The dénouement .....

Hard to believe that just 4 days ago I was standing on "the green" in Lexington, MA, reflecting on the events of 1775, and now I am at West Yellowstone, MT, reflecting on the events of 1877. Both locations are the gateways to great National Park experiences (Minuteman National Park and Yellowstone). Both sets of events are about freedom.

In the events that followed those at Lexington in 1775, some Americans gained their liberty and rights as individuals. In the events that followed those here in Yellowstone in 1877, some Americans lost their rights and freedom. I am talking about the Nez Perce War of 1877, commonly know as the Chief Joseph War. If you are interested you can learn more from this Google Earth piece. It is part of the work I did for the Nez Perce National Historic Trail Foundation, I am making a presentation on it here later today.

It is interesting to see where America had progressed to 100 years after it started its journey to independence.

This blog - Will be working on the blog from time to time to add post scripts, edit, and link in a few more Google features. Also will be updating a few of the existing Google components so that they integrate with other Google tools, spreading the blog's potential reach on the web. Have also hooked this blog to Google Analytics so that we can track usage/clicks over time, along with other things like where in the world people are that are reading these words.

We chose to write this blog about a trip so that the events would have a beginning and an end, rather than become like a journal, which keeps rolling along ..... like history. That said, we will be checking in from time to time, and if you want to leave a comment or thought anywhere, please do so. We appreciate the feedback, and you can become part of the "trip" as well.

Trip Home - A Fall Ride ....

Had a great "fall" day in Concord yesterday. Started out at Walden Pond, where we took a "reflective" hike around the pond ("more like a lake" Shaelyn pointed out). Lots of school kids there doing the same thing .... including a large group from a local boy's school that took their clothes off and went swimming in the lake (Shaelyn pointed them out as well).

Then on to a few famous early American authors homes (women and men) - interesting to see where they lived when they wrote - check out this work by my friend Beryl Reid sometime.

Finally headed west, back to Emma Willard. Beautiful fall day - all across the state the leaf colors were starting to turn. Late this year, like they were waiting for us ....

Stopped to replenish Shaelyn's stock of dorm snacks - top ramin, mac and cheese, popcorn. Then a great meal of mini "sliders" at Valencia's Pub in Troy. Dropped my gear at the guest house, checked Shaelyn in and went up and watched an episode of Sherlock (BBC modern adaptation). Gave her a hug, and left to go back to the guest house to teach an online class with students on the west coast (no rest for the Google Geek).

Woke up this morning feeling older, but with a smile on my face.

Make it a good day.

Literacy Day

For today, instead of learning about the Revolutionary War, we went to the homes of famous writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott as well as the Old Manse which Hawthorne had also lived in. (more on that later.)

We began at the house of Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of the Scarlet Letter, however we could not go inside because it was closed. It was a shade of pink on the outside and there was a very interesting looking thing for a top floor. Following this, we went to the home of Louisa May Alcott who wrote Little Women. Little Women was based on Louisa's real life youth and it was very interesting to learn more about that. Her family was extremely smart and talented, and had very forward ideas for the time. Lastly we went to the Old Manse, an old Scottish word for a preacher's house. The name Old Manse came from Hawthorne's book, Mosses from an Old Manse meaning stories from an old preacher's house. (This is where we heard a lot of funny stories about Hawthorne… for now, I'll just say he was a terrible tenant.) 

Battle Road - No Rest for the Weary

We had a great day today. Weather was warm, with the sun peeking through from time to day. Sometimes it made me wonder if there was similar conditions back on April 19, 1775,  when the events we were learning about all day were unfolding.

Part of the reason we enjoyed ourselves was because of all the efforts made by guides/rangers - well informed and often in period dress - to give us a human/oral perspective on the events of that day. There is nothing like "hearing" and "seeing" to make an experience like a site visit to a historical place take vivid shape.

The scale of the place allowed us to walk most of the venues, and there were plenty of interpretative signs ... which had a "cell phone" tour (978 224 4905) or recordings.

Shaelyn also shot a cell phone video of the park ranger (pictured above) demonstrating how to clean a musket - here is the You Tube link. She used iMovie to edit it.

