Plymouth!

Friday, August 30: Plymouth, MA

Today was Free Fun Fridays! at Plimoth Plantation. How could we pass that up? (Yes, it really is spelled that way. The town is Plymouth, so the museum chose the alternate spelling to differentiate itself. They felt free to do this since spelling in the 17th century was not yet regularized, and this spelling was often used.)

About a 65 minute drive from our home is a living history village (a reconstructed 17th century settlement with interpretive actors in costume and character to interact with; a living history 17th century Native People homesite, a reconstructed Mayflower sailing ship, a reconstructed grist mill, and the ROCK. Given the huge admission price savings, we were not the only ones to think of doing this today, and the museums were very crowded. Still, it was a nice day, and we had cleared all of it for this trip, so we could just take our time and enjoy.

We started at the Grist Mill shortly after 9 AM. It is certainly the least famous and least-attended of the various historical sites, but I actually really enjoyed seeing the engineering up close. John enjoyed trying to use the huge mortar and pestle to grind corn faster than the giant stone mill could.

We then took a pretty half-mile walk along the river to the harbor, where the recreated version of the Mayflower is anchored. The ship is partially furnished, to give an idea of the size and placement of items, but I still can't figure out where they put all 102 passengers down in that hold. (Later, I was to learn that they also crammed into that space a full complement of furniture for each family, food stores, animals, and more. It certainly makes Noah's ark seem more literally feasible!)

We briefly enjoyed the views of Plymouth Harbor - the ocean is still a novelty for us. Then we strolled along the boardwalk at the beach to Plymouth Rock. Today, it is a large enclosure with a small rock at the bottom, about 12 feet down in the sand. The rock is about the size of a small dog. There is a national parks guide standing there giving the same speech over about every 45 seconds. According to him, the rock was once large enough to be a landing dock, but souvenir-hunters over time chipped at it and carried most of it away. 

M. took a turn at the camera. She managed to catch us in a truly candid moment.

 By now, it was lunchtime. We drove three miles down the coast to the Plantation, where we waited for a parking spot (yes, it was a busy day) then ate our picnic lunch in the car. Then, we moved on the Wampanoag homesite, where Native Peoples share about the history of their people.

A demonstration of making a dug-out canoe by burning and scraping the insides.

Next was the craft barn, where artisans create the artifacts used throughout the museum. Margaret was particularly taken with the pottery wheel, and begged to return over and over again. Helen, on the other hand, thought weaving was the best, because she got to do it herself. The photo below does not do justice to the way she beamed when the woman handed her the shuttlecock.

Finally, we walked on to the English village. The view from the Block House (2-story lookout/fort/assembly hall/church) down to the ocean was lovely.

We spent several hours ducking in and out of houses, looking at the vegetable gardens, meeting the rare breed livestock, trying our hand at kneading bread dough, and more. 

Margaret really enjoyed hearing the interpreters singing in 17th-century style.

.The timing worked out just about right. As the park closed at 5 PM, we were all just about ready to quit, in any case. We drove into town and found a restaurant with gluten-free pizza for John. Helen enjoyed sitting between John and Margaret so that she could easily eat from both of their pizzas. The kids did great at a place with tablecloths - they all even tried a bite of Jeremy's salmon and my roasted beet salad. (They didn't all manage to swallow, of course, but they tried it!)

Finally, we returned to the Plantation for one last event. The Plimoth Players run a Shakespeare repertory theater in August, so we were fortunate to catch the last showing of Much Ado About Nothing. I was surprised to see that the theater was so tiny. There were 55 seats, arranged in 3 rows around a corner, with the stage making up the other two sides of the box. We sat down late (general admission) so got the last row - but that was still 3rd row. 

We had checked out several "Shakespeare-\for-Kids"-type versions of the play from the library, and I had read one of these to the kids during the drive. Still, even though this gave them a basic plot summary, I was amazed at how much they could follow what was happening. For 2.5 hours, they sat still (more or less) and paid attention. They giggled at appropriate times. They strained in their seats to better see the actors. Even Helen, whom I had assumed would fall asleep instantly (having missed her afternoon nap), followed along closely until well into the 2nd Act. Apparently, good old Will really is timeless. 

When we pulled into home at 11:30 that night, even James was asleep in the car. Truly, we wore them out this time!