I realized earlier today that I have to get with it on these New England road trip recap posts before embarking on my next traveling adventure. (Coming at the beginning of December when I head west to San Francisco.) So, prepare yourself for today’s deluge.

I was going to break up the remaining Concord, Mass., photos into a few posts by more specific topic. But instead, today you get three posts for the price of one. Read now and as an added bonus you’ll receive: 27 photos!

Grab some coffee, settle in, and we’ll be on our way.

As mentioned before, Emily and I based this trip’s itinerary on literary destinations. As we planned and mapped and imagined the literary possibilities of New England, we very quickly realized that a fair number of authors lived in Concord, Mass, including a few favorites: Louisa May Alcott of Little Women fame (her house – the Orchard House – is pictured above), Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hearing about how they all influenced each other and shared many pieces of their respective lives, we started to feel like we were born in the wrong era.

As we explored Concord and all its beauty, we also started feeling like we were living in the wrong city.

We grew up loving the Little Women movie that came out in 1994, so one of our must-see places was the Orchard House, which is where Louis May Alcott penned the novel that inspired that movie. It was gorgeous. I would have moved in immediately had they let me.

Louisa’s father, Amos Bronson Alcott, was a very forward-thinking individual for his time. He was a teacher and a scholar who built this structure – originally known as The Hillside Chapel – and formed the Concord School of Philosophy, which would become one of the first adult education centers.

Here’s an inside shot of the school. (One of the only interior shot I was able to get of any historic house. For preservation reasons, most of these locations don’t let you photograph inside the residences. Unfortunate, but understandable.)

I believe I told you how rainy it was during our brief time at Concord, Mass. It rained and drizzled and rained and threatened to rain and remained overcast for almost our entire visit.

Not only are we book nerds, but we also have a good dose of historical enthusiasm. So, we stopped by Old North Bridge, site of the “shot heard round the world,” which began the American Revolutionary War in 1775. This is not the original bridge.

This is my original umbrella though. I wasn’t joking about that rainy weather.

Here is the Minute Man statue by Daniel Chester French (an early student of Louisa May’s sister, May Alcott, and also the sculptor of the famous Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. – seriously, the influence these people had!) at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Mass. The words on the base read:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled.

Here once the embattled farmer’s stood,

And fired the shot heard round the world.

This comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem “Concord Hymn.” Yes, he coined that phrase. Again – the influence!

We loved, loved, loved our inn at Concord. It was everything you hope to have in an historic, New England town. And, I’m fairly certain it was haunted. Bonus points.

A lovely old church in the center of town.

All the aforementioned famous authors are buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord. Not to be confused with Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in New York. Though that is, in fact, confusing.

And there you have it.

Oh, and this is Emily.

OK, now there you have it.

We really, really loved Concord and can’t recommend it enough if you are ever in that area. Check it out then call me so we can talk about how much we love it.