Coasts and rocks

Although everyone at the wedding who lived in the New England area said that Plymouth was a waste of time and that the rock was only symbolic of the place where the pilgrims landed in 1620, we still wanted to go! We were heading in the direction of southern Rhode Island anyway, so it was on the way.

This picture of me driving with Larry sleeping in the back seat pretty much represents the whole road trip! Charlene was a great nav-comm (navigation & communication position), though she slacked up on the radio duties every now and then!

Even though everyone was right about the rock, Plymouth was worth the stop. The rock was engraved with the year 1620 and was about the size of a large dog (I somehow pictured that it would be similar to the rock of Gibraltar, just smaller scale!). Plymouth harbor itself could've been a fishing port anywhere along New England- the smell of salt air and the sound of seagulls all around. That alone made this detour worth the effort! My soul leaps at the slightest hint of sand and water and my nostrils start to heal with every breath of humid air. The mountains may be beautiful, but for me, water is life-affirming.

On the harbor, we went on board the Mayflower II, a replica of the 17th century ship that brought the earliest European settlers to the New World. The ship is seaworthy and was actually sailed in the 1950s from England to the U.S. as a gift from the English for gratitude of the U.S.'s involvement in WWII. As we toured the inside of the ship (this one was open on Monday!), I winced with sympathy for the individuals who lived aboard a similar ship during a trans Atlantic voyage back in the day. I'm glad there were folks tougher than me back then because I'm not sure I would've signed up for that trip!

We didn't stay in Plymouth long. The town was cute with lots of historic houses renovated and/or turned into Bed & Breakfasts. The buildings and lawns were well kept and you could tell that these folks pride themselves on the history of their town. I wished that my green-thumbed mom was standing by my side when I spyed this beautifully landscaped B&B.

As the mist hung in the air, you could also tell that tourist season was over. Most of the shops were shutting down early and there were only a handful of tourist milling about.

Time to move on to Rhode Island. . .