Finals begin on Monday, so of course today instead of studying I went with my apartmentmate Hannah and friend Lydia to the
Orchard House in Concord, MA. The home of Louisa May Alcott, it's also where she wrote AND set
Little Women, the quintessential fourth grade girl's favorite book. aHEM. Anyway, you can take tours year-round, but on the first few Saturdays of December there is special Christmas programming, so the usual tour is punctuated with a Christmas story featuring Louisa and her sisters May, Anne and mother Marmee in period dress, and Mr. March dressed as Saint Nicholas. Even more than revisiting a beloved book, though, I loved feeling like a little girl again. You know those "field trips" you take with your families when you're younger? Well, I loved them.
Gillette Castle in CT,
America's Stonehenge in New Hampshire and the
Salem Witch Museum were all places that I visited with my family, and they stoked my young imagination to dreams of secret passageways, castles, rituals and friendships, much as they should. I am so grateful my parents were insightful enough to encourage these experiences and make sure their children understand that the world is big--both in space and time. It also makes me really grateful to be going to school in the Boston area, where there are even more of these stories so close nearby.
Here are some photos from the trip. Enjoy!
The sweet walk-up to the Orchard House. The
silhouettes are of Marmee and Father.
Hannah and Lydia in front of the Concord
School of Philosophy. Mr. March was a great
lover of philosophy and would even travel
the country giving "lessons," and brought the
discipline even closer to his home at times.
This is right on the March property.
Hannah and me in front of the Philosophy
building. Finally the discipline gets its own
building, even if just for tourists.
Hannah and Lydia gracing the welcome sign.
This is right alongside a busy road, and
so Hannah's pose makes me crack up
even more than it normally would.
No comments:
Post a Comment