Plymouth Rock

Grandma has been fascinated by the roads in Massachusetts. All you see are trees -- you'd think no one lives here -- but we know better. Little towns are hiding in there; even Boston is hidden within the trees. There are no billboards either and ugly gas stations are properly tucked behind the colorful foliage. Such was our scene, driving to Plymouth.

We smelled it before we got there: fish and salty air. Upon arrival, Sprite announced, "I just love beaches like this!" Her mama agreed wholeheartedly. Peanut looked at them stunned speaking my mind, "You like this stinky, dirty beach?"

Let's just say it took us awhile to warm to the charms of a New England seaside town. Eating a fish sandwich certainly helped.

The actual rock exists! Some claim it's a tourist hoax, but who cares? While we adults got the chills, the kids were unimpressed. They assumed the rock would look a little more special, but in fact, it is quite an ordinary rock.

We stepped aboard the Mayflower II (a replica of the famous Mayflower) and found it loaded with sets and actors playing the part of our first colonists. These actors were incredible and really brought the place to life, especially for the kids. We engaged them thoroughly and they never broke character. We asked, "Do you know what marshmallows are?" The man said "Of course I do! They're a plant. We grow mallows to use as medicine!"

Peanut broke out into a British accent when she spoke with these people. I was dying! A small crowd gathered around as she stumped a woman with a riddle from The Hobbit (the one for darkness) and the woman replied with a riddle of her own, stumping Peanut: "A hundred can fill a barrel. But one can fill a room." Apparently, this is one of the games the 30 or so children on board used to play for fun.

Now check this out. In the 1600's there was no spelling -- everyone wrote phonetically and there might be several spellings for a single word! Plymouth is correct. But Plimoth is also correct.

We found ourselves spending 3 hours at the Plimoth Plantation a few miles away. It's a living museum (our favorite kind) and the kids got to make bread, watch pottery and furniture being made, talk with natives and colonists and touch lots of things! The video engaged the kids with its presentation of the Wampanoag and the Colonist relationship. Our dreamy view of the First Thanksgiving is pretty much a myth, and Friend and I were pleased that they presented our history more accurately. After all, the natives weren't exactly overjoyed at hosting the colonists.