A Day in 1627

Today we ventured out to explore Plimoth Plantation. I was unsure as to why it is spelled differently than the town name, but I learned that they spell it the way that William Bradford spelled the name of the town in order to differentiate between the living history museum and the modern day town of Plymouth.

On our way, we stopped by the National Monument to the Forefathers. It is a large statue that commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims, but there is not much to do there except look at the statue and take pictures. From there, we drove on to the Plantation.

We arrived at the main building, and commenced our tour with a short video that provided a brief history of Plymouth as well as a brief overview of the grounds. From there, we walked down the trail to the Wampanoag village, where we talked to some of the modern-day Wampanoag people as they explained some historical and modern-day aspects of their people.  We learned that the best time to build their houses was in the springtime when the sap is running.  That would allow the bark to be easily peeled off for the exterior of the houses, the saplings to be easily bent for the frame, and the fibers to tie it all together to be easily pulled off and wound into ropes.  K also got to try out the mortar and pestle to grind the corn into meal.

From the Wampanoag village, we walked down to the craft house for a brief look at the methods used for weaving cloth and furniture making. Then we headed to the 17th century village where actors portrayed the real people living in Plymouth during the year 1627.  They spoke with  both the accent and vocabulary used during that time, and addressed subjects with the viewpoint of the people of that era.

The first part of the village we encountered was a meetinghouse/fort, with several cannons upstairs.  I thought that was pretty cool, and I attempted to photograph the three oldest by one of the cannons. Lets just say that's my kids like to mess around in front of the camera and leave it at that.

The best shot I got with the kids by the cannon

From the fort, we walked down to explore several houses and speak with their "inhabitants". The size of the homes was really very humbling as we realized just how little they survived with, both in space and possessions. We talked to the lady who cooked for William Bradford, and even the house of the governor was very humble. It was fun to walk through the gardens and see the animals grazing in the village.

It was also humorous to listen to another visitor trying to explain that he is an electrical engineer to people pretending to not be familiar with electricity and only understanding an engineer as someone who might build bridges.

It was hot outside, and everyone was hungry and thirsty. We decided to walk back to the main building, where there was a café and bathrooms. More importantly, it was air-conditioned. S fell asleep on the way back, and he slept while the rest of us enjoyed our meals in the cool air. I had ordered a Pilgrim Sampler, but they were out of the peasecod, so I ended up with turkey slices instead. I was sorely disappointed as I like to try new foods, but at least I was fed.

After lunch, we stopped at the Family Center, where there were trunks of Pilgrim clothing for the children to try out. There was also a boat and a little "kitchen" with play food and a fake fire. The kids played there for a while so S could sleep in peace. When he woke up, Timo took him to get some lunch while I got the older kids ready to go.

My Pilgrim sailors

Cooking and cleaning

After S ate, we stopped by the Nye Barn, where we saw some goats. Then we headed back to our apartment. We experienced a relatively quiet evening, with the kids playing in the grass before and after dinner. It was a fun day, but we needed the down time. After all, we still had more to see the next day.