A Look Into The Past

Although our itinerary said today would be a day of rest, that was definitely not the case. Today, we spent most of the Fourth of July at a place where the holiday didn’t yet exist.  We traveled to Plimoth Plantation where actors depicted what life was like in the years following the Mayflower’s landing on Plymouth Rock.

Around 10:00 AM, we met up with the rest of the ILCers at Brown in the hotel lobby. From there, we drove to Cape Cod and after about an hour we arrived at our destination. Once I stepped out of the air-conditioned van, the heat and humidity hit me like a brick wall. I was incredibly relieved that I had decided to wear shorts despite the rain showers.

Although the original structures from the Plimoth Plantation no longer exist, the replicas are made with the same building techniques. Even a pilgrim probably wouldn’t be able to recognize any major differences between the original settlement and now. We started out our tour in the Wampanoag Native American settlement of Hobbamock. Here we learned about how they hallowed out huge tree trucks to make canoes. We talked to several Native Americans who provided knowledgeable answers to all of our questions. Next, we moved on to the Plymouth Colony. The actors here stuck to their roles. If anyone asked them a question about something that didn’t relate to the time period, they would tell the person they had never heard of the topic. One actor even asked a man if he was a prophet.

Plymouth Rock

After touring the settlement, we moved on to Plymouth Rock. This small boulder proved to be less exciting than expected but, on the bright side, the restaurant across the street had delicious food. After we ate, visited Mayflower II. The original ship was torn up and used for scrap lumber in the late 1600s. This ship, however, was still quite fascinating. I found it hard to believe that nearly 150 men sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in such a small vessel.

We headed back to the hotel after our tour of the Mayflower and after a bit of free time, it was time to watch fireworks. When we first arrived at the waterfront, the small firework shows and the huge full moon were enough to keep us entertained before the real show began. This show was probably the best I had ever seen. It seemed to go on forever and the vibrant shapes and colors of the fireworks were both beautiful and unique. It was the perfect conclusion to an amazing day.

On Board the vessel

The finale!