Plimoth Plantation,Plymouth,MA-September 9th and 10th

Janae and Stefan were ordered to get wood

Helping Mary Winslow in her garden.

 Friday, September 9th we finally had sunshine.  After three long days of steady rain, it was nice to enjoy the outdoors.  We spent the day at the Plimoth Plantation/Mayflower in Plymouth and enjoyed it immensely.  We all learned so much.  The plantation is very well done with the Indians and Pilgrims in character the whole time.  What a way to bring history alive!  William Bradford spelled words at leisure so Plimoth was spelled many ways. This spelling was adopted for the plantation to differentiate from town of Plymouth.  We had such a great time here, that we ended up spending the night in the parking lot (not something they advertise but  let people do from time to time)and we went back in to spend more time with and say good-bye to Mary Winslow before driving to Boston.

We first started off in the Indian Village and learned that they lived in cattail thatched huts by the coast in the summer.  They had large vegetable gardens and ate mainly shellfish and fish.  Lobsters were considered poor man’s food.  The Indians only slept in their homes, the outdoors they told us were where they lived.  That is like us.  We mainly sleep in Miss Jim B and our living room is the outdoors so we could all relate.  In the winter, the Indians would move inland and live in large winter lodges.  These were made in the spring out of saplings that were set three feet into the ground and then bent over to make a roof. Large sheets of bark were used to insulate which was tied into place by bark rope.  These lodges would get so warm in the winter that the pilgrims would not want to go in.  These homes had roof rain flaps that could be adjusted with a pole.  We learned how they made the canoes.  They would burn the base of a tree and put clay up three feet from ground to keep rest of tree from burning.  The tree would fall over and they would then put it up on pegs and burn under the tree to dig out the opening for the canoe.  Stefan was shocked to learn that all boys started training to be a warrior when they were 7.  At 14, if they passed this test, they would get to be a warrior.  The test:  You would have to sit between  both grandmas who would pluck out the hair on your head one at a time.  If you didn’t flinch, you passed the test.  The headdresses were made out of porcupine hair and trimmed with painted deer fur.

Since grandpa is a wood carver, Mark and Stefan enjoyed watching the demonstration.  The craftsman made very intricate chairs with no nails and hand made tools.  It would take him a week and 1/2 to make these $4000 chairs.  The clamps were ingenious as they were made of metal elbows and inserted into holes in the table that varied in size.  They would use birch strips to adjust the height of the clamp.

We spent quite a bit of time in the Pilgrim settlement where we would go into people’s homes and ask them about their lives.  The old English was hard to understand but make the experience very realistic.  Janae had just finished reading a book that had many of the prominent Pilgrim’s names in it so she was enlightening us as we went.  We first visited Mary Winslow and she was orphaned on the Mayflower at 13 and lived with a family helping for a few years before marrying John Winslow (Edward Winslow’s younger brother).  Stefan ground the pepper for the food she was making for supper.  She shared how her mother got excommunicated from the church in England for helping bury a baby that hadn’t been baptized.  They soon left for Holland to join a different church. It was interesting to learn that only 1/3 of pilgrims were separatists but that was an insult to call them this.  They respected each other as neighbors but not all shared the separatists view point.  Other 2/3 were Christians but part of the Church of England.  However, everyone repected Brewster’s sermans which were different than in England.  In  England, all the serman’s on a given Sunday were from the same text.   Brewster, chose freely.  Church was all day on Sunday breaking only for meals.  Weddings took place by the governor on the green and then a feast.  No weddings in church.  Fort and the church were the same building.  The fort was upstairs with cannons facing out to the harbor.  All buildings looked similar and there was no differentiation on the outside between homes, barns, churches, etc..  All the homes had a little fenced in yard with their own gardens.  There was one bread oven in town for all to bake their bread. (Humiliseation) spelling? we learned was a fast that the seperatists did and then would have a feast afterwards.  Thanksgiving fell into this tradition.  However, no other holidays were celebrated.  The lineage was Calvin-Robinson-Brewster.  Brewster started his church in England while employed for the Queen in her court but was required to leave.  Children expected to take orders from elders. Janae and Stefan ordered to pick up wood and take to man’s wife, Mistress Billington.  We enjoyed visiting with her for quite awhile.  She really knew her history.  When she asked Mark, and Master,  what is your name, he replied “Israel and that his ancestors had come from Jordan. She replied that she had a friend with a Bible with pictures of the holy land and of the Jordan River but she said the Turks are there now.

