Concord / Lincoln:
We spent a few nights in Lowell, MA. There is so much to explore in this area! We went to the Whistler House Museum of Art, the
Concord Museum and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Looks like we have another theme here!
The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is the home of gravesites for Nathanial
Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott.
And we can't forget about the person who developed the concord grape!
In Lincoln we found another sculpture garden! The deCordova Sculpture Park & Museum has
some interesting works; however, my favorite was a temporary Kusama
exhibition. The installation is a mirrored
box with holes in it. It is situated
outside and when you go inside, the dark space is illuminated by the outside light
coming through the holes. Mirrors inside
make the dots of light appear to be infinite.
Since it was a very slow day, we were the only ones to see it and were
able to stay in inside for as long as we wanted!
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| "Where the Lights in My Heart Go" by Yayoi Kusama |
There were some very fun sculptures, too!
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| I love the visitor entrance station! |
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| "Lincoln" by DeWitt Godfrey |
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| "Children of the Corn, Totem Pole" by Terence Koh |
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| "Emergence" by Kimberly Scott |
Salem:
Can’t go to Salem without making a trip to the Witch Museum. This was actually quite informative and well
done.
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Outside is a sculpture of our favorite witch!
Samantha from the TV show "Bewitched"
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We were moved to go to the Witches Trial Memorial and the
neighboring cemetery which is the oldest burying ground in Salem. Here is buried Justice John Hathorne, an
ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne and one of the judges in the Witchcraft Court.
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| Witches Trial Memorial |
House of Seven Gables:
Fun fact – at the time Nathanial Hawthorne visited the House
of Seven Gables, the house did not have seven gables! His cousin was living in this house and she
would have shared the history and pictures of it, which inspired him to write
his book. Additions had been made to the
house over several years, then removed and then added on again later! The last renovations made were done in order
to portray parts from Hawthorne’s book. It’s quite fun to explore and the tour
is very helpful in understanding the history of the house as well as the
relationship it has to the book.
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| House of Seven Gables |
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| Parlor where Hawthorne visited with his cousin & his portrait |
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| Hawthorne's writing desk and coat |
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| Hidden cabinet! |
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| Sewing machine |
Rockport / Cape Ann:
Our last stop in Massachusetts was Cape Ann. It is at the northern limit of Massachusetts
Bay and includes the towns of Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea and
Gloucester. We visited the charming town
of Rockport and it’s notable landmark: Motif #1. This is a replica of the original 1840 fishing
shack on the wharf, known as “the most often-painted building in America”!
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| "Motif #1" |
Stay
tuned for our leaf-peeping adventures…