So I’ve discovered where I’ll be spending my afternoons on nice days until the school year is over.
It’s so beautiful, I can hardly stand it.
I went to Walden Pond for the first time ever Monday. I’ve heard of it, but hadn’t yet been until the weather was so gorgeous I couldn’t bear going to walk on a treadmill indoors. When the weather gets nice I need to be outside. Anything else is less than acceptable. You see, I love to walk. I’ve never been a runner (believe me, I’ve tried) but walking suits me just fine. When I first moved to Boston and lived in Back Bay I would walk an hour to and from Charlestown everyday. When I moved to Brookline and worked in Kenmore Square I would stroll up and down Beacon Street on my way to work, and on my way home. Then, I got a job 20 miles out of the city and walking to work was no longer possible, but I still managed to get some good walking in. When I lived near Washington Square this was easy. I’d just head down to Cleavland Circle and walk around the reservoir with the sun on my face and the good feeling that if I walked fast enough I could be back to my apartment in an hour or so. There’s a gorgeous pond just steps away from my apartment now, but you can’t walk around it, which has been the biggest bummer to me. Until Monday, when I found Walden Pond directly on my route home from work– and it’s beyond perfect.
It’s the pond where Henry David Thoreau spent two years of his life living simply, living in a self-build hut in the woods on the land of his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was here in these woods where he wrote his book Walden; or, Life in the Woods.
It’s an incredible part of history and I can’t believe I have the ability to visit here every day. The prairie girl in me is just bursting at the seams.
This is the site where Thoreau’s hut used to be. There are now only a pile of rocks to mark where the cabin once was, but there is a museum in Concord that contains the actual bed, desk, and chairs from his dwelling in the woods. 
The trees are still fairly bare now, and though the scene is still breathtaking, imagine what it will be like in the spring, summer, and fall. Parking is $5 a day, but I went with the $35 yearly pass because I plan on seeing this place through the seasons. It’s glorious, I’m sure.
There is a path around the entire pond that is incredibly beautiful and it’s a little over 1.5 miles around. The past two days I’ve made two loops and it’s just about the perfect thing to do after a day of teaching. I’ve been bringing my class outside for our read-aloud every day, but besides that we’re mostly stuck indoors. This is a way for me to get that fresh air that I’m craving desperately around this time of year.
And now that the light shines into the evening this makes for one happy lady.
And lucky too, ever so lucky–
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment…
— there is no other life but this.”
there is no other life but this!!! i feel like springing from my bed and shouting that every morning.
also, when you walked to and from charlestown, would you commit bank robberies along the way? something tells me you did.
HA!! You know it, sister.
Also, can I just say what a nice image that is of you springing out of bed shouting to the hilltops (or the skyscrapers in your case). Do you sing with the birds like Cinderella? Because in my mind you do. And I love it.
haha! yes i do! and they fly around me, washing my face and helping me into my clothes. not a big deal.
Lovely! I went here in the fall, and just fell in love. My husband and I were just saying we need to go back soon now that the weather is warm again!
That’s a lovely place for a late afternoon walk. My family went without me when they were visiting the area and said it was quite neat!
I too have heard of this wondrous place and never been!! NEED to get OUT more! ACK! Thanks for sharing the photos; looks so serene! $35/year is a steal! Maybe we can do a blogger picnic there someday!
Y.E.S. to the blogger picnic. What an idea! They have a small beach too so we could bring blankets and sit right by the water.
Aaaaaaaamazing.
YESYESYES! i seriously would love nothing more than to put on my hiking garb and prance at walden. and eat sandwiches. and live in the forest. now you’ve inspired me to go :)
That first picture/graphic/quote is amazing, Anna.
I saw Walden Pond once when it was frozen–equally beautiful. I went to see it when my dad visited me in Boston, so it will always be a special place.
We went to that janky Concord museum too ;)
Wow, that place is beautiful. It makes me want to go read a bunch of classic literature. I’m happy you found a nice walking space for yourself. That looks splendidly refreshing and inspiring. :)
This looks positively lovely; wish that I had the money to be able to hop on a plane and visit whenever I wanted! Maybe in a few years time… In the meantime, I’ve passed you a note… http://starsandrainbows.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/late-notes/ Happy days xxx
As a native of Chelmsford, Ma, our middle school and high school traveled there on many a field trip! In my older years of high school, an old BF of mine used to take me there during the summer to sit on the beach and swim. Then we’d go downtown to Concord center. Ahh, brings me back, bringssss me back.