Mayflower II-Very small, dark and cramped.  The passengers had to stay in complete darkness for most of the trip.  It stormed 6 out of the 9 weeks.  The women wore bodies (type of corset) and people didn’t change clothes on the trip.  Chip log-put rope out with knots in it and would count for 30 seconds with an hour glass.  Sailors would go to bathroom on the leeward side.(Sailor joked with Stefan about this).  Sailors drank out of a leather cup so wouldn’t break.  Gal downstairs told us the joke about the crane with one leg.  Shallop  had sail, 2 rudders and oars.  Had to read adult books if children and children had to sit still in the dark and not  run around for 2 months.  Most impressed with their fortitude and courage. So many hardships but they didn’t give up.  The Speedwell it turns out had been sabotaged and the captain of the ship ran off with his money because he didn’t want to be gone for a year.  Therefore, the Mayflower ended up with more people than planned and set-off later than scheduled.  Because of this, they weren’t able to get enough sellable goods in the proposed time to send back to the investors.   Since they had to send the ship back mainly empty, the investors were furious.  They therefore, sent a ship back to Plymouth with more people and no provisions.  When the Pilgrims got enough goods gathered to send back to England, it got hijacked by Pirates.

Newport Rhode Island

On Wednesday, it rained all day.  We did school in the morning and then went to the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory. The children enjoyed watching how they were made and we all love eating them.  On Thursday, it was still raining so we drove to Newport in the afternoon to check out the mansions. It was sunny, yeh!!! The mansions were interesting, we toured the Breakers and The Elms.  What we enjoyed most though was walking on the Cliff Walk and watching the surfers.  The tides were huge due to the last storm and I don't know who was having more fun, the surfers or the watchers.  Newport is a cool town and we enjoyed seeing where the Newport Jazz Festival is held and going to Second Beach.  Our big treat was eating fried clams at Flos on the coast!  Yum.  Janae had chowda!

New Bedford, September 7th

Today the weather is rainy and cold so after school this morning, we went to New Bedford Whaling National Park.  It was very interesting learning all about this industry and how it affected not only the animals but how people's lives were impacted.  In it's prime, New Bedford was one of the richest towns in America.  What was especially interesting was seeing the whale skeleton hanging in the  museum lobby.  After 11 years, the whale is still dripping oil and the lobby reaks of the smell.  (Sort of like murphey's oil soap).  The dark spots in the picture are oil.  Some of the larger whales had enough oil in their head to fill 400 large barrels.  Big money.

Cape Cod, September 5

Labor Day Clambake at Race Point

Today is Labor Day and we were going to go to the Plymouth Plantation but everyone wanted to go to the cape again.  As we were leaving the campsite, Stefan said "When Janae and I are getting along, we're best friends."  Very cute.  We headed this time to First Encounter Beach off of Samoset Drive.  It's pretty awesome to be in places where the pilgrims first were. These tidal pools go on forever when it was low tide.  We tried our hand at clamming and Mark got one.  You have to do a slow version of Michael Jackson's moon walk.  Stefan got bit by a crab and that wasn't too much fun. We met our friends the Stevens for a picnic lunch and then went and saw the Cape Cod light house.  Afterwards, we had a clam bake and beach fire at race point beach.  Life is good.

