Aug 9 - 13, 2009 - Plymouth, MA

We absolutely could not believe that we had actually made it to Plymouth, MA on Grand Fromage. Click here for the Wikipedia article on Plymouth, MA.

Plymouth is brimming with tourists, but there is a small town feel. It seemed like the perfect place to offload a scooter and do some exploring.

The keyboard on Robert's computer was behaving in a truly bizarre manner...randomly, it wouldn't type T, U, 3, or Q. I did many diagnostics and finally came up with the highly technical answer...."It's broke". So, first stop in Plymouth was out to Staples to buy a new keyboard and mouse for Robert's computer. How historical can you get???? Back on Grand Fromage, we successfully installed the new keyboard and mouse.

Since we were right next to the Mayflower replica, that was our first serious sightseeing venue. Click here for information on Mayflower 2, the replica, Here is the Wikipedia entry on the Mayflower.

Exploring Mayflower 2 was extremely interesting. There were people in period costumes who were acting out particular characters from the Mayflower in the time period of 1620. There were also docents who were not in period costumes and were not acting out a role. This second group interacted from the current perspective.

Conditions on board Mayflower were pretty unbelievable...at least from the perspective of two people who live very comfortably on a boat for six months a year. There were 102 passengers, plus crew. The passengers, except for rare occasions when invited to come up on the upper deck, spent the entire voyage in the dark lower deck. It was gross.

One of the period characters
Robert walking on the deck
Looking up

Second sightseeing stop was Plymouth Rock. To protect the rock from scavengers, over time a fancy portico has been erected around the rock. To me, it was pretty funny.
The rock

Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum, is a three mile ride out of town. It is divided into two parts, the Indian Wampanoag tribal settlement and a settler village representing life in 1627.

The first thing you see as you enter the Plimoth Plantation visitor center is this funny statue of The Mooflower. Being simple folk, we thought it was hilarious.

Our first day visit to Plimoth Plantation we went to the Indian settlement of the Wampanoag tribe. The docents in this area are members of either this tribe or of another native American nation. Although they wore native dress, they are not representing historical characters and speak as modern people.

The tribal members were extremely interesting and I gained some new perspectives.

On our second day in Plimoth Plantation, we went to the colonial village. In this area, the staff is in period costumes and each plays a character from 1627. It's a lot of fun and extremely interesting.

Robert is walking up to the wooden walls of the colonial village. On the other side of the wall is a two story building. The first floor served as the worship center. The second floor was the fort area, complete with canon.
The path going down to the village
The houses were all constructed in a similar manner, with thatch roofs.
Some of the period characters

We greatly enjoyed Plymouth. In all honesty, however, Mystic, CT was a step above in every way. Mystic Seaport was immaculately clean with exceptionally courteous and friendly staff. Every process, including the purchase of tickets and memberships was efficient. The folks at Plimoth Plantation were pleasant enough, but the processes weren't efficient. In the exhibit area, there were piles of stuff that didn't belong, especially in the tribal area. It didn't seem well maintained. The gardens were weedy. The administration of Mystic Seaport was definitely superior.