Historical places

We finished two days of living some amazing history lessons. We made the 3-4 hour trip from Springfield, MA to Braintree, MA (a smaller town outside of Boston) on Sat. evening. That night was a rest and get caught up with laundry evening.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

On Sunday morning, after our Bible time together, we drove the 20 minutes to Plimoth Plantation in the town of Plymouth. This place was set up on the original spot where the Pilgrims first established their town, and started to live. They have a living history outdoor museum here, with people in character - various real people who lived back in the 1600's. They spoke in the style of our early settlers, and answered our questions as if they were still living then. We were first shown a short movie, that helped us to get into the time, and taught us how to ask the right kind of questions. There was also a group of Wampanaug Indians there, and although not all of

the people that portrayed them were Wampanaug, they were all Native Americans. They, however didn't have to speak the language of the Indians, nor remain in character.

Just a few days ago, we had listened to the radio drama "The Legend of Squanto" produced by Focus on the Family. It tied in perfectly with what we were experiencing here. (by the way, we highly recommend the Focus on the Family radio drama CDs - especially if you have a lot of driving to do. However, it would be a great altermative to TV too. We all talk about "watching" them as we listen. These are VERY well done! From the "Chronicles of Narnia", to "Les Miserables", there are so many to choose from. I'll be glad to lend some to you!)

We thought we entered the villiage from the back of it, but this may have been the main enterance, as we walked along the river rom the Indian villiage to get here.

These people take on the full character of the person they're portaying. This woman (forgot her name was neighbors with Miles Standish, and she had lots to say. I think they are so informed about what went on in those days, that they want to share their knowledge. Her style of speech was interesting too - saying "o-see-in" for Ocean (o-shin) was one word we remembered.
Scenes from Plimoth Plantation. See my facebook album for more as there was so much to see here!

After we walked all around this Pilgrim villiage, we drove to the main town of Plymouth to see the Mayflower II. This was built in England and shipped out here and now stand in the bay, not far from Plymouth rock. It was built to look like the original, and now being quite a few decades old, it had the feel of being an older vessel. I'm amazed that up to 70 people could actually survive the 2 month journey on this small ship.

Plymouth Rock. When it was first on display, they kept a chisel and hammer nearby so people could chip away a souvenir!!! So consequently, it's now a third of the size that it should be. The rock is now actually out of reach, but within view for visiters.

Monday, July 19, 2o1o

On Monday, we set off for the "Freedom Trail". This is a walking tour of Boston that allows you to see and visit places where history took place. The events that brought us to the American Revolution, the Tea Party (the first one! lol) and other significant places that formed our great nation to what it is today. Of course, you could sign up for a tour, that would take you around at their pace, and in a group so large that you're fighting to hear and keep up. Or you can buy a small book, and use it to find the significant places, and read about it as you're going along. Guess which one we did? There was also either a red brick path or a red line painted on the sidewalks so you could follow it even if you didn't have the booklet. We saw Boston Common (America's oldest public park), The Granary Burying Ground (where Paul Revere, Ben Franklin's parents, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams as well as 2,341 others are buried.), The Old South Meeting House, (where the men planned the Boston Tea Party), The Boston Massacre Site, Paul Rever's House, And the Old North Church, the oldest standing church building in Boston.