We jumped in the car today and drove for a half hour to reach the town of Plymouth where we were going to start out Pilgrim Fathers trail. We headed first for The Mayflower II - a recreation of the original ship that bought the Pilgrims to the New World in 1620.
As we looked around the ship, we marveled at how such a small vessel could transport about 100 people, 25 crew and supplies and animals across the Atlantic in the Autumn/Winter. They truly were very brave people
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We got chatting to one of the tour guides there, who gave us some idea of what it must have been like on board. They actually bought more crew than needed, because of the high death rate on such journeys, to make sure they had enough crew to sail back home again.
We then headed to see the famous Plymouth Rock - the supposed first point at which the travelers touched down on American soil. It's a rock. But it's got to be seen!
We walked along the road by the beach heading back to the car, popping in and out of shops. Matthew and Clare found a lovely shop selling items made mostly by adults and kids with learning difficulties who are struggling to find gainful employment in society. They got chatting to the staff and kids there and they were genuinely lovely people. Matthew bought a beach ball there, which he'd been looking for to play with in the pool. It was called Newly Found on South Park Avenue - do check them out if you're passing..
So then it was time to head to Plimoth Plantation, a 'living' museum consisting of a Wampanoag Homesite (native American village) and a 17th Century English village - both recreated from the time not long after the Pilgirms had landed along with a visitor centre and an arts centre. We firstly watched a video about the place and how it all worked (everyone in a costume will stay in their character) and then had a bite to eat in the visitor centre (I had a pretty good hot dog) before heading out into the hot sun once more.
It's a fascinating place to visit. The walking tour takes you first to the Wampanoag Homesite where you can see a house and various method used by the Native People to cook and repair fishing nets.
We then walked a bit further and came to the arts centre, where local craftsman create textiles and baking of the time, before arriving at the English settlement. It is quite large, with the Town Hall at the top of the hill (which doubled as a fort) and then around 10-12 homes organised along a 'Main Street'.
We walked along the street, stopping to chat to the 'residents' who play their parts beautifully. They remain in character, talking in the accent and dialect of the time. They will talk about their life in the settlement, their hopes for the future, and if you're English like us, will ask about life back home and so on. We had a good long chat with 3 or 4 of the characters, from women resting from their toil in the gardens, to one of the senior officials who encouraged us to join the village, to a chap from London who was a rather gruff fellow!
There's a fair bit of walking involved as you meander to the village, but thankfully on the way back there's a shortcut to the exit. We were all a bit hot and tired now, so jumped into the car to hit the hotel pool.
In the evening, we had dinner in the tavern (I had a Buffalo Chicken wrap, which I really enjoyed) before Wheel of Fortune and bed!
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