I went to the woods to walk deliberately

and instead I found screaming hordes at a beach. Not the impression I thought I would have of Walden Pond. Apparently, in addition to its historical significance to Massachusetts, nay, New England history and philosophy, it also serves at the local watering hole (literally) for the good citizens of Concord. Scratch that, it is actually the local beach serving the population of folk who are willing to pay the $5 entry fee. And, on a moderately hot day, that population is apparently legion.

The pond itself is lovely, and from its National Park photos I imagine that reservation is quietly stunning in the colder months. The educational nuggets presented on Thoreau, however, reveal him not so much to be the intrepid pioneer of civil disobedience as a sulky ne'er do well. Wikipedia is far kinder to him, for in reading the placards, I came to understand that he was considered to be the slightly touched son of a prosperous family, wiling away his time in, essentially, a treehouse.

Not quite what I expected.