Will try embedding below:

Paul Revere and John Hancock (III)

After Paul Revere was captured, the British let him go somewhere else and he had to walk all the way back to Lexington, and when he did he returned to the Hancock-Clark House, only to find Hancock right where he left him when he was supposed to leave or be killed by the English (he had been charged with treason.) Once he finally had gotten rid of Hancock, someone arrived, telling him that Hancock had left some personal papers that he should go retrieve in a trunk. Of course, when Paul gets there he finds not a little trunk, but a big, bulky one that he will have to carry out and sneak away with. In other words, Paul Revere had a very long night even after the midnight ride.

"The British are coming!" "But WE'RE British!!"

Today, we went to Lexington and took a tour of the Hancock-Clark House and the Buckman Tavern.
(P.S. Paul Revere never actually said "The British are coming" because if he had the colonists' reply would've been that they are British so what's the matter?)

The Hancock-Clark House was pretty fun to hear about since I heard that John Hancock (III, there were three generations of John Hancock's, the first one being the III's grandfather and he was a preacher that apparently very much liked his exclamation points!!) was quite the prima-donna and gave Paul Revere quite a lot of grief. (See here…)

After we went to the Hancock-Clark House we went to the Buckman Tavern. There we got to look at the men's half of the tavern, where the men waited for the British to arrive when the war began, and we saw the original door of the tavern which had a hole in it because of people shooting holes through the door during the battle. (It is believed that the first shot was fired through the third floor of the tavern.) We also saw the ladies room where the women would be since they were not allowed in the men's side and we also saw the workroom which had a bed and a desk. (The bed being for a servant/apprentice/helper because the owner of the tavern never had any children to help run the tavern and fully functioning farm.)

Halfway Point - Adult Reflections on Trip Blogging

Well we are at the midway point of our trip and have some thoughts to share if you are ever considering something like this ...

• Prepare
• Prepare
• Prepare
• Figure out a reasonable amount of events/sites to both visit about and blog about as you go (recommend using Google Earth for trip planning - might think about drawing the kids into this as well)
• Be "wifi" and electric outlet aware (comes naturally with kids that have been brought up with a cell phone as their teddy bear) - lots of the spots in Boston were supposed to have public wifi, but we ended up ducking into coffee places/cafes (or scamming their wifi) from time to time
• You can blog/post to Blogspot from a cell phone
• Cell phone also are great for grabbing pics
• Blog as you go - makes for a nice rhythm some time for recap/refection on what you just saw with your child/student
• Save a reasonable amount of time at the end of the day for putting things in order - remember one of the wonderful things about the digital world is it's editing capabilities
• Let the kids blog their own way
• Create some other web tools to help orient folks to what they are hearing about - pics (Picasa web albums), videos (YouTube), and maps (Google Maps) are just a few suggestions - use the blog as an excuse to learn more about these tools, maybe learn from the young ones
• Walk whenever possible (personal preference) - clears the head and is good for burning off all the calories from Starbucks pitstops for wifi.
• Have fun

Got to run .... I mean walk.

Two Old Salts ....

Just when you get feeling like you are getting old, something happens to put age in perspective. At the end of a full day (ate and drank our way across Boston to maintain decent wifi connection) we finished up our tour of downtown with a stop at the USS Constitution "Old Ironsides" - the oldest active naval vessel (still afloat, goes out several times a year, manned/maintained by active US Navy personnel).

A vessel that is many times my age (you guess the factor), but still gives one goosebumps when you see her up close up. Got the full tour. One of those days you are especially proud to be an American. See the web album for some pics.

One if by land, two if by sea…

We've just left the Old North Church, where the lanterns that signaled Paul Revere came from. It's actually not that far from his house. Anyways, in the church everybody sits in either the pews at the top balcony or in the boxes on the floor. People buy the boxes and then can decorate them how they choose. (The church also has angels stolen by pirates, fun fact.…) They also still use the original donation boxes and they haven't really modernized the church either. (No wires in the chandeliers or anything…)

Lunch!

