Vacation Day 4: Pilgrim Hall

 I'm taking time on this hot, humid Sunday afternoon, to write about the fourth day of our anniversary vacation. (I'm posting our days going backwards).  We were in Plymouth and when we woke up on Thursday, we saw the forecast was going to have an air temp feel of 102.  That's hot and combined with the 90% humidity, we decided we weren't going to do the hike we had planned.  We chose instead, to have a late breakfast in the dining room of the hotel and then we talked about all the monuments we've seen/visited in years past in Plymouth.  

Dave's family used to have a beach house on Buzzards Bay as some of you know. This is where we would spend a part of June, July, and August when our girls were little. We also had the big T---- family Thanksgiving there every year from 2002-2013.  Those were great times.  Because Dave's side of the family had pilgrims as ancestors, Plymouth was a big draw for us to take our children.  We've been on the Mayflower II replica for the tours twice. We've seen Plymouth Rock ad nauseum and a few years ago, Dave and I stayed in a different part of Plymouth and did the Pilgrim Trail and stopped at all the national historic monuments and there are many! One place we never had visited or toured, though, was Pilgrim Hall Museum.

Dave in front of Pilgrim Hall Museum
 the oldest museum in the USA

Here is a quote from their website:

"Built in 1824 by the Pilgrim Society, Pilgrim Hall is one of America’s earliest public museums. The Society was incorporated in 1820 during the 200th anniversary of Plymouth Colony’s founding, to commemorate the history of the Mayflower Pilgrims. "

Now, Dave's dad had a great times 9 uncle come over on the Mayflower with his 2 sons.  However, they died before the harvest that next November. The wife did not come nor is there any information as to if she ever did or if she died in England before they left for the New Land. 

Dave's dad also told us that his great times 9 grandfather came over on the Speedwell.  The names on the Speedwell, though, match the names on the Mayflower.  So that's a bit confusing.  However, the Speedwell never made it to Plymouth! It had to turn around and go back to England as it wasn't seaworthy.  So it was really the great times 9 uncle that arrived in Plymouth on the Mayflower. 

So that left us wondering about the great times 9 grandfather?  We checked the passenger lists for the Fortune, Anne, and Little James ships which came over in 1623.  And guess what??  There was no T------family member on any of those!!  

So....we are puzzled. My guess is he did come over as a separatist but it was later than 1623 or on a ship that isn't listed. 

But....we enjoyed all of the pilgrim displays and it was fascinating to see the  actual items that the 1620 pilgrims owned.  We couldn't take photos in the first part of the museum but we were allowed to in the main gallery.  Here are some photos for you to enjoy.  

I really liked the look of this in front of the museum
The museum is on the main street through the historic section
away from the waterfront street but parallel to it.

The very first baby born when the Pilgrims
landed in America was Peregrine White.
Zoom in on the pic to read about this. 
The first baby born on the Mayflower
during the crossing of the Atlantic was Oceanus Hopkins

This cradle came from Holland
and was used by the White family 
for the first Pilgrim baby to be born in America
His mother gave birth on the ship which of course
was docked in Provincetown Harbor. 

The replica of the Mayflower, called The Mayflower II, is of course docked in Plymouth Harbor and is a major tourist attraction. Every American should visit the Mayflower, the Rock, (although it's disappointing as is so small as some of it is buried underground)  which is in a portico right on the sidewalk on the Harbor and next to Pilgrim Memorial State Park. The harbor and attractions are all a part of  the park. Dave's great grandfather was involved in the moving of the Rock. 

In the museum you can actually see and touch a piece of Plymouth Rock.  

I'm touching Plymouth Rock

a replica of the Mayflower ship 

I wasn't allowed to take a photo of some of the other Pilgrim items and my photo of William Bradford's Geneva Bible didn't come out. (If you don't know who he was, click on the blue link). 

The entire museum only takes about 1.5 hours to walk through and there is a little gift shop. We were fortunate that we got to talk with the historian who was on site.  She used to be one of the "pilgrims" over at Plimoth-Patuxet Plantation/Museum back when our  daughters were young. She was fascinating to talk to and she is the one who directed us to the passenger lists for the other ships. 

After our 2  hour parking was up, we drove over to a small town outside of Plymouth to get some refresher drinks at Dunkin' and then ordered some sandwiches and took them back to the hotel dining room to have a late lunch.  After lunch, we rested on the ocean side of the hotel with our books and then it was time to leave for Dave's brother's camp on Long Pond.  Long Pond is only about 15 minutes from our hotel which is on Long Beach.  The pond is really a lake. We had a lovely visit with them and Peter made chicken and beef kabobs for dinner. We hung out on the deck which is literally right on the water until about 10:45 pm and then ended the day by packing up almost all of our things as we were leaving for NY and our home the next day. 

