24 hour getaway: Sudbury, Concord and Walden Pond

It had been 6 months since Dave and I enjoyed that much-need 'sans kids' getaway to Vermont, so we were due for a change of scenery... and a chance to take a few deep breaths and forget about all of the stress back home.

We had never been to Sudbury, so when the offer came up, we were really looking forward to exploring all of the history in that area. Sudbury is northwest of us, about 15 miles from Concord/Lexington. (Hover over the historic site names as you go if you want to be redirected to more information.)

(The finger on the right points to Marshfield; the finger on the left points to Sudbury.)

We stayed at the Wayside Carriage House Inn, not to be confused with the 'historic Longfellow's Wayside Inn', located 5 minutes further down the road. We expected to be in a very basic room, no WiFi, no TV... because that's what I had read on the website. As we pulled into the parking lot of a very modern, upscale hotel, we were a bit confused. I hadn't realized that the "1700's no frills rooms" were actually at the restaurant where we had a dinner reservation. Oops! But it turned out to be a fine surprise.

After Dave arranged for room service to deliver a refreshing glass of Chardonnay, we headed down to the lobby to catch the shuttle for dinner. While waiting, we met a lovely young bride, along with her mother and Maid of Honor, who ended up riding the shuttle with us. By the time we had reached the restaurant, they had invited us to to the wedding ceremony and reception.

Longfellow's Wayside Inn

The Revolutionary War ambience within the restaurant was so quaint and authentic, and the food (prime rib and broiled scallops) was out of this world. We briefly entertained the idea of crashing the wedding, but after the filling dinner (and the fact that we're not as young as we used to be), we decided to pass on the late night festivities. As we laid in bed that night, we both realized we missed the kids. (Will we ever get to the point where we can go away for more than one night at a time?)

The next morning, we walked the grounds of the Wayside Inn, starting with the stable and livery and proceeding to the little red schoolhouse, as featured in Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Martha-Mary Chapel, where the young couple got married the night before.

Next, we walked further on down the road to the Grist Mill. We were the only people around and it was so peaceful and relaxing. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day - sunny and warm!

The stonework on this building was amazing.

This stream flows into the Grist Mill Pond.

By 9:00, the Wayside Inn was open for brunch so we stepped inside for some photos... and a stop at the bakery/gift shop to get muffins and jam to bring home for the kids.

This is the bar/lounge area of the inn. The ceiling is filled with silver tankards, which were used by the colonels.

More shots from inside the Inn...


Next we took a scenic 15 minute drive past some gorgeous old homes on our way to Walden Pond State Reservation. This was my favorite part of our short 24 hour getaway. It was definitely worth the $5 park admission fee. People must have come from all over, as we recognized several people speaking in German and French.

Here is a statue of Henry David Thoreau. I regret having not read Walden before this visit, but I am moving it to the top of my "Must Read List."
Behind us is the replica of Thoreau's house that he lived in for two years in the woods.

We took a walk around the perimeter of Walden Pond, and passed several people fishing.

The man below was actually fly fishing.

I can't think of a more relaxing way to spend a warm Sunday morning.

The full view of the pond behind us...


After our walk, we continued along to downtown Concord. We grabbed some coffee and leisurely made our way up and down the streets, window shopping. These are the types of beautiful homes to be found in Concord.

Revolutionary War monument..

We will definitely return to Concord in the near future, probably with the kids. It's nice to know that it's only a 60-90 minute drive, depending on traffic, so it's a perfect daytrip to make with the family.