – the statue erected for the Centennial anniversary of the battle in 1875. Crafted by Daniel Chester French, it contains the quote from Ralph Waldo Emersons’ famous poem – the “Concord Hymn”
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world
Picture of the statue - which is on the west bank of the river - looking up towards the pasture where the Concord and surrounding town's Militia were arrayed for the battle
Picture of the statue – which is on the west bank of the river – looking up towards the pasture where the Concord and surrounding town’s Militia were arrayed for the battle
Looking east across the river Note the symbolism - the Minute Man has draped his coat across his plow and taken up his flintlock musket - which was ready to hand
Looking east across the river
Note the symbolism – the Minute Man has draped his coat across his plow and taken up his flintlock musket – which was ready to hand
The crown of the bridge looking towards the original monument, which was erected on the site where the British regulars - "Red Coats" were deployed
The crown of the bridge looking towards the original monument, which was erected on the site where the British regulars – “Red Coats” were deployed
Panoramic from the Old North Bridge, Concord MA
Panoramic from the Old North Bridge, Concord MA