clamming at First Encounter Beach

Cape Cod, Massechusetts

September 4th-We heard that bad weather was coming in so we decided to go out to the cape today and tomorrow.  It's a long drive from our campsite but so worth it.  We have been so impressed by the natural state of the Cape.  No motels or trickety businesses. The local government is very strong and have worked very hard to keep it pristine.  After a church service in our camper, we drove out to the Cape again to attend a ranger led walk.  It was in "the gut", the strip between Griffin and Great Island near Wellsfleet.  It was very interesting.  We saw lots of fiddler crabs and learned about the wildlife in the grasses.  It also was low tide and the children had so much fun filling their buckets with shells and critters.  We met a wonderful family from Rhode Island and enjoyed visiting with them so much.  I hope we can keep in touch with them. The national park service is wonderful and Janae and Stefan were so proud to earn their first Junior Ranger badges today. In the afternoon, we had a tour of Nauset Light House and visited Nauset and Coast Guard beach. The waves were really crashing today and Janae and Stefan loved running in them.  The early evening sun was just right for perfect photos but all three of our camera batteries were dead.  Go figure.  Another wonderful day at the cape.  This place really grows on you.  On the way home, Stefan said,"My favorite things of the this trip are Niagara Falls, church in the camper, the critter cruise, the beach and getting my junior ranger badge." (We kidded him on this because he put up quite a fuss in doing the program and now he can't wait to do the next one.)

Coast Guard Beach

Cape Cod, Massechusetts

Eating at the lobster pot

Beautiful lighting at race point beach

Sunset at Race Point.  One of many that we would be blessed with this year.

Friday, September 2-We arrived last night in our campground that is very nice and along a beautiful little lake.  We met our dear friends (Stan, Susan, Kelsey and Kendall) from Colorado Springs in Provincetown for a Critter Cruise with our children.  It was a beautiful day and we had the boat and guide all to ourselves.  The children loved examining the surprises found in the plankton and watching how a lobster trap is set.  We all enjoyed viewing jelly combs, sea "rollie pollies" and worms.  It was interesting to learn how you can tell the girls and boy lobsters and crabs apart. Mark and I loved the history and being in the Province Harbor and seeing where the Pilgrims first saw land and stayed for a month before moving over to Plymouth.  It's also a very small world.  When walking off the pear, I met a gal who had graduated from UNC in Greeley. We had a lovely dinner with our friends at the Lobster Pot and had lobster panini's. Very yummy.  The evening was especially magical.  After we bid our  friends good night, we went over to Race Point beach across from Provincetown and witnessed a glorious sunset.  Janae and Stefan were estatic over finding dozens of star fish.  We saw seals and cormerons as well.  Mark and I were just in awe of the sunset.  Such a beautiful beach.



Learning how to tell a girl lobster from a boy lobster

Saturday, September 3rd-We enjoyed just staying at the campground today and swimming in the lake.  It was a  beautiful sunny day.  We especially liked renting kayaks and going through the tunnels and into the estuaries.  We felt like Lewis and Clark.  It was especially fun playing football with Mark in the shallow water by the island.  They had a great sound system with great dancing tunes coming out of the island house.  I had never really learned how to throw a football so it was really fun throwing the ball and dancing in the shallow water.



Finger Lakes, New York

September 1st-We have now been on the road for a week and can honestly say we are adjusting well.  Miss Jim B is very comfortable and we are all enjoying her very much.  It’s pretty cool to take your home wherever you go. There is a lot of freedom with not having to worry about the typical mundane homeowner chores like lawn mowing and cleaning a big house.  We have spent a week in New York and are driving to Cape Cod today.  We have been extremely impressed with the New York State parks (they are everywhere) and the dimension of the state.  Below is a detailed account of our last few days.                                 Sunday, August 28th-Today Hurricane Irene hit this area and we awoke to a steady downpour of rain.  We had church in Miss Jim B and then set off for some sightseeing.  We enjoyed driving down along side of Cuyaga Lake.  Even though it was raining, we enjoyed seeing the vineyards and farmland along the lake.  We stopped to get a glimpse of the Taumerack Falls which has a vertical drop of 200 feet.  We ended up in Ithaca which is at the end of the lake.  We enjoyed driving up to Ithaca College and walking through the music building.  We found a Starbucks where we enjoyed a hot drink while lounging in the Hilton Lobby where I wrote the last blog.

