Yesterday's ROADTRIP!

So does this photo give you any hints? I am of Swedish descent, but I live in a very unScandinavian area of the country. This is New England/New Hampshire-Red Sox Nation, land of die hard stoic laconic Yankees.

Maybe the meal is a give away...mine is on the right and Katie's is on the left-

But do you recognize this house? In the out building in the back is the Nation's first Presidential Library.

 

OK, the meal and the flags might give away IKEA. Katie and I took a trip down to the nearest store to us which is south of Boston. We needed to get her a few last items for her college dorm room this fall. And we had lunch there first too, as you can see by the food.

And every time we've gone to IKEA we pass a sign for the Adam's Homestead National Historic Site, and geeky me, I've always wanted to go. Good reason to stop too as our National Park Pass from last summer is about to expire. This house is the adult home of 2 presidents- the second US president-John Adams and his son-maybe the 6th president-John Quincy Adams (who read 13 languages and spoke fluently like 6 or 8 languages. They say the smartest most intellectual president we've ever had. ) And since this house was in the Adams family   until it became a park, it contains some priceless original portraits of various founding fathers and dishes and furniture that these men took to the White House (since at that time you brought your own furniture and then took it with you when you left). John Adams -our second president -was the first to move into the white house during the last of his 4 year term.

The gardens at the house were quite pretty, not huge and ornate, but very New England.

Part one of the tour (they trolley you around) is where the first Adam's president was born, a 1600's saltbox house in a different part of town -originally called Braintree and but now I believe in Qunicy, MA.

Katie on the big house porch.

Quincy is all about John and Abigail Adams. Here's a sign off the back of the church where they are buried.

And the sign at the big family home shown way up top.

We had a fun day out, I learned a lot- and can check it off my list-I have read David's McCoulough's book John Adams and I recommend it if you have any interest.