Plimoth Plantation & Plymouth Rock - Plymouth, MA - September 1

Plimoth Plantation & Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, MA - September 1


Today we had around a 2 hour drive to get to Plymouth, MA to visit Plimoth Plantation which is a living museum that highlights the lives of the Colonial Americans and their daily lives in what was the first New England settlement by Pilgrims in 1620.

We got our tickets and watched the 20 minute film about the history and the layout of the attraction. Our first stop was to visit the Wampanoag Homesite, located on the banks of the Eel River. The Native People here are not role players. (either Wampanoag or from other Native Nations) They were dressed in historically accurate clothing, mostly made of deerskin. They are the only Native People known to live alongside the Pilgrims.

We first came across their Gathering Circle. 

A little further down the path and we came across a man making a mishoon (the Wampanoag word for boat) using fire as a tool to hollow out a tree. He explained how they use the fire and the benefits of using that method.

We also stepped inside the mat-covered wetu, the Wampanoag word for house. This is a warm weather house. 

Next we came across a woman demonstrating the many uses of cattails/reeds. A teen boy was running around between exhibits helping out where he could. 

 meat over the fire

Then we went inside the bark-covered long house or nush wetu which is their cold weather house with three fire pits inside.

this mushroom was HUGE - it was alongside the path

We followed the path and visited the Craft Center which had some great examples of the pottery from that time period. Some of the items would have been imported from England in the 1600’s. 

future house that will display more household items

Next we visited the 17^th Century English Village. What made this living museum different than most we have visited is that they don’t just have a rehearsed speech to tell you about history and what life was like back then, but the actors in the museum speak in character and just talk about daily life like they are living it right then and there. They are costumed accordingly and never step out of character while they are going about their various duties or talking to each other or answering any questions you may have. 


First we came to the Fort / Meetinghouse. The man there was talking about religion. We went upstairs and saw the canons. 

 view from upstairs

 main floor of the meetinghouse

 he was talking about religion

Plimoth Colony is set 7 years after the arrival of the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower. It represents the period just before the Colonists began moving away to settle other towns. (the original settlement was 3 miles north in downtown Plymouth. 


So why is it spelled Plimoth? 400 years ago there were no set rules for spelling and the name of the town was spelled a number of ways in Colonial documents and they chose the spelling used most often. Plus, they wanted to not be confused with the town of Plymouth. 


We went into all the houses and visited with the people “living there”. The actors are portraying actual people and their various day to day tasks. 

 he was making a water trough

 she was mending clothing

 he introduced us to his "wife" and chatted about the weather 

the ladies were making dinner - she was boiling onions in water

 drying their bedding on the fence

 baby goat nursing

 he was discussing politics of the day

We took a lunch break at Plentiful Café. They serve some traditional dishes as well as modern day food. We had Peas Cods to try a traditional dish. It was like a chicken hand pie and was very good. (Chicken and Cranberries) They also had some Artisan Flatbread Pizzas and two of them sounded good, so we ordered those. We ordered Fig & Prosciutto with Blue Cheese and Brie & Poached Pear with Hazelnuts. They got creative when making them as it soon became clear all the ingredients were all there, just on the wrong flatbreads. The Fig & Prosciutto had no cheese, but they put the hazelnuts on it. The Brie & Poached pear came with the Brie and the Bleu Cheese. Hey, it all went to the same place, right? 

The only thing left to visit was the Nye Barn which provided information on the livestock found in Plimoth Colony in the 1620’s. The barn itself had rabbits, a goat and a llama. Llama???

 Nye Barn

 boat

 Visitor's Center

food truck at a small festival near there (took this for you Jim)

We bought a pass that included 2 more exhibits, but they were in a different location, so we drove the 3 miles to the Grist Mill. They only grind corn for 2 hours on Saturday, so we didn’t get to see that. We have been to quite a few gristmills around the world and there was nothing special about this one. If you haven’t been to one before it is worth the visit. 

 cute squirrel in the parking lot 

 we walked to the waterfront - sights along the way

part of a large mural painted under the bridge

We then walked down to the waterfront. Unfortunately, the Mayflower ll was not there as it is being refurbished. It will return in 2020. 

 Double-crested Cormorant

We saw Plymouth Rock. This famous landmark is in Pilgrim Memorial State Park, which is the smallest state park in Massachusetts.
  

It was a lovely walk along the water, and we came to the last thing included in our admission. It might be good for a family since it was interactive, but it was kind of hokey and I think quite skippable as well. You chose a character and then just read the signs as you went around the outdoor exhibit and then you were to decide if you would have stayed here or moved back to England. 

 the exhibits in the interactive game

 at the waterfront

We wandered some more along the waterfront and then took an ice cream break. (sorry Jim) 


We made our way back to the car and headed for home. We did the usual grocery shopping and had dinner at the hotel. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4RRzXDuSEq3BroyA8


Tomorrow we are visiting the Historic Wickford Village.