We were all packed last night and ready to get up early this morning for our day flight from Boston to London, when I got a call from the airline and they told us our flight had been cancelled, and that we had been rebooked on a flight leaving tonight at 10 PM. Wouldn't you know it, with all of our careful planning to have an easy day flight over the ocean, we had to settle for the red eye express again. Oh well, that gave us an extra day in Boston, and we decided to go down to Plymouth to see where the Pilgrims landed. And yes, there is a Plymouth Rock, which is a very large piece of granite, only the tip of which you can see. It is preserved in a monument built over the rock at the harbor in Plymouth. It was a small, quaint New England town, where we had lunch and had a great bowl of New England Clam "Chowdah."
Getting oriented in Plymouth with the Mayflower in the background
A street in PlymouthWe then toured a replica of the original Mayflower, that carried 102 settlers from England and Holland, as well as a crew of 33, in the fall of 1620. They actually first landed at Cape Cod, then settled in Plymouth during the winter of 1620-21, during which half of the settlers died. Anyway, the Mayflower II, as it is called, was built in England in 1957 and set sail from Plymouth, England to Plymouth Massachussetts, making the crossing in about 2 months under sail power alone.
Aboard the Mayflower II
The Mayflower II
Pilgrim MonumentWe then went to a recreation of an English settlement circa 1627, with authentic actors playing the part of the settlers, complete with old English grammer and accent. THey were given a grant from the King of England to settle in the land for 7 years, and if they were successful, they would be granted their own parcel of land. The only problem was that it wasn't the king's land to give, since it had been occupied by the Wampanoag People for centuries. But they struck up a friendship with the earlier settlers, and helped them through the first couple of winters.
Early English settlement cabin
Early English village
Actors potraying early English settlers
Anyway, we were glad we could take advantage of our delayed flight and see this historic area. Mom has some ancestors that sailed on the Mayflower, so it was particularly meaningul for her.
Right now, we are awaiting our flight to London, which is scheduled to leave in 2 1/2 hours, so if all goes well, my next posting will be from Great Britain. Britain or Bust!