We went to the Corning Museum of Glass.  It was very impressive and educational.  It was amazing to see how glass has developed and the varied uses of glass.  We learned that the basic component of glass is silicon, sodium and calcium and that the Egyptians used a basic form of glass.  Red glass is the most expensive because it has gold in it.  It was fun to see all the beautiful art pieces and the scientific uses of this medim.  A highlight was watching a live glass making show.  Mark won the raffle and a handblown blue bowl.  Janae and Stefan got to blow glass to make their own Christmas ornaments.  Also impressed the Corning Glass has been in business for 60 years and hasn’t sold out to China.

Stefan blowing his ornament

Janae making her ornament

Moss huts

  Monday, August 29th-We awoke to a beautiful, sunny day.  Everyone had left the camping area at Cuyuga State Park and we had it all to ourselves.  We enjoyed riding our bikes around the paved camping streets and Jane and Stefan loved making moss t- pees.  It is awesome to see them be so creative and work together.  We decided to pack up and head to Saratoga so we could get to our campsite early.  On the way, Janae and I went to Seneca Falls to the Women’s Right’s Museum.  It was wonderfully done.  It was eye-opening to see the corset and what it actually did to the skeleton.  We saw the first bloomer outfit and learned that it was Amelia Bloomer who started the trend who was from Seneca Falls.  Elizabeth Stanton also from Seneca Falls was instrumental in leading the first women’s convention in 1848.  It would take another 70 years before women could vote.  I hadn’t realized that it was the government who put heat on colleges in the early 70’s to provide equal funding for women’s sports.  There has been a 100% increase in women’s sports since then.

Well, all the flooding shut I-90 down around Syracuse.  We were detoured and couldn’t get to Saratoga.  We were lucky to find an opening at Green Lakes State Park close to where we were detoured.  This turned out to be a divine gift. 

Tuesday, August 30th-The best campsite opened up (#98) and we were able to get it.  It backed up to the trail leading to round lake and it was big with sun and shade.  It was also across the way from the playground.  Our neighbors were very nice and Janae and Stefan enjoyed playing with McKayla and Justin.  This park is a gem.  There are two lakes Round lake and Green lake.  They are National Natural Landmarks.  They are meromictic lakes meaning that the bottom of the lake doesn’t mix with the top of the lake.  Therefore, the lakes are very clean and very green.  There is only one other lake nearby in New York and a few in Russia.  Very rare and beautiful.

After getting settled in our permanent campsite, we had lunch and then did school.  Later in the afternoon, we went to the beach.  It was amazing.  Janae and Stefan spent two hours building an elaborate sand village (Tiny Town) and Sondra swam laps.  The scenary and setting here were idyllic to say the least and the glow of the late afternoon sun was beautiful.  We went back and got a snack and walked from Miss Jim B down to Round Lake (190 feet deep).  Stefan held my hand and did his infamous skip all the way down the trail, saying I’m so happy.  Stefan and I walked one way around and Mark and Janae walked the other way.  Mark and I enjoyed the steady chatter of our children while we soaked up the beauty of the lake surrounded by tall tulip trees (tallest trees east of the Mississippi and a member of the Magnolia family).  The lake is perfectly round due to the waterfall run off from the glacier.  We grilled hamburgers, corn and roasted marshmallows before dropping into bed.

Tiny Town

Rainbow Falls in Watkins Glen

Wednesday, August 31st-Sondra awoke early for a walk around Round Lake.  She got lost and was given a ride back to camp from her guardian angel that day.  We left to go for a day trip to Watkins Glen State Park.  Two hours away, but so worth it to see the 19 waterfalls.  Rainbow falls was the highlight.  I (Sondra) got a little emotional when I saw it.  It was so beautiful and I was so thankful that I could experience it.  A little taste of heaven and a taste of what is yet to come.  The ride back along Seneca Lake was lovely seeing the wineries and vineyards along the sailboat dotted lake.  Especially nice since it was sunny.  After a trip to Walmart and Panara Bread, we were back for the closing hour at the beach and to get ready for our big drive  Cape Cod.