It's surprisingly plain and puny, and when you read about it, you begin to understand why. Just like the Prudential Insurance slogan says, everyone wanted to get a piece of the rock! The first incident occurred in the 1700's when townspeople tried to remove it from the ground with a team of oxen. It split in half, and the upper half only was put on display. Then souvenir hunters started chipping away at it, so it was moved to a safer display site, but it had a rough time getting there, and it deteriorated further. Later, parts of the other half were sold off to wealthy individuals until someone got the idea to try to unite and salvage what was left of the two remaining pieces. A canopy structure was created for it in the mid 1800's, but it was made too small, and a chunk of the rock had to be cut off to make it fit. Finally, the rock was moved to its current location in 1921.
One of the most interesting things we found in Plymouth was an exact replica of the Mayflower. The Mayflower 2. Well, it is as exact as they could make it using the surviving details about the original. So, just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip that started from that far off port aboard this tiny ship. That has a familiar ring to it for some reason! Anyway, the replica was built in 1957 and duplicated the trip of the original. The Mayflower 2 made the crossing from London in 70 days. The original made the crossing in 66 days. A fact you may not know is that the original had to turn back twice because the boat it was traveling with (the Speedwell) was leaking. That is why they got to Cape Cod so late in the year. They had actually tried to leave in July, but ended up leaving in on September 6th of 1620. Of course all boats of that era leaked, but the Speedwell was leaking so much the pumps could not keep it afloat.
There were 102 passengers about the original Mayflower on that trip. Another interesting fact not usually noted is that of the 102, only 41 were religious separatists - aka " The Pilgrims" and 61 were merchants, craftsmen, laborers, indentured servants and orphans - known as "Strangers."
As interesting as those facts are, the thing that really captured us about the experience we had were the living history actors. And especially the one posing as the captain of the original Mayflower. The Captain of the original Mayflower was Christopher Jones and would have been know aboard the ship as Master. As in the "Master and Commander" movie you may have seen. The man portraying him during our tour of the Mayflower 2 offered one of the most compelling performances we have ever experienced. We don't know who he was, but he was worthy of being a Shakespearean actor! He answered questions from the audience in such a manner that you actually thought you were there in Plymouth in 1620. David Dilley, if you happen to be reading this, the Captain reminded me so much of you!!!
Here is a shot of the stern of the Mayflower 2 where you can see the carving of the "Mayflower". Many ships had been called "Mayflower" as it was a name associated with good luck.
On to Provincetown! For those who haven't been to this area, Plymouth (where the Mayflower is) lies where the cape attaches to the mainland. Provincetown, also know as P-Town, is at the tip of Cape Cod. There is a beautiful 62 mile drive from Plymouth to Provincetown. There is only one problem with that drive. You can't see anything past the trees lining the highway. It is thick and lush and beautiful, but you cannot see the ocean until you get almost all the way to Provincetown unless you get off the highway and go on some of the side roads. We had been warned of this, but decided to drive straight to P-Town anyway so that we could mosey our way back down the cape afterwards. One reason we made that decision was the holiday traffic. The traffic was literally backed up for several miles trying to leave the cape when we came. We hoped it might thin out by evening. We were right. When we came back later in the evening, the traffic was gone. No delay at all!
So, about P-Town. The uninitiated or uninformed could be in for a little culture shock. P-Town is a famous destination for the LGBT community. I can see why they would like it. It is a beautiful setting, is close to major metropolitan areas and is at the end of the road. The only reason you go to Provincetown is to go to Provincetown. It is not on the way to anywhere.
If you have any issues with that lifestyle, do not go there. But, I highly encourage you to go there. It is a walking town. Street parking is almost impossible to find, but there is a large public parking lot kind of in the center of town where you can leave your car and start walking. There are literally hundreds of beautiful historic homes, many of which have been turned into B&B's, restaurants and cafes and boutiques of every description.
Our favorite view of the town is from the Bed and Breakfast that we had tried to get reservations for but were unsuccessful. I might add that we tried to get those reservations 3 months in advance. So, if you plan to go there, plan ahead! This particular one is called "Lands End". It sits high up on a bluff overlooking almost the entire village of P-Town and provides stunning views of the cape.
Upon leaving Provincetown,we set off for the Cape Cod National Seashore. Sigh... like so many of the sites we wanted to visit on this trip, the National Seashore was also closed- another victim of the current budget situation. The National Seashore comprises more than sixty miles of ponds, woods and beachfront area on the eastern side of Cape Cod. We had heard that it was a must-see, but it didn't happen!
So we continued on to Chatham, another lovely region on the eastern side of the cape. If you have some extra money burning a hole in your pocket, you can easily spend it in Chatham. Upscale shops, beautiful restaurants, and great bed and breakfast inns await. We also took in the lighthouse and some great beach views.
We found a quaint seafood pub along the main drag and had a nice shrimp dinner. A fun thing happened while in Chatham. Karen had texted her sister Laura that we were heading for Chatham. As we got there, Laura said that she was looking at a website that hosted a webcam in Chatham. The webcam just happened to be at the restaurant where we had decided to eat supper. We waved to the webcam, and her sister was able to see us going into the restaurant! How fun!
As mentioned previously, we purposefully stayed on the Cape till evening in an attempt to avoid the heavy traffic. We were successful, and had a pleasant, uneventful drive from Chatham through Boston and on to our next stop in the town of Woburn. Woburn is slightly northwest of Boston and on the way out to Gloucester.
Good night everyone! We hope you are having as pleasant an evening as we are!
David and Karen
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