Here is proof that the great times 9 uncle
of my father-in-law came over on the Mayflower
with his two young sons. 

Patriotic decor on the camp deck 
compliments of my sister-in-law Katharine

relaxing on Peter and Kathy's camp deck before dinner
Their bernese Kyss is a sweet dog! 
 I like her. and I don't like most dogs 

Come on back sometime Monday to see more photos and read about Sandwich, the oldest town on Cape Cod! 

ANNIVERSARY VACATION FAVES

 

Well, it's HOT. It's HUMID.  But I'm typing this from a beautifully air conditioned dining room at our hotel here in Plymouth, MA where the town is going all out for the Independence 250th celebration. Our hotel is right on Long Beach!

I'm looking out at the ocean, and thanking God for this beautiful week we have had. I'm so thankful for central air, an outdoor pool, the beach, an outdoor terrace that is overlooking the Atlantic/Cape Cod Bay and is actually mostly shaded all day. Our room has the ocean view so we get the morning sun. Today was our day to just do something in town and relax most of the day. I'm typing this on Thursday before we leave for another part of Plymouth (Long Pond) to swim in the lake (lakes are called ponds in Plymouth Co and on the cape according to my brother in law) and go out to dinner with my brother in law (Dave's older bro Peter) and his wife Kathy. They have a camp right on the lake.  It's about 3 pm and many people are either in the pool or in their rooms resting as it's high tide and there's no beach right now.  

I'm sharing FIVE FAVE things from my week and linking up at Susanne's site.  Join in!! Also, this won't be linked to her blog until I'm back in NYS but once I'm home (sometime Friday afternoon), I will read your own FFF's as soon as I start the laundry. 😁

FIVE FAVES

Mady, the last niece to graduate from HS
on both sides of our families! 
Her mom, Jill, is my youngest sister 
Mady is the one I take hiking once a summer

From l-r starting in back:  Joy, Hope (my  sisters)
 and Hope's husband Donny
Tyler and Courtney, Claire, me 
Dave is next to me but didn't make the pic)

• GRAD PARTY!  Our vacation officially started with heading to my niece's high school graduation party on Sunday after church.  My youngest sister Jill and her husband Mike had delicious lunch food set up along with all kinds of drinks and the big tent to sit under as it was already getting hot and humid. Both of my daughters also came. In fact, Dave and I were treated by Courtney who drove us to the party along with her bf Tyler.  After the party, we spent the late afternoon/early evening at Moreau Lake State Park to swim and relax on the beach. I'm thankful for family times and making memories. 

our hotel room was beautifully decorated
Monday 29 June

our view!!
and yes, the windows opened!!
But we only did that for 2 evenings
as we really needed AC

the private beach at low tide

outdoor dining area

the terrace overlooking the ocean 
where we spent a few evenings reading and talking

• SAFE TRAVELS: Monday morning was our travel day to Plymouth MA with a lunch stop at my mother in law's. We had picked up subs/wraps and brought them over. It was good to see her and she was happy for the company.  We arrived in Plymouth in mid-afternoon and although there was quite a bit of traffic (many tourists are in the Boston area for the World Cup, plus Independence Day) and we knew Plymouth, where it all began, would be crowded and crazy! After checking in and relaxing, we walked the beach, and then in the early evening, we headed to downtown Plymouth to eat at this amazing place! I had the half size fish and chips platter which was plenty along with a delicious mocktail. Dave had a lobster roll and onion rings with a red sangria. We walked around the waterfront and ended up spending way too much money for ice cream cones and of course had to walk past the Mayflower II and the Rock for old times sake. I'm thankful for the hotel accomodations and the safe travels.  Since we did some very historic things on this anniversary trip, I am only sharing the highlights here and will do a seperate post about the places we visited while down here. 

a delicious cranberry/orange mocktail

Dave's red sangria....
very refreshing as well!

