Plymouth

Many times during this trip we’ve been amazed that we are really here meaning 1) some place we’d never planned on being, like North Dakota, and 2) some place something incredible or historical happened. This was our feeling again in Plymouth, the start of our country.

I knew Plymouth Rock wasn’t huge. I’d read many reviews talking about how small it was so after reading that and then seeing it, I was surprised it was as big as it was. The rock was near the replica Mayflower II. Both may not be the original items in the original locations, but what they represent was still incredible.

The Mayflower trip took 66 days. There were 102 passengers and a crew of 30. The Pilgrims were kept below decks in darkness with the animals. After surviving the trip they had to survive the winter. By the time winter was over only half of the Pilgrims made it, most of them being children and men. Only one family made it with all the family members surviving. They began to plant crops and were able to harvest them in the fall, resulting in the first Thanksgiving in 1621.

Sleeping areas below decks for the Pilgrims


Our next stop in the area was Plimouth Plantation. Back in the 1600s they didn’t have dictionaries and spelling wasn’t regulated. Gov. William Bradford spelled Plimouth different ways. The organization chose Plimouth because he frequently spelled it that way and so it wouldn’t be confused with the city of Plymouth.

The plantation is broken up into an Indian village, an English village, a farm and craft center. The Indians in the village were Native Americans not actors playing a part as they were in the English village. They spoke in modern speech so they could explain their history and their culture. We were fascinated with them and their discoveries- that the bark from a tree peels easily in a four week period in the spring. They use the bark to cover their winter homes. They layer the sheets of bark so the wind will blow over them. Their homes lasted about twenty years.

We watched as he hollowed out a tree with fire to make a canoe. They would first peel the bark off the trees and then fell them with fire. They would then use the tree for a boat. He said you could make a boat in just a couple of days if you kept the fire burning through the night.

Above is the winter home. He said it would be about 80 degrees in there with the fires going. The summer house below was made with swamp grass that would absorb the rain and expand in size. When it was dry out the grass would decrease in size thereby allowing a breeze to come in. Amazing!

At the English village actors dressed and spoke the part of settlers in 1627. We talked with the black smith, with ladies who showed us what they’d made for supper, with a couple of men who were repairing a roof. They did a great job with their parts making us feel like we were back in time.

Cape Cod

I came across a list of food manufactures that have tours and Cape Cod potato chips was on there. I thought it would be fun to see how potato chips were made and get a crunchy sample at the end. We could see the potato slices in the vats of oil frying, then climbing up the ladder to be salted, seasoned and sorted. Pictures weren’t allowed.

Near one of the beaches was a memorial for JFK and service members from the Cape.

We headed to the beach. It was beautiful. The sand was so fine. The kids were beachcombing. There were many different shells, different shapes, different colors. I was just looking at what was in front of me and what the kids brought to me. I couldn’t get over how many shells there were and then Rick pointed out what was around me. There were yards and yards of shells!

I loved the sea grass, the driftwood, the bird prints in the sand. It was just lovely.

My Bog Blog

I was thrilled to find out there was a cranberry harvest festival when I was making plans to visit MA. I was tickled seeing the little red berries floating in the water being harvested.

Click images to enlarge

It was hot- mid 80s- for the festival. The vendors offered regular fair food and I wasn’t thrilled about eating it, but chowder didn’t appeal to me because it was too hot. A lady was handing out bisque samples. I picked one up and changed my mind. It was wonderful- creamy and filled with lobster, shrimp and scallops. Yum!

In Wisconsin, I learned that the cranberry season starts in the winter when they flood the fields and freeze the bogs to protect the plants. Quite interesting! In the spring they drain the fields and the blossoms appear followed by the berries. The harvest is from mid-September through November. We saw a wet harvest where the blog is flooded and the berries are gently knocked off the bushes by machines then corralled and sucked up and into a waiting truck. The dry harvest uses a walk behind machine to knock the berries off the vines and land into boxes or bags. The berries that are harvested wet are used for juice, relish or canned while the dry berries are sold as fresh.

Fresh out of the bog! Jacob said it was sour.

Freeing the berries from the vines

The Start of the American Revolution

Our first stop in Massachusetts was the Minute Man visitor center. We were surprised to find it was only about two miles from where we were staying at the base. We enjoyed their multimedia presentation of the days surrounding the start of the American Revolution. Our Jr. Ranger picked up her book and we proceeded to Paul Revere’s capture sight. We were surprised to find a lady walking six goats there! The grass was rather long so they had plenty to eat.

Our next stop was Hartwell Tavern. The trail is as it was during the days when the Regulars marched towards Concord to find stolen ammunition- a wide dirt/rock path lined with short rock walls. We listened to a ranger dressed in period clothing talk about the Minute Men then he demonstrated how to load and fire the gun. Cover your ears!

Just west of the trail is The Wayside, the former home of Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was closed the day we planned on seeing it, but it was a beautiful fall day. I imagined descriptive phrases rolling around in the writer’s heads as they lived there seeing the surrounding beauty. I loved the screened in porch.

The last stop on the trail was the Old North Bridge where the “shot heard ‘round the world” was fired to start the American Revolution. This was a great bridge although it's not the original bridge. It has been rebuilt six times since the 1700s. It was quite picturesque.

Down East

Right away we learned Bangor, Maine is pronounced Ban-gor unlike the subase in Washington where Rick was stationed which everyone pronounces Bang-er. We also learned people from Maine are called Mainers.

