Howdy Pilgrim, Part I

With a bit of reluctance from all involved, I managed to strong arm my family into trekking to Plymouth, Massachusetts to celebrate Thanksgiving; besides, I had made reservations months in advance so that we could eat with the 'pilgrims.'

After arriving, it seemed as though everyone was enjoying themselves. Providence blessed us with a beautiful day with the temperature near to 70 degrees.

First, we visited the Mayflower II, a replica of the original built by the English and sailed to America in the 1950's. J and I were struck at the ship's small size and could not imagine a hundred plus people enduring such confined quarters for months.

After visiting the ship, we walked to view the 'rock.' The rock itself is not impressive, a smallish nondescript stone really, but is venerated nonetheless.

For lunch, we traveled to nearby Plimouth Plantation, where villages of the English and Wampanoag native people's have been painstakingly reproduced. We had the opportunity to view native people (we learned the politically correct reference to our country's first inhabitants) demonstrating techniques for smoking out a log for a water craft, traditional cooking methods, and dance. Not far from the Wampanoag village, stood the English village complete with ramparts and livestock.

After touring the sites, we settled in for our Thanksgiving dinner which consisted of both traditional and contemporary menu items. Despite the initial chagrin, fun was had by all.

Mayflower II

Our family in Plymouth
Daddy and Log viewing the rock
The rock
Log on a cannon in the English village
Big brother and little sister
Log on a dock near to the Mayflower II
Mama and Grandma at the Mayflower II exhibit
Mama and kiddos with a disgruntled (and oddly small) Puritan
J inside of the Mayflower II