This week Locksley and I took a trip into 1621, and the first settlement in Massachussetts. We learned many things beyond the famous first Thanksgiving, and we had fun exploring the houses and people around. Yep, you guessed it (or read the title); we went to Plimouth Plantation to explore. Who needs a time machine anyway? Locksley and I started at the orientation movie, which explained about the time the Plantation was set in, how to get where, and then rules. I listened very closely to them, but I don't think Locksley did. In fact, I'm pretty sure he slept during the entire thing. We weren't allowed to take pictures, which is just as well, since I'm not exactly sure how to take pictures of complete blackness and make them look good, though I hear some people can.
So we went on, following the directions to the Native Wamponoag site, which was personally my favorite. Locksley liked it just fine too, until he saw the raccoon skins hanging in one of the longhouses. Then he couldn't wait to get out, and told me to hurry up, something I completely ignored. Here are a few pictures of what we saw:
A pretty native lady cooking lunch (which we didn't get to eat) and sorting milkweed cords.
A small, one family longhouse.
Locksley, sitting on a hollowed out log thing (we couldn't find out what it was for, but they were burning out a boat right next to it).The native interpreters were extremely helpful, and they answered a lot of questions about their way of life then and now. We also found that all of them were of actual native blood, though most of them were not Wamponoag. They were answering questions while they did things like cook, weave, burn a boat, and sit in front of a longhouse. There were several fires going, and the entire place was smoky, but it was pleasant all the same.
And now Locksley has come over, and told me that I got it wrong. We started with lunch at the little cafe. So here is a picture of our lunch, to satisfy him, and you if you are interested. It was a grilled chicken sandwich with water. Some of the little brothers and sisters I traveled with had venison burgers, and some opted for a PB&J sandwich.
Lunch.Okay, so after we left the Wamponoag site, we followed a trail, and went up 27 very steep steps and came to a gate. It was open so in we went. In front of us was a group of men building a new house. They were wearing a lot of wool clothes, and there was no roof as of yet on the house, so they must have been baking, and by that I mean they were hot, not that they were cooking. Here's a picture of it after they left for lunch.
Rather empty looking, not-quite-finished house.Here are a few more pictures of finished houses. And I would like to comment on the difficulty of getting these pictures without the rest of the tourists in the shot. And I mean it; they walked in front of the camera literally every time I tried to take a shot. But putting that aside, here they are (the pictures, not the tourists):
A house.
Locksley in front of a house.
The coolest woodpile ever.
The roof of a house (this one was not thatched like the others).And then we began the steep climb up to the top of the hill, where the meetinghouse, and the rather larger houses were. There were a few more interpreters, who in the Village, keep in character. They weren't, in my opinion, as good as the native interpreters, but they were good all the same. Here is one with a Little Brother who was admiring the goats:
A Little Brother, and an interpreter. When we got to the top of the hill, we went into the meetinghouse, admired the pulpit, then proceeded up the stairs (the only building stairs in the entire place) and saw cannons. Locksley was so thrilled, he had me take a picture of one, and though I didn't promise it would make it on the blog, here I am putting it:
Cannon.
While Locksely explored the cannon inside and out, I mused on the irony of war machines being in a building used for church. And while i did, I looked at the incredible view of the entire village from up there. Here are my two favorite pictures of it, with the ocean in the background. These pictures could not be void of the other tourists and visitors, but they look so small , I don't think it mattered much.
First view, and my favorite.
Second view, and Locksley's favorite.After that, we made the long descent back to the visitors center, and into the fabulous gift shop, where we purchased a few books, one on the Salem Witch Trials (a favorite subject in our house) one on native herbology, and a game called Catchpenny, which we haven't played yet, but looks like a lot of fun. Here is a picture of it, the last for this post. I think next time we go, we are going to try the Indian Pudding and 17th Century Cheesecake, which we didn't get to try on the way back because the cafe closed early. But it gives us a reason to go back and enjoy, and another adventure to share with you!
Catchpenny Game (doesn't it look like fun?)