We spent several days at Acadia National Park. It was the first national park east of the Mississippi River. It was nice to see all the biodiversity- pine trees, sandy beach, rocky beach, tide pools, mountains, the changing fall trees. We especially enjoyed Thunder Hole where the sea comes in and out and splashes and thunders.

Thunder Hole


Most people head to the top of Cadillac Mountain for the sunrise, but we thought Thunder Hole would be more beautiful. It would’ve been, but the fog didn’t lift so we didn’t get the shot we wanted. I don’t think we would’ve been able to see the sun at the top of the mountain either. Originally, I didn’t want to get up for the sunrise so we saw the sunset from the top of Cadillac Mountain our first night. We had the fog to contend with for the sunset as well. I know this area is known for the fog and I don’t mind. It makes for a different picture. The kids weren’t happy to be awake for the sunrise when they couldn’t see the sun, but they were good sports. (It was a lot easier, and warmer!, to roll out of bed, go two blocks and see the sunrise over Diamond Head when we lived in Hawaii.)

Sunset at Cadillac Mountain

Sunrise at Thunder Hole wasn't very sunny

John D. Rockefeller had the carriage roads created in the park and felt the newfangled automobile would wreck the environment. (There is a push to reduce the number of vehicles visiting the park. They offer a shuttle and many people bike and hike.) The carriage roads still exist and cars are still off limits on those roads. There are 17 hand built granite bridges throughout the park as well. Rockefeller donated this road system and 11,000 acres to the park.

To complete Faith’s Jr Ranger badge we attended a hawk talk and learned about the different silhouettes of birds and their migratory patterns. We also went to a tide pool talk at College of the Atlantic where students major in human ecology. We learned some interesting things about these sea creatures- a crab’s claw can break your finger; female crabs have tails that curve up underneath, which is where she carries her eggs; sea stars (star fish) throw up their stomachs to eat food then suck it back in; sea stars have an eye at the end of each arm; urchins have five teeth in the center area on the bottom.

She has 17 patches on the back too! Busy girl!

When we pulled up to the school we saw a seal on a table. It wasn’t moving so I figured it was dead and it was. It had been called in a few hours earlier and the students were dissecting it right outside to try to determine why it died.

We were looking forward to going to Moosehead Lake in Greenville,Maine, where the ratio of moose to people is 3 to 1. I knew it would be a long shot to see a moose, but figured this would be the place to try. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any moose. Rick asked a lady in a convenience store there for a good location. She told us it was the right time to see them- dusk- but that they don’t like bad weather and is was drizzling. She didn’t think we’d see one, but she told us if we did we should buy a lotto ticket.

In Portland, I was greedy. I took a nice picture of a lighthouse in the afternoon and I thought it would look even better with some pinks in the sky so I drug the whole family out of bed for the sunrise for the second time in three days! Rick and I thought this time the sun would peak through. It didn’t look that foggy, but nope, nothing. Oh well. I still have a nice picture of the oldest lighthouse in America known affectionately as the Portland Headlight. George Washington commissioned it in 1791.

The lighthouse was beautiful and it felt like Maine. Next stop- lobster! It was fabulous! It was a good way to wrap up our trip to Maine. The next morning Becca turned 14 and we left Maine. She ended her birthday in Boston with the Cheesecake Factory, shopping and watching movies.

Rick goofing around

Birthday girl

PS Don’t worry about the economy- we’re paying tolls all over the place!

New Hampshire

While staying in Vermont we drove to New Hampshire for the day because Saint Gaudens national historical site was having a sculpture festival. Since our Jr. Ranger loves art we knew this would be an enjoyable day for her.

We learned Saint Gaudens was the home of sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens. In the 1860s, he apprenticed under a cameo cutter and later went to Paris and Rome to study classical art and architecture. He created many portrait reliefs, monuments and the 20 dollar double eagle coin that’s still used today for gold bullion coins.

Since it was the Sculpture Visions festival we were able to see the bronze casting process right before our eyes.

He heated the metal up and when he took it out of the kiln it was aflame. Very impressive!

Boiling metal is poured into the mold

The little boy will be holding a bird


We also saw a lady play the fire organ- a sculpture she created and plays with a blow torch. Her sister is in film and the fire organ was in one of her movies. It sounded like whales talking to each other.

The weather was overcast and then it started to downpour. Rick realized later that our umbrella and ponchos are in the backpack he carries. Of course we packed the backpack with the essentials, but we forgot when we needed them. Maybe next time we’ll remember!


Days later as we left Vermont and headed to New Hampshire I expected to get work done on my blog, but I had to keep a look out for moose. There were signs everywhere for moose crossings, we even crossed Moose Reservoir, and then there was a big sign stating that hundreds of accidents involve moose each year. We want to see a moose, we just don’t want to see it right in front of our vehicle!

We drove up through the White Mountain National Forest. It was beautiful.

Our destination was Weather Discovery Center in North Conway. There we learned that Mt. Washington has recorded the highest wind in the world- 231mph in 1934! We learned about the Venturi effect and how the wind has to squeeze through the smaller space between the top of the mountain and the bottom of the atmosphere causing the high winds. We had fun playing with their interactive displays. We watched a video and they had sounds the northern lights makes that are not audible by the human ear- cool! I didn't know they created noise. This place was free which made it even better in my book.

Sailing the boat by pressing the buttons to create wind blowing in the right direction

Jacob in a tornado

Faith predicting a cold front

Jacob doing his weather forecast

Producer Becca selecting the various background screens