For the best cookies ever, I mean ever, go to Lakota's Bakery in Arlington. They are amazing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lakota Bakery

You'll be close to Concord & Lexington, MA. If you enjoy American history it's hard to find a more inspired place. This is the first poem I ever memorized...

THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE (from the Landlord's Tale)

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;=
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

/t

Here is a link that might be useful: Lexington, MA Guide

I just got back from a 2 week vacation that started in Boston, then we drove up thru Maine, NH, and spent most of the time in Vermont. Boston was wonderful and I hope to go back some day. Someone on (I think) this list suggested we go to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and have their bread pudding in the coffee shop. We loved the bread pudding and the museum, spent a long time looking at everything. We found out that in 1990 2 men dressed up as police officers and took $300M in art. My husband (retired law enforcement) was fascinated in that story. I even enjoyed it more than the Museum of Fine Arts.

Dress warm and do the trolley tour. Walk the Freedom Trail. Go to Faneil Hall. Try to count how many Duncan Donut shops you see (they must have thousands, cracked us up). Enjoy! Linda in Keno, Oregon

Definitely eat at Legal Seafood (the main one if possible). Their food is consistently good!

Thanks all! I'm always one for a cookie, so I'll definitely see if I can find the Lakota, and what's a trip to the NE without eating tons of seafood? And don't get me started on bread pudding... :)

Tricia, I am duly impressed! You memorized that whole thing? I'm lucky I still remember "dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" (learned from Owen's poem). I'll see if I can make a trip to Lexington part of my trip.

Thanks again!
Bri

Ohhh, it looks like we will be missing each other by a few days. Have fun!

I had dinner at Legal Seafoods tonight, but I didn't make it to the main one. Had a lovely meal of almond crusted halibut with mushroom ravioli and spinach. Thanks for the recommendation compumom! I also drove up the coast to Portsmouth for some christmas shopping this afternoon. I thought I'd take the scenic route and decided on taking the 1A up the coast. Major mistake, because as soon as I got off 95 it was bumper to bumper traffic. The mystery was finally revealed when I got to Topsfield over an hour later. I think I was the only one in line of hundreds of cars that didn't turn off at the fair! Silly tourist, I should have taken 95 all the way up, but how was I to know? :) The drive up 1A was well worth it though and I got to see lots of lovely homes and wander around on the beach for a while.

I even got a recommendation from a couple of Portsmouth locals to drive up to Wells and check out Billy's Chowder house. Apparently their lobster stew? chowder? is to die for. We'll see if I can make it that far north again for dinner tomorrow! I'm also hoping some nice (local) soul from the class wants to have dinner in Boston sometime this week so I don't have to try to navigate the maze on my own. :) Thanks for the recommendations and help all!

Bri

Hi all! Just thought I'd report on my trip so far. :) I did make it up to Billy's chowder house Monday night for dinner. Their lobster stew was pretty darned good (coming from someone who doesn't go gaga over lobster, that's pretty high praise). I also got a combo plate with clams, scallops, haddock and shrimp. Of course I couldn't eat it all, but I definitely tried. I really had a good time driving up the coast through the small towns and chatting with the locals along the way. That, to me, is the best part of traveling!

Last night was leftovers, and tonight included a trip into Boston to go to the North End. Had a beer on Union street and then decided that I should head back to the commons to catch the T back to my car. I was very proud of myself for going into (and getting back out of) Boston by myself and not needing a map once! I still have to figure out what I'm doing for dinner tomorrow and Friday night, then I get to go home. hugs to you all!

Bri

Hey Bri, glad that you enjoyed Legal Seafood, I remember the oysters rockefeller and bienville were super too!
Sorry no more recs from me, I haven't visited in a long time.
Enjoy the rest of the trip!