Day 9: 9/15/14 Cape Cod and Plymouth.

The Village Cafe

This morning we decided to have breakfast on the road.  We found the Village Café in the town of North Truro.  Breakfast sandwiches from fresh made bagels and English muffins, and good hot coffee.   Now we are ready to take on the day!

On the way back from Provincetown we stopped to see the Nauset Light in Eastham.  It is a beautiful lighthouse with one white light and one red light so it would be easy to distinguish from the other lights on the coast.

Back on the road and we are headed to Plymouth.  We will be visiting Plimoth Plantation

(They did it again…They changed the spelling) which includes a 17^th century English village, a Wampanoag Homesite, and the Mayflower II.

The story we were told in school of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving is somewhat romanticized.

There was a lady tour guide who really was up on her history from reading the journals of those who were there in the 1620’s.  

There was a good harvest and the “Godly Christians” (they did not refer to themselves as Pilgrims, Puritans or Separatist) were having a feast.  Then the natives showed up and of course they were invited to join in.  The custom in those days was to offer a meal first then engage in conversation.  After three days the natives finally were asked to leave and were told they could all feast again at another time (think next harvest).  The natives showed up a week later and were “ready to get down and party.”

The Wampanoag tribe had 65 communities at one time.  They are now down to 5.  The tribal population today is around 5,000.  The re-enactors in the home site were all native Wampanoag but spoke in today’s English.  (They do still practice their native language.)  They were open to any questions and were very up on the history of the tribe.

The Gathering Circle

Young Wampanoag girls strips reeds to be used
 for weaving mats and wall coverings

Toys that taught skills like making cloths and canoe building

Supper made of various vegetables and squashes.

The bone toy was catch the
bones on a string, on the point.
The bag was used in the women's game.

The women of the tribe played a game similar to lacrosse using the bags instead of a ball and sticks with hooked ends instead of a basket.  The playing field was about a mile long!

Inter-Tribal disputes were settled many times with a men's game similar to football that lasted for three days.

Replacing the bark on a old longhouse

It was explained the the women were the Givers of Life; Birth, raising crops, taking care of the homesite.  The men were the Takers of Life; Hunters, cutting trees, warriors when needs be. 

Links:

Mashpeewamponoag

Wamponoag People

The Village re-enactors were in the 1620.  They spoke the Queen’s English and only of thing known of at that time.  It was very realistic. 

The first house on left is the Miles Standish home.

Mrs. Miles Standish.

She was an excellent character.  She made you feel you were back in the 1620's.  Their common parting phrase is "May God Grant thee a good day".

Baking ovens.

The Meeting House/ Fort

Upper level of the Meeting House/Fort.

Shucking maize and mending.

Mischievous goat!
He would get himself stuck behind the old gate.

Links:

Mayflower

Mayflower II

About 2 miles away is the Mayflower II.  She was built in 1957 in England and sailed to Plymouth in 1958.  The original Mayflower had 102 passengers and a crew of 25 to 30 sailors.  They averaged 3 knots per hour or 85 miles per 24 hour day.  She carried approximately 100 tons of cargo and provisions.

The Ship's Master Christopher Jones.

The Steerage Room
The tiller was connected to the
pole

The person steering the ship could not see much beyond the room  They just followed orders shouted to them as the direction to steer the ship.

After visiting the Mayflower II we walked about a block down the street to visit Plymouth Rock.  We were told at the Village that the actual Plymouth Rock was about 150 feet long and jutted out from the shore like a dock.  Since the harbor was too shallow for the Mayflower she anchored about ½ mile off shore and they commuted by smaller sail boats to the rock.

 

Plymouth Rock Memorial.

We had to get a move on and spent the night at Boston Minuteman Campgrounds.  It was the prettiest sight we had so far and the only one we didn’t get a picture of.

Plimoth Plantation: 41°56’21.60” N           70°37’28.50” W

Mayflower II:     41°57’35.28” N      70°39’43.24” W

Minuteman Campgrounds:  42°32’59.33’ N           71°32’11.39” W