Well, now that we've had sometime to sit down I am enjoying delicious Asian noodles and sweet and sour meat (that MAY be chicken but I'm not 100% sure) while making this post. We just came back from seeing Faneuil Hall and the surrounding shops. I got to pick up a few things from the shops including rainbow socks and an ink pen. Faneuil Hall had some more shops on the bottom floor and a gathering room on the upper floor that's had numerous former and would-be presidents speaking there. There was a speaker that talks every 30 minutes or so with a new lecture

Paul Revere's Digs

Because I chose the title for the post, Shaelyn told me she refused to write it… said she'd never use the word digs. Did a 3D model for Google Earth after my last visit here. Took the tour–see pics at the Picasa Web Album.

P.S. Dear Ms. Hanmer, Paul Revere did not make George Washington's false teeth. The curator here told us that that is the most popular myth that they have to dispel about Paul Revere. 

Posting this from Faneuil Hall.

The North End - Paul R's "Hood"

The place hasn't changed much .... narrow streets, brick buildings, the accents, Italian bakeries on a wet Sunday morning.

Found window seat, wifi, electric outlets for the gear, my era background music quiet enough to allow eavesdropping (can picture the night watchman making his rounds in Paul's day doing the same thing) at Boston Commons Coffee - on Salem Street. Killing time and catching up on digital chores while we are waiting for the Paul Revere House to open - our first stop.

Check the Picasa photo album for some of Shay's "finds",

On Track

Who knew .... wifi on the train! Talks about being a country boy. Shaelyn tells me this is common on the east coast. Quite a change from 1776 though, when messages traveled by foot, horse, or boat. Taking commuter train in so we do not have to deal with Boston parking - also a big change since 1776, when area we are staying was just rural farms and Boston had about 20,000 residents (now over 600,000 living in the same area). Headed in to the North Station and what they now call the "North End". Wet fall weather, but smiling.

Water, Water Everywhere

Gee, I could be in New York City right now, probably waiting to get into ComicCon, later getting cool free stuff with my friends. But no. I am at the Concord Train Station, waiting for a train, where it is about 50*, and it's pouring. Once we are actually ON the train, we will be headed for Boston to see Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and other bits of the midnight ride.

And Away We Go!

So teacher conferences are over and between my jet lag, teaching an online course late Thursday evening (met Emma security guards - they were checking out why lights were on ... someone talking to themselves ...), and quite a bit of Emma stimulation/interesting conversation my head is reeling. I mentioned this to Shaelyn as we exited the campus (seen in several movies) and she simply said "now you know how I feel after a week of classes here ..... "

Took me about two minutes on the road before I asked Shaelyn to fire up my iPhone and load our hotel destination (heavily researched in Google Earth/Streetview/Google+ Local Search) into the Google Maps App (sorry Apple haven't upgaded) on my phone. 2 hrs. 55 minutes/157 miles ... complete with interactive map and follow the bouncing ball GPS.


When I walked up to Shaelyn's room to help bring down her bag, I climbed the stairs past a set of stain glass windows in what the school calls the "Hall of Flags" - home country flag of every current student is represented - 32 countries (27 states) - noticed 4 emblems with inscriptions - Art, Literature, Science, and ... Geography!!

In her day (early 1800's) Emma Willard gained fame as one of the first noted female geographers. I reflect about the tools at her disposal, while my navigator, a member of the 200th class of the school that Emma founded, uses mobile technology to track our progress (while she texts her friends). While times have changed, the excitement of traveling has not.

Posting this from our hotel in Concord (GMaps was right on the money - both time and distance.. Dinner at "Helens" the landmark local family restaurant - "G+ed" it.

Boston in the AM.

The World's Longest Google Ad

And so begins the Great Google Expedition. As we take history tours/trips from Concord to Boston there will be new posts on this Google blog. My job here, (other than blogging about the trip from a student's point of view) is to use various Google products to increase the quality of this website and (most likely) promote Google. Currently, we are using Picasa Web Albums, YouTube, Google Sites, Google Maps and Blogger to make this site better. (P.S. I'm using Google headphones right now and typing this on a Google app.)

