The East Coast of Massachusettes

The Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, Mass -

The painting shows how close the houses are

The park service provides a 2-hour tour of the three Adams' former houses.  The third house contains a lot of original pieces, including John Adams' original desk he used for 7 decades, even as President.

The first two houses, 75 feet apart, were built in the 18th century.  John Adams, second president of the United States, was born in one house, and his son, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, was born in the other.

The third house, called the Old House, was built as a country villa in the 1730s and bought by John Adams in 1787.

President Adams original desk and his portrait

The dress on display is the same dress worn in the picture of the First Lady

I also drove out to the Saugus Iron Works National Historic
Site, but it was closed for the season, as was Minuteman National Historic Park.

The Saugus Iron Works NHS is a full-scale working replica of the original ironworks founded by John Winthrop in 1640.

On April 19, 1775, a group of militia, ordinary citizens and Colonish farmers known a Minute Men confronted British troops who were patrolling the North Bridge.  This 990-acre park preserves the site and tells the story of the American victory.


Lowell has the distinction of being the country's first industrial city, paving the way for the American Industrial Revolution.

Lowell National Park was interesting and nothing like any of the other parks I've visited.  It is actually a number of old mill buildings (not located together but throughout the city).  It was established to rehabilitate more than 100 downtown buildings and preserve the town's unique history.

The New England Quilt Museum displays both antique and contemporary examples of the quilt-makers' art.

Lowell's Jack Kerouac, a native, was the leading chronicler of the "beat generation," a term that he coined to describe members of the disaffection Bohemian movement of the 1950s.




Salem, Mass - Founded in 1626 by Roger Conant, Salem grew to become one of New England's busiest ports.  I thought the ship masts on the light poles were interesting.

The Salem Witch Museum is Salem's most visited sight.  It commemorates the town's darkest hour.  In 1692, 150 people were jailed and 20 executed after being charged with practicing witchcraft.

The land upon which the museum building is built once belonged to Reverend John Higgenson in 1692.  The present-day building was built between 1844 and 11846.


The Peabody Essex Museum and the Park Visitors' Center were both closed.

The town of Essex has a proud culinary distinction:  it was here that the clams were first fried. In 1916, Lawrence "Chubby" Woodman and his wife were selling raw clams by the road. Following a friend's suggestion, they tried deep-frying a clam.  The popularity of the new dish snack helped Woodman open is own restaurant - still one of the region's most popular today.

Williams tunnel by Logan Airport is about 1 1/2 miles long.  The sun appeared very bright one I got out.