Walden Pond

This morning, for some reason, I woke up early, 8:30 and decided to get on with the day instead of trying to go back to sleep. I went to Target and planned to go to a park in Belmont and finish reading the book club book...but instead I ended up in Lexington. I had a coffee, sat on a bench and read for about 45 minutes and then had lunch at Vinny T's. I had fried ravioli (hoping they would be like toasted rav...they were cheesy but not as good as STL toasted rav).

I realized I was pretty close to Walden Pond so I headed down Route 2 and found my way to Walden. I have been wanting to go to Walden Pond since I lived in Maine.

It was beautiful. When I got onto the trail and it opened up to the pond I almost wept it was so beautiful. Even with a few noisy tourists the whole place had a pristine silence to it. I started to walk the 1.7 mile trail when I met a woman named Geggy. She was a cute gray haired lady with cropped jeans and sneakers on and she was ready to walk. She told me she had been waiting for 30 minutes for her group to show up but when noone came she decided to head out on her own. She asked if I minded company on my walk and I said I didn't mind at all. As we walked (she sprinted actually) I made a comment about how quick she was. She told me with a smile she was over 80 and liked to keep active. She could put a 20 year old to shame she was so spry.

In talking with her I found out she lived in Belmont, was originally from Norway (still had a bit of accent) but had lived in the states for over 50 years. She then told me that before coming to MA she and her husband (who was in the horse business) lived in Lexington, KY :)

We made our way up to the site where Thoreau had his cabin and as we headed up the small hill she ran into one of her group members, the leader of the hike actually. The three of us walked and talked for a bit longer but I left them to take a more leisurely walk so I could take in more of the scenery. There were chipmunks everywhere, a few people swimming, some diving, men, women and kids fishing, and two people kayaking.

As I finished up by the bath house I heard singing and when I rounded the corner I saw a group of people on the stone steps in front of the bathhouse, about 30 people I guess. I sat on some nearby steps and read and realized what the group was doing. They were performing baptisms. I watched several people of all ages be baptized in the pond. It was very peaceful to watch.

Had I known where I was going to end up today I would have taken my camera. It is truly a beautiful place, the water is clear and not terribly cold. I will go back this summer to enjoy the beach and the pond, and plan on going back when the leaves start to change in a few weeks. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be.

http://www.walden.org/