“Mr. Adams Goes to Philadelphia” in Quincy, 10–11 Aug.

This weekend, 10–11 August, the Adams National Historical Park will commemorate John Adams’s departure for the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

The event description says:

Special programming for the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress will be held at the Adams Farm at Penn’s Hill, located at 141 Franklin Street in Quincy.

Ranger talks focused on the role of John Adams in the First Continental Congress will take place outside of the John Adams and John Quincy Adams Birthplaces at the Adams Farm at Penn’s Hill on both Saturday and Sunday at 10 am, 12 noon, and 2 pm.

John Adams, portrayed by Michael Lepage, will be on-site at the Adams Farm at Penn’s Hill throughout the day on both Saturday and Sunday. Visitors can talk with Adams as he prepares for his journey to Philadelphia and for the First Continental Congress.

These are outdoor events, free to the public and weather-dependent. The nearest public restrooms are at the Adams National Historical Park Visitor Center at 1250 Hancock Street.

I’ve seen some Bicentennial-era books say John Adams had never left Massachusetts before this trip. In fact, he regularly traversed New Hampshire while appearing in front of Massachusetts’s county courts since some of those counties were in Maine.

Adams also spent time at a spa in Connecticut in 1771, after concluding his year in the Massachusetts assembly. His diary of those days is transcribed here.

This trip to Philadelphia was, however, the first time Adams had traveled outside of New England. He visited two cities larger than Boston and met colleagues from as far away as Charleston, South Carolina. In August 1774, Adams might well have been feeling a little trepidatious about his trip.