Bike Rides, Fun Rides and Dead Bodies!

23 Aug 2014--Been here over 3 weeks now, so we threw a few pics together to share here.  We took a couple bike rides on the Minuteman Trail, a 10 mile stretch covered with a canopy of trees that leads into the town centers of several small towns along the way.  Cathy, Marie, Emily and I all went riding together one day, while just Ellen and I went another...Marie was a little unstable after over 40 years of not being on a bike, but I think she enjoyed it, so it worked out! In the 3rd pic I am actually not paying attention so I am drifting somewhat to my left, making Marie a little a nervous about where she is about to go...if you blow up the picture, you can see the concern on her face.  haha



The town of Lexington is just over 3.5 miles from our RV park, so we all stopped to check it out.

 

What is now a church was the 1st Meeting House of the settlers back in 1692.  The open field in the 4th pic is where the 1st shots of the Battle of Lexington were fired, with the statue standing over the remains of those who died there during the battle.  And Ellen is standing in front of another popular meeting place, the Buckman Tavern.

   

When Marie and Emily joined us we stopped for coffee and sandwiches, which was nice...but Ellen and I hit the jackpot!!!  The town was having a free "ice cream social" at the library, so we were all over that!!!  haha



Another day we joined Marie and her crew for a day at Canobie Lake Park and had a ball!  We went on several great rides, and even got to take 3 1/2 yr old Bridget on a couple of the adult rides.  I have to admit that she absolutely made my day...she is completely fearless and excitement practically drips out of every pore in her body.  Didn't even hesitate to go "no hands" like she saw us doing on the rides she couldn't go on...I LOVE this kid!!!



Check out Bridget here in the 2nd and 3rd pics..."no hands", and even trying to reach back to grab Ryan as she saw others do before her.



And now for something a little odd!  Marie and Ellen joined us in going into downtown Boston, to the Quincy Market, where they had the "Body Worlds" display showing.  Cathy and I had wanted to see it when it was in San Antonio, but missed it, and Marie and Ellen decided to join us without really knowing what it was, so their reaction was probably the best part of the day.

We walked from the bus stop and took a couple pics along the way...outside this restaurant with the big lobster in front, and I posted this dog dish cause I thought Hallie and Donna would like it.



Outside the marketplace and in front of a big carousel.



So the Body Worlds display shows actual human bodies that have been sliced, diced, flayed, and displayed in different poses so we can learn from them.  Neither Marie nor Ellen initially realized that these used to be live people...we had seen about 2 or 3 of them when it dawned on Marie that they were real bodies and body parts, and as Ellen was ahead of us, she saw several more before it dawned on her.  Their reactions to this news were really funny...didn't quite know whether to be horrified or mesmerized...maybe a bit of both!  That 3rd pic is of someone who had Scoliosis, or curvature of the spine.

 

I thought the guy in this 2nd pic looked like maybe an American Indian in tribal garb doing a dance but instead those are the muscles of his body peeled back and away from his frame so you can see them, and his innards, better.  Everything you see in the pics that is red-ish in color are muscles.



This was interesting as to how the dead and death used to be thought of back in the middle ages and beyond.



Two brains...without, and then with, Alzheimer's.  Did you know that the only true way to know for sure if someone had Alzheimer's is to do an autopsy?



Lungs of a non-smoker and a smoker.  Notice that even the non-smoker has black specks in the lungs. That is from inhaling dirt particles throughout our lives that as we get older our bodies have an increasingly hard time expelling.  In the last pic here you can see the black holes in the lungs of someone with emphysema...yikes!  Glad I quit!

 
 

This 1st is one of only 2 women we saw in the display, followed by the guy with the hat and the flayed muscles.  He seemed to be the coolest to me!!! haha



Playing hockey and ready to rope!  Notice the guy with the rope has had his head sawed into different vertical layers so you can see inside.



Cathy talks me into trying to copy this display!!! haha



Got our Dunkin' Donuts coffee and on our way back home!!!



So we are about "evented" out now...got another week or so before we hit the road so just gonna relax, do a little more people visiting, and then head to Albany and NYC following that.  Looking forward to our trek down to Florida!!!