Going back on topic, these tours and use of Google is also to show that the Internet and various pieces of technology can be used in the school environment to the advantage of the students. On the video I created on YouTube for Paul Revere's Ride (you can view it on this website homepage) I have found a good number of students commenting on it, thanking me for posting it and telling me how it helped them for their Paul Revere assignments for school. There are also 3D models of the buildings available for viewing on Google Earth and this website has been optimized to be viewable on smart phones and phones with Internet capabilities. In my English class my teacher also posts our week's homework on a Google Doc, in Algebra 2 our teacher projects answers from an iPad onto a projector, and in Biology in a Google Site it has our homework and we use Blogger for our experiments. In other words, schools are slowly integrating technology into their systems and this blog is to further support this.

And We're Off! (Tomorrow…)

So as you've probably seen by now, my father probably cleared up the point of this blog. The history from 1776, American Revolution. Luckily I've been studying this lately in U.S. (American) History. We'll be leaving tomorrow for Boston where the real posts will begin.

American History Class…

So I made it out to Emma Willard after a full travel day (planes/car) from Spokane yesterday (Oct 10, 2012).

Came to be part of Shaelyn's Parents Weekend activities. After that we hit the road up to Boston. Since Shaelyn is still in class, I thought I would do some of my own background work - hey I was a history major in college.

In trying to draw a thread from the Emma Willard School/Emma Willard to the events up in Boston in 1776, I thought I would start by emailing Shaelyn's history teacher, Ms Trudy Hanmer, who also happens to be writing a book about Emma Willard, the schools founder ... almost 200 years ago (Shaelyn's graduating class 2014).

Ms Hanmer noted via email (very prompt response I might add...)

I’m afraid there aren’t many direct connections between Emma Willard (woman or school) and the Revolution. She revered the Revolutionary generation, and her father fought on the colonial side (as did her husband, Dr. John Willard, who was imprisoned by the British during the war and had a lifelong hatred for all things British). The Harts left the Boston area in the 17th century, travelling with Thomas Hooker to Connecticut as part of the Congregational dissent from the Puritans. 

 Emma’s plan for women’s education was rooted in her belief in “republican motherhood,” the idea that the revolutionary ideals could only be safeguarded by an educated female population.

Well ... maybe the best connection that I can make from this is that like Emma Willard, I also hold the "Revolutionary generation" in very high regard. Studying American history is like reading a story about  getting involved/making a difference and how that is a key part of citizenship. Oops .. sorry for slipping into "election year mind set".

FYI Ms Hanmer also added:

I look forward to seeing you on the weekend. As of today, Shaelyn has not signed you up for a parent conference, however. Perhaps you are leaving for Boston on Saturday and skipping the conferences?

Hmmmmmmmmmm ..............

What this is about ...

Shaelyn (Shay) has called me (her dad) the "Google Geek" for several years now to describe me to people she knows. If you want to learn more about that you can go to my free Google Site  or my public Google+ Profile. In addition to being a Google Geek, I am a life long student of American.

I read biographies of famous Americans as a child. Was a history major in college (Princeton, class of 1976 .. our bicentennial year). Have always been a "road warrior" that stopped at roadside history markers, national parks,  and historic places

In recent years, with the advent of the web and my acquiring the persona of a Google geek, I have used various Google offerings to help raise public awareness of American history/historic preservation. I was contacted a couple years back by educator Carol Larow (a fellow Google Geek) who asked me to do 3D models for several buildings on Paul Reveres's Midnight Ride - for a piece on the Longfellow poem at her website Google Historical Events and Voyages. Shaelyn and I did a Youtube video on the Longfellow poem - 36,000 views so far.

I also did a kml piece on the events in Boston/Freedom Trail 1776. When I did the piece, I built a Google Site (mobile template) to help serve images/files to the kml). I wanted to eventually use the site to experiment with content/various web technologies and mediums ..... that is what i will be doing with Shaelyn this trip. Blog, pics, video - whatever else we can come up with to give you a sense of the events surrounding Paul Revere's ride through the eyes of a life long American history buff ... and the perspective of a 16 year old in a high school American history class.

Either way it will prove to her mom, who is home at the Funny Farm (that's right, that is where this branch of the Hall family lives) working, taking care of the animals, and doing fall chores, what we did on our trip to Boston.