Since we were heading to Boston, I decided to stop at a few cemeteries on the way. The first was Fairview Cemetery in Billerica, Massachusetts. Billerica is not pronounced anything like it is spelled, at least according to the lady in the gas station. Fairview was really small. All the gravestones were of the old style and there probably wasn’t more than 70. So, it was pretty easy to find my 5th Great Grandfather John Dutton (1712 – 1760) under a low hanging tree.
Next was Old Corner Burying Ground in Westford, Massachusetts. Quite a large cemetery, but with a well defined area of the old-time headstones. Once in the vicinity, I began following a trail of headstones that started in the mid 1800’s and went back into the early 1700’s. In time, I finally found my 6th Great Grandparents Thomas Dutton (1681 – 1759) and Hannah Burge Dutton (1688 – 1775), along with a Dutton I have yet to identify.
Did I mention it was trying to rain? Not a lot. Mostly a mist, but enough to make the humidity noticeable.
Nearby towns included Lexington and Concord. Once upon a time, schoolchildren were taught that on April 19, 1775, at Lexington Common and the Old North Bridge the first shots were fired in the American Revolutionary War. A war fought to free the citizens of North America from the overbearing rule of government. Anyway, we spent some time at the visitor’s center and then promptly got lost for about an hour. Lost can be good if you can manage to do it in beautiful country like we did today.
While wandering around we made an attempt to find Walden Pond and to our surprise were successful. Walden Pond is best known for Henry David Thoreau’s two year experiment on simple living. It was there that a night in jail over a delinquent poll tax led to his writing Civil Disobedience.
After finding our way back to town, we spent the next 45 minutes or so looking for a lunch stop. Finally we missed a GPS turn and accidentally turned into a parking lot we didn’t want. What a stroke of luck. We had stumbled onto Bella Famiglia. Barb had minestrone and a garden salad. I took a chance and went with the Haddock Italian Style and ravioli. I know you must be thinking I was really going out on a limb with that one.
Back in the car for a 22 mile drive to our motel in Boston. Our motel for the next two nights is a little different than most. Built in 1870, it was originally part of the Roxbury Gas Light Company. Yup, it was a six story plus basement, brick gas tank. Actually the gas was stored in a collapsible steel tank, to maintain pressure in the gas mains, inside the brick structure. Through the years it was used for a motion picture exhibition in the 1920’s and manufacturing and storage in the 1930’s. It then served as a warehouse until 1999, when it was transformed it into an all suites hotel. Once inside you would never know you were in a 140 year old gas tank.
After the lunch we had dinner was out of the question. Tomorrow will be all walking tour of Boston, which will create great hunger and the need for a wonderful seafood dinner. Count is now 4,741 miles and 17 states. Gotta start looking for an oil change and maybe a haircut. 145 miles today.
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