Freedom of Conscience (and Camping)
With my front wheel pointed toward Rhode Island, the smallest of the U.S. states, I found myself stopping in Fall River, Mass., in front of the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast and Museum. “Is this really a thing?” I asked myself. In 1892, Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby, were found dead in their home; their skulls smashed in by the blows of a hatchet. Although their daughter Lizzie had fiscal and emotional motive, she was acquitted in court and to this day the case remains unsolved. Inside the museum, the entire crime scene has been recreated and memorabilia can be purchased in the gift store.
The commercialization seemed in poor taste to me, and I certainly did not want to stay in either Lizzie’s or her parents’ rooms. So, with the rhyme still playing on a loop in my head, I hurried on. I preferred the more serene environs of wild camping to the north of town.
Crossing the Taunton River, I soon discovered Providence, the capital of Rhode Island and a beautiful little city. My first stop was the Roger Williams National Memorial at one end of a park named for the founder of the state. Williams first came to
