28 Sep

Plymouth, MA the beginning of something special!

Our time in Plymouth was very enjoyable. We started the day at Plimoth Plantation. Then finished the evening with a walk around the town of Plymouth. We knew the Mayflower II would be closed by the time we arrived but we wanted to walk around town and see the sights.

So Chicago had different cows around town, Plymouth had different lobsters all over.

The tide was low so we walked on the waters edge. We found small crabs and other fun things.

Our walk along the water's edge lead us to the Mayflower II. This is a reproduction of the original ship. There is a bit of mythology about what happened to the original ship. One story said, it was sold for scrap and turned into a barn, but no one really knows. The reproduction of the Mayflower summers here at Plymouth Harbor and winters at Mystic Seaport for repairs and updates. It was bigger than I thought it would be and yet I would not have wanted to sail across the ocean in a ship that small.

We finished our walk around Plymouth with a climb up Leyden Street, the location of the original Pilgrim's settlement.

Church at the top of Leyden St replaced the fort that was originally occupied the location. The fort was used both for protection and to hold mass services and general gatherings.

We enjoyed the town of Plymouth. It was a beautiful evening and we saw an amazing sunset. We had a fun conversation with a security guard at the Mayflower II and we were slightly underwhelmed by the rock but I suppose it is the idea and result of landing at Plymouth Rock not the actual rock that really matters. Landing at Plymouth Rock was the beginning of something special but I doubt the Pilgrims had any idea how special it was.