Day 3 of our trip to Boston was a Sunday, so we got up and went to church with Ben and Kim! Their church building was very different from ones in Utah, with an underground parking lot and several floors. The talks were really wonderful, and it was fun to be with Candace and our family during church! After their Sacrament Meeting, we took Ben, Kim and the baby home and we jetted off to Lexington and Concord!

*Travel Tip - we didn't end up needing to rent a car (HUGE THANKS BEN AND KIM) but I did some research, and found the cheapest way to do it is to rent it beforehand for the days you'll be needing it.

We stopped first at Lexington green which is really amazing. It's a large park with a statue in front, and a monument in the middle. It's where they fought the battle of Lexington. Something Randy and I found funny throughout the trip, is that there seems to be disagreement as to where the "Shot Heard Round The World" actually happened. On the monument at Lexington, it said that this was the site where British soldiers first fired on the colonists, making it the place where the Shot Heard Round The World happened. Here several colonists were killed as they stood their ground in front of the approaching British troops.



It was so cool to stand on the green, and look out at houses and the tavern which all look pretty much the same as they would have then.

We stopped in the tavern, which is now a shop and museum, and of course Randy had to get a Root Beer! We saw monuments to all the ships that were named after the historic city, and glanced at some churches and homes as we drove out.



We then made it to Concord, which is one of my favorite places! It's a quaint and picturesque little town, and once we got there we stopped for lunch at Helen's, one of my favorite places. It was bustling with locals and tourists alike and was really yummy.

We then drove up to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery which is really amazing. The cemetery is beautiful, full of hills and winding paths, and almost all of the headstones are up out of the ground, making it look textured and beautiful. Some of the people buried there include Louisa May Alcott and her family, Ralph Waldo Emerson and his family, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and many others. It was quiet and peaceful there, and it was such a nice way to spend some time on Sunday.

After we went to the cemetery we drove to the North Bridge, where we learned that maybe the Shot Heard Round The World happened there! This is where the British troops came after the fight in Lexington, where the Concord and other colonial minutemen were gathered. When the men saw smoke coming from the town, they decided to go to the North Bridge and meet the British. And then the colonists received their first order to fire on the British. We walked across the bridge and up to the Visitor Center where we learned more about the battle that happened there.



Next, we went to the Old Manse right next to the North Bridge. The Manse has been home to MANY literary figures, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne's wife has actually inscribed on the window with her diamond in a couple places, and you can also see a lot of the original artifacts including desks and books. This tour was incredibly cool, because we were alone! So we got to see some extra things they don't show all the tours, ask as many questions as we wanted, and also play a piano in the house from the 1600's! It was AMAZING. The house and the grounds are simply wonderful.



After going to the Old Manse we drove around Concord, past the Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott lived, saw Ralph Waldo Emerson's house, and a dozen other historical places. It was so awesome, I just love Concord!

On the way back to Ben and Kim's, we stopped at the Boston Temple, which was so awesome. It's an incredibly beautiful building and it was wonderful to walk around and feel the Spirit that is there.





We then drove back to Ben and Kim's where we had a delicious dinner, and dessert. We played games and watched stand up and had an awesome time hanging out with our family.

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