on the beach in Plymouth!
Monday 29 June

• ANNIVERSARY!  On Tuesday the 30th, we celebrated 36 years of marriage. I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband who is also one of my very best friends and adventure loving partner. He chose Plymouth (although we vacationed here a few years ago as well and have been to all the Pilgrim things ad nauseum) because there was actually a vacancy for a room on the ocean side of the hotel. We've tried to get into this place before so we were thrilled we could get a room from Mon-Friday. On Tuesday, though, we drove an hour northeast to Fall River to Battleship Cove a national historic site. There are 5 national historic landmarks in Battleship Cove.  (Battleship Cove is a part of Fall River Heritage State Park). They are: the USS Massachusetts, the USS Joseph P. Kennady Jr, the USS Lionfish (submarine), PT Boat 617 (a torpedo boat), and the PT Boat 796.  These last 2 boats are the only restored pair of WWII torpedo boats on public display in the nation. We saw all 5!  Below are some highlights of Battleship Cove. All of the ships are self guided tours. We also went to the Maritime Museum which was just a 2 block walk along the waterfront and is a part of the Battleship Cove.  Also, we had brought nice clothes to change into and had our anniversary dinner (an early one as we wanted to get back and sit on the ocean beach) at this absolutely fantastic italian waterfront restaurant. Because the heat index was close to 98 degrees F we chose the indoor section with the AC. I'm so thankful we had a wonderful Anniversary doing something my husband loves. (more about Battleship Cove will be in a separate post). here are four of our fave photos from Tuesday: (sadly, none of the photos I took at the Maritime Museum came out!) 

Three of the national historic landmarks/monuments

In the background: USS MASS
in center: Lionfish
on left side: USS Kennedy

Dave on the lionfish submarine
he toured the bottom by himself

Dave and I on the top of the USS MASS 

Anniversary Drinks before dinner 
White Sangria for me
Red Sangria for Dave
Chicken Piccata for me; Lasagna for Dave

• CAPE COD: On Wednesday, we left for Cape Cod via the Sagamore Bridge.  Our destination was Sandwich, the oldest town on the cape.  In Sandwich, we wanted to tour the Botanical Gardens and Museums which we tried to do with our daughters back in 2004 but it rained so we ended up just at the auto museum and carousel.  Back then it was Memorial Day Weekend so hardly any flowers were bloomed anyways.  This year, it was  awesome.  It's a self guided tour and there are 100 acres to explore. We did all the trails except for the children's section.  And yes, we rode the carousel for old times' sake. We did some shopping in the village too and at the end of the day we headed back to Plymouth to eat at an Irish pub where we had the best food and the best prices!  I'm so thankful we had a great day! Here are a few pics from the day (more will be in a separate post). 

one of many fountains in the botanical gardens

Botanical Gardens has a whole section of beautiful hydrangeas

it also had a labyrinth that we walked.....
the whole thing was a half mile!

Dave enjoying the sundial 

The Windmill at botanical gardens

Riding the dragon chariot on the carousel

Trail to Shawnee Pond at Botanical Gardens

Shawnee Pond in the Botanical Gardens

After the gardens, a quick visit over to the Sandwich Canal area, and shopping, we went swimming at the hotel outdoor pool and swam and relaxed with our books. It was much needed as the air felt like 102 degrees F.  We were thanking God for the wonderful AC and pool and ocean breeze and sunscreen!

Sun and swimming

After swimming, we showered and headed out to dinner at Dillon's Local the Irish pub. 

Fish tacos and house salad

Dave had a Guiness and I chose the MaiTai
and these were so very refreshing after a long, hot day!

• LAKE TIME:  Thursday morning was spent just reading and relaxing on the hotel ocean mezzanine.  Around 11 AM we decided we would head over to the oldest museum in the nation, known as Pilgrim Hall Museum in downtown Plymouth. For some reason, this is a museum we have never visited although we have gone to all the other historic sites in Plymouth including the Mayflower II more than once, and Plymouth Rock many times. The Museum will get its own post. We also discovered some family history we did not know and that was super cool.  Come back Sunday or Monday for a glimpse of this very historic museum. After the museum, we headed to DD for ice cold refresher drinks and then back to the hotel to rest out of the sun/heat.  In the evening, we headed over to Dave's brother's camp on Long Pond.  Ponds in MA are actually lakes. We are not sure why residents of MA call them ponds. Long Pond is a beautiful lake and although there is a public beach which is quite small, most of the homes are  private camps.  Peter and Kathy made grilled food for our dinner (I had chicken kabobs) and had some yummy drinks and iced water. We hung out on their deck where if you sit on the edge, your feet are in the lake. I did a bit of swimming as did Dave and Peter. It was great and there was a nice breeze. We hung out there until 10:45 PM.  The hotel is only about 15 min away. I'm so thankful we spent time with Pete and Kathy.  It was a great way to end our last night in Plymouth. 

relaxing at the camp on Long Pond
Plymouth
the bernese is Kathy's dog Kyss.
she is a therapy dog!

