Adams National Historical Park

I left Jersey around 7:30am. Rolled into Quincy, MA around 11:45am, which isn't bad. I spent my first day at the Adams National Historical Park. John Adams was a founding father, our nation's 2nd president and an amazing man. The park consists of three houses, two of them right next to each other. Those are John Adams' birthplace and, right next to it, John Quincy Adams' birthplace. JQA was John's first son and the 6th President of the United States. The third house, a trolley-ride away, is called the Old House. John Adams moved in with his family to this larger house when he came back from Paris (he was minister to France, sent to negotiate commerce with them). This third house is amazing because it was in the family for four generations and reflects all that history, including two presidencies.

OK - now I love history and don't wish to perpetuate falsehoods. I'm going to put this out there with a large grain of salt. Located in front of a fireplace in the Old House were two poles with what looked like shields on them. The ranger (who gave an excellent tour, whether or not this story is bogus) said that they were face shields, adjustable for various heights. According to her, in the era of smallpox, people who survived, but pockmarked, uses beeswax to fill in the crevices and holes. The shield was used to protect their faces from melting the beeswax, hence - wait for it - 'mind your own beeswax' and 'saving face'. We all bought this hook, line and sinker. There was even a 'ooohhhhhh' from the tour group. However, I've since done some internet investigating (itself, a suspect activity) and found one reference debunking the 'beeswax' scenario and nothing else. I feel a little foolish, as I 'oooohhhh'ed the loudest. Ha ha!

In the very next post, I'm putting up photos from today's visits.