Walden Pond
Walden Pond was made famous by the writings of Henry David Thoreau and is the perfect place to visit in the fall if you’re in Massachusetts. We stopped to explore the replica cabin, then ventured further in to find the site of Thoreau’s original cabin. There was a path around the entire pond, and surprisingly there were very few people, making this a nice, peaceful little hike.
It was easy to imagine Thoreau wandering the shores of Walden Pond and the surrounding woods. Aside from the trail, not much has changed since he spent his time conducting his experiment in simple living and trying to determine the real necessities of life.
We had just enough time to slowly wander our way around the entire pond and enjoy the fall leaves before the sun lit up the clouds with color and disappeared behind the distant mountains. Walden Pond turned out to be a really nice place to visit and enjoy nature, and experience another wonderful historic site.
Stone Bridge Farm
One unique event in certain parts of the country is the fall cranberry harvest. Luckily, Massachusetts is home to several cranberry bogs and we were there at the perfect time. We visited the Stone Bridge Farm, a family owned and operated cranberry farm with over three acres of cranberry bogs. When we arrived, the frost still covered the ground and we suited up in our giant overalls.
This was such a fun and unique experience! We were able to jump in and fully immerse ourselves in the cranberry bog, learning how to use the proper tools to manage the harvest. The water was ice cold, but our overalls kept us warm and dry.
Plimoth Plantation
The final stop on our East Coast tour was Plymouth, Massachusetts, the site of the first Pilgrim settlement. The Plimoth Plantation is a living history museum that replicates the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony. It was a fascinating walk through history, and we enjoyed wandering around the sprawling grounds.
We took a quick tour of the Plimoth Grist Mill, a reconstruction of the Plymouth Colonists’ original 1636 mill on Town Brook. We were able to get an up-close look at the grinding floor, where the 54-inch bed and runner stones work to mill corn into fine pieces to make cornmeal. Even more interesting was the view of the gears down below where you can see how the water wheel sends it’s power into the machinery to power the mill.
The Mayflower II
The Mayflower II was built between 1955 and 1957 at the J.W. & A. Upham Shipyard in Brixham, Devon, England. She was built by hand using traditional methods and tools familiar to 17th-century shipwrecks. The construction of Mayflower II helped preserve nearly-lost wooden shipbuilding skills. Older generations of shipwrights familiar with the craft shared their knowledge with the new generation working alongside them in the yard.