Dave and Peter deal with a floating dock

A touch of patriotic decor 

delicious black cherry lemonade

Patriotic dinner decor with sparkling, flashing lights

It is now Friday.  It's about 1 pm.  We made it out of Plymouth at 7 AM and stopped for breakfast in the town where my mother in law lives. After breakfast, we arrived at her place about 9 AM to discover that she wasn't doing well. The AC unit in her family room had died and the nurse said she was near heatstroke. Dave had to go out and buy a new unit, fan, and I found a very small fan and set her up in front of it. The nurse had to leave so I stayed with her while Dave did the shopping for the items. He also bought her a bag of ice as she had no ice in the freezer. Because this is a national holiday, we wanted to be back in NY by noon. That is not happening.  Dave and his brother are currently working on getting the unit attached better to the window. So I am now finally uploading vacation pics and writing the FFF.  

We are now hoping to make it back to NY and home by 7 PM.  

I'm thankful we could be here for my mother in law and that Peter came up from camp when Dave called him to tell him what was going on. Please pray for us to get home safely! This heat wave is taking a toll on so many people. More importantly, please pray for my mother in law. She still lives alone at age 91. 

                HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Sunday Funday Stealin'

 

I'm packed and all set for our anniversary vacation. I'm ready for the 11 AM church service.    I'm ready for celebrating our youngest niece later at her HS Grad party. And my beach bag is packed for the lake later today after Mady's party. 

 So I'm playing along with the Sunday Stealin' Meme since I have some time on my hands!  

Head here to learn how to join in! 

I LOVE TO: hike mountains

I SOMETIMES: have road rage

I FEAR:  timber rattlers

I MISS: national leaders who have class, wisdom, and integrity 

I CRAVE: *$ guatemalan  blend coffee with one pump of raspberry syrup and a drizzle of almond milk 

I CHERISH: my two daughters

I AM IMPATIENT WHEN: tourists don't know how/where to park or navigate the roads in Saratoga Springs or how to merge onto the Northway 

Have a safe and healthy Independence Day week. 

First Week of Summer Faves!

 

Well, the first day of Summer was last Sunday and we welcomed it with open arms.  The weather has been really great this past week.  We had some rain but for the most part, it was perfect temps in the 60s and 70s and blue sky with plenty of sunshine. It's been wonderful not to have the central air on and just have all the windows open.....especially for sleeping!  Lots of tree peeper sounds and I even saw many fireflies a few nights this week...more than in years past!  

Besides the glorious weather and the flitting fireflies, I had other blessings too which made me take note, say thanks to God and appreciate all of the things that came my way this week.  

Join in by linking up at Susanne's blog. I'm thankful she continues hosting!

• FATHER'S DAY:  This was a great day to bless my husband, the father of our two daughters.  The girls had arranged for all of us, plus Courtney's boyfriend and his parents, to have a hibachi table at our local fave Japanese restaurant.  A great time was had by all! The girls gave Dave beautiful handwritten cards with special messages inside......they made him choke up.  They also paid for our dinners! We had a lot of fun.  I neglected to get a pic of Evelyn, Ty's mom and didn't really take many photos as we were having too much fun talking and eating.  I'm so thankful everyone had a good time. 

Dave with his oldest girl: Courtney
Sunday 21 June

Hibachi fun!  
Notice how Claire has her eyes closed.....
it was so very hot and bright!

enjoying the Japanese food
l-r: Claire, Mark (Ty's dad), Tyler, Courtney 

• FUN IN THE SUN:  After our Father's Day dinner, Claire wanted to go back to her place and rest as she hadn't felt great the night before.  Courtney said she had chores to do around her apartment and Ty was going over to help her and Evelyn and Mark wanted to go home and tackle their yard work.  Dave informed me that he just wanted to lie on the couch and watch something on paramount + that he knew I wouldn't want to see so that left me with a free late afternoon/early evening.  I made plans with my childhood friends Diane and Debbie (Deb was up from TN most of the month to help Diane with their elderly mom) to meet  at this place and  we had a blast walking in the beautiful sunshine, seeing the sculptures, sitting on the new walkway "patio" and just catching up on our lives. They drove about 40 min west and I drove 40 min east and it ended up being perfect.  I was home by 7:30 and enjoyed burning brush as a "summer solstice tribute"  since it was a perfect first evening of sumer. I'm glad Deb and Diane were free and that I finally got all the brush burned! 

