Tuesday, August 9, 2016

A Visit to the ER and the Minuteman National Park

Brookline, New Hampshire
Field and Stream RV Park

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged so I'll try and catch up today.

Friday Bill took his blood pressure and his heart rate was above normal.  I suggested we go to the ER to check it out  but he said he was fine.  Saturday we drove over to Nashua, New Hampshire as we have friends here.  

We met Esther and Lionel Arlan when we were on a tour of Italy. It was one of the best trips we ever took.  The guide, the bus driver, the itinerary and the group were the best ever. A small group of us just clicked and we had so much fun.  Everyday they asked people to move up one row on the bus so everyone got a chance to be up front.  We were all having such a good time, we asked to stay in the back of the bus. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to be in the back of the bus.  We had a name for one person "mother superior."  

We visited the Arlan's when they lived in Saranac Lake, NY in 2008--our first year of RVing.  Yep, we bought a used RV and truck and drove from Arizona to New England, never having driven a rig before.  How we ever survived that trip without any idea of what we were doing is beyond me.

Esther and Lionel came to visit us in Arizona and we haven't seen them since.  

Esther invited us for dinner on Saturday, but I thought maybe Bill should rest and told them we'd see them Sunday.

Sunday morning Bill's heart rate went above the number we were told by our family doctor that called for a trip to the ER.  I jumped into the truck and drove Bill to St. Joe's Hospital.  He was immediately taken back and they started the usual tests.  The ER doctor wanted to shock his heart and the cardiologist decided since he wasn't in any pain just to continue his pills if his heart rate went above 90.  We were there about 6 hours.

We stopped at the Arlan's for just a short visit and to pick up our mail.  That short visit lasted a couple of hours.

Yesterday Lionel drove us to Concord and Lexington.  He's been there many times before but still took the time to show us around.  
You'll notice we were so busy talking, I didn't get a lot of photos.

There was a great video (not sure what it's called) that had different screens that lite up during the story.  It was the best I've seen in a long time.  I would say it compares with the Lincoln museum.  

There were displays outside of the theater as well.
Even though Lionel has been here before, he still seemed enthused. 

Even our lunch stop was historic.  We had lunch in the Colonial Inn which was celebrating 300 years--1716-2016.

The town of Concord is beautiful and there were old buildings everywhere.  This one was dated 1636.

Our next stop was to the North Bridge.  
I would love to revisit this area on April 19th--Patriot's Day.

Here's Bill and Lionel walking in the footsteps of history.




The Minutemen statue was being cleaned.

They even posed for this photo.

Lionel then took us to Lexington where at one point they used to live.
Bill wanted to tour the Buckman Tavern which is where John Hancock and John Adams discussed the political points of the upcoming day.

The tour included the audio devices which really enhanced the experience.

These weren't replica's.  The waistcoat belonged to John Hancock.


If you look at the ceiling in this kitchen you can see how old it is.  I loved hearing the floors squeak.

Wouldn't you have loved to sit around this table and hear the conversation?

The hole from the musket shot by the British Regulars is still in the door.

This would have been the most popular room-the bar.

Bill is just eating up all this history.  It's one thing to read about it, it's another to be in the same location.

We were about to exit when a docent asked if we'd seen the upstairs exhibit.  There was a special exhibit called "The Battle of the Battle".

Concord versus Lexington for the onset of the Revolutionary War, it's still undecided.

Bill voted for Concord, my vote goes to Lexington.

Lionel suggested we stop by the Masonic museum, but we were all running out of steam and decided to return to Nashua.

Esther had dinner almost prepared.  She also had another visitor from upstate New York.  The Arlan's have friends all around the world.  They are very active in Rotary and have traveled the world.

The conversation never slowed.  We all remembered getting our David aprons while on that Italy tour and viewing the statue of David.  The entire group came home with them.
Lionel decided he needed to be wearing his apron.

By the time we left, it was dark and very late.  I was glad Bill was driving as I would have had a hard time with my cataracts.

Would you say we're relaxing today?  It's almost noon, and we still haven't gotten dressed.  Some days you just need to take it slowly and today is one of those days.  

Turtle Safely......

11 comments:

  1. Sure hope Bill is doing better today. Those trips to the ER are really exhausting. I went to Concord and Lexington years ago and I'd sure love to go again since I don't remember it at all. So much history.

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  2. I would love to visit Concord! Thanks for a wonderful tour. I can't believe Bill was able to do all that walking. I hope his ticker keeps stays in tune.

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    1. He loves history so much and was smiling the whole day. He wanted to see more, Lionel and I both wimped out.

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  3. I sure would like to sit around that table and hear the conversation. Glad to see Bill was able to get out and see everything. Heart problems really are tricky in the way they can affect your life.

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    1. It almost gives you cold chills to think about all the decisions they had to make. I felt like they had just left the table.

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  4. Looks like more fun times sight seeing and with friends.
    We enjoy more relaxing days than not, but then again thats what we like.

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  5. We'll probably never be back in this area, so we don't want to miss anything.

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  6. It's always better to be safe than sorry even though the ER is definitely no fun. Glad you were able to continue on without hanging around the ER though.

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