Day Six - July 23

Today we focused on things outside of Boston -- Plimoth Plantation and Cape Cod. Plimoth Plantation was very well done, with the Native People at the Wampanoag Village dressed in period clothes, but speaking from a modern perspective and the "Pilgrims" speaking from a 17th century perspective. This living history seemed to keep everyone engaged, especially Faith, as she fed the goats and used a two person saw. We enjoyed watching a Wampanoag woman roast a cod over a fire and a crew of four English settlers putting up a house. The kids also enjoyed watching Dad put a foot in his mouth by asking one of the Native People what percentage Native American he was. (That is a forbidden question which is warned against on signs at the entry to the Wampanoag Village.)

After a short drive to the town of Plymouth, we stopped at a very fancy farmer's market for baguettes and blueberries, toured the Mayflower II and saw Plymouth Rock, and bought $3.99 T-shirts and penny candy.


Then we continued on to Cape Cod with Coast Guard Beach as the destination in our GPS. This whole trip has not been beach weather though, with either drizzle or steady rain almost every day. Today it did let up enough for us to enjoy several hours on the rocky beach near Eastham. What impressed us most was the great number and colorful variety of rocks on this beach - everything from lime green to red to black and white striped. We collected several pounds of beautiful rocks polished by the sea. I was also impressed by what I first thought were tomatoes growing near the beach. When I looked closer, I realized that they were the biggest rose hips I ever saw. The people of New England make a jam out of this fruit of wild rose bushes that grow like weeds along all the beaches.

We ended up this fun, but drizzly day at Arnold's Lobster and Clam Bar in Eastham. I really enjoyed my Wellfleet scallops while Ryo demolished her mussels. The kids played it safe with hamburgers and chicken fingers!

We felt like we conquered the rain and used the times it let up quite well. It was actually nice to be outside and not have to worry about applying sunscreen every few hours!