Mother and Child
(and peregrine falcon) mosaic sculpture
Diane and I met the artist who was also the mayor of this city
a few years ago when she was finishing up the mosaics. 

l-r: Deb, me, Diane
my childhood friends and sisters in Christ 

Happy Summer Solstice
8 pm Sunday evening

• MOUNTAIN CLIMB! I had a SoulSteps mountain climb scheduled for our group's first Summer Semester hike.  Originally there were 4 of us going. It ended up being just 2 of us but I was ok with that. My friend Joan offered to drive as she is familiar with that part of Vermont.  What a great day: the weathe was perfect in Wilmington, Vermont: 59 degrees F when we started climbing and 64 when we got to the summit. Back down at the car and over at Mt Snow where we bought coffees after the hike, it was only a high of 72.  This hike was awesome.  The mountain is 3,445 in elevation and it took us just a bit over 1.5 hours to climb.  Total miles was 4.7.  So thankful we had a great climb and met some interesting people who summited shortly after we did. Here's some of my fave photos from Wednesday's hike: 

The first half mile was gravel road...an old logging road
 Haystack Mt trail in the Green Mountains National Forest
Vermont 24 June

This is what the blue blazed trail looked like 
after turning off the gravel trail. 
This went on for a little over a mile. 
I enjoyed all the lush green ferns

We are now on the snowmobile trail
which was supposed to be blazed with orange markers
yet in typical Vermont fashion, we didn't see one at all.
Joan is standing in the middle of the trail which at this point was dry. 

after hiking about a half mile 
on the snowmobile trail through ankle deep water
we came to the turn off for the summit....
and again, we followed blue blazes
all the way to the top ...at this point I am pointing
to the .3...less than a half mile of climbing!

here we go.....up the rockface 

summit geological marker
at 3,445 ' 

Joan and I on the overlook part of the summit
Haystack Mt Vermont

Somerset Reservoir
from summit of Haystack

There's Haystack!  
We  climbed that!!
view is from the main road. 

• FRESH FRUIT:  This past week, Dave and I have enjoyed wonderful fresh fruit: nectarines, black plums, and blueberries. We've had them in our lunches, for breakfast and last evening for dinner, I cut up a nectarine and added in a cup of blueberries. Fresh fruit is abundant in the summer months here in the Northeast and I'm thankful for it. 

• NEW GAS RANGE!  Finally, on day 11 of having no stove and ordering one the very first day the oven died, we had our new gas range delivered yesterday morning.  Dave texted me from work and said the installers are on their way, around 9 AM.  They arrived about 9: 15 and they were the most polite installers we've ever had.  Two hefty, strong nice guys probably in their 30s or 40s.  One quickly unhooked the old range, after shutting off the gas and got it out of the house.  Then together they brought in the new range and it was all set within 10 min.  They tested it for me, told me to let the oven run at 350 for 30 min to get the oily gas smell out (it's a factory thing) and then enjoy.  What I love about this upgrade:  the oven has 3 settings: bake, broil, crisp (similar to air fryer).  The rangetop has 5 burners: 3 regular ones, a simmer one, and in the middle, a griddle!  AND my fave part: steam clean for the oven!  I had to watch a video put out by GE about using the steam clean mode and I know I'm going to love it. It only takes 30 min for it to steam clean and they suggest doing so every 1-2 months or at least 5-6 times if you cook a lot with the oven in a calendar year. I'm so thankful the whole process was done in less than 20 min and also that it forced  me to do a deep cleanign of my cupboards and counter tops. I got rid of clutter and just went as minimalist as I could. Here are my pics from my project yesterday: 

New gas range
to the left of it is our coffee bean grinder
and my french press.
I added the artificial grass plant for a pop of color.
for the wall behind the stove, we will be buying
a tempered glass backsplash 

Coffee corner

main counter

rest of the main counter

Trash bin now holds the fruit basket,
post it notes and mug of pens

My special mugs that I tend to rotate seasonally
now sit on top of the microwave cart
along with a wire basket of paper napkins for
quick grabbing for deck or picnic or dave's lunchbox.
(we use cloth napkins for meals and those are in the dining room)
We also have a glass jar of paper and reusable straws...both of which can be recycled; and in the back right corner is a little wooden "mail" holder that holds some of Dave's important papers for things coming up (ballgame tickets, hotel confirmations, etc)  Mail that needs to go out typically stays on my upstairs desk and then in the morning, I take it out to the mailbox and put the little "flag" up. It felt so good to get rid of clutter on the main counter.

Those are the FIVE things that top my FAVES list. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL LAST WEEKEND OF JUNE!

ps huge thanks to Susan from Susan's Sayings blog for telling me there was a way to make the photos I post, larger!