Day 15 – 6/4/2019 – Papa’s Birthday

Not to put too fine a point on it…but today is my birthday. Therefore practically everything was motivated by and served the purpose of celebrating my attainment of an ever advancing age.

The morning started, appropriately enough, with the grandsons delivering breakfast in bed. It was a bit on the messy side so we ended up carrying it back to the motel breakfast room where we enjoyed the finest of their culinary offerings.

Following that we took our time getting ourselves together, checked out and on the road. The first stop was the Plimoth Plantation, some 20 minutes away. Literature at the site pointed out that in the early 17th century spelling had not been standardized and that the alternate spelling “Plimoth” was in general use along with “Plymouth.” The developers of the plantation chose to use the “Pli…” spelling partly to help distinguish between the historical site and the city where the rock is.

Arriving at the plantation we made a beeline for Wampanoag Homesite – a recreation of a typical Wampanoag village from the period. Interpretation was provided by tribal members

Shirley took time from her belt weaving to show off her turtle shell medicine bag. She also told us how she steals dried cranberries from the communal larder to feed her cow birds.

Over at the cooking area they were making a corn porridge with ingredients that included nuts and dried cranberries. There was some grumbling about how Shirley steals cranberries for feed her cow birds.

They were working with canoes on the Eel River Pond…

We learned about the construction and use of their “3 fire Witu” (a long communal sleeping structure)

From there we moved on to the 17th century fort and village.

The fort was a two story structure with cannon on the second floor pointing toward the bay on one side and the forest on the other three sides.

The village included 12 houses as well as a Hen House, Grain Storage, and Communal Baking Oven.

The village was populated by enactors who…

…talked about bread baking, supply ships from England and the wattle and daub construction of their houses.

…talked about the mallet handles and ladder rungs they were making. Note the hand-hewn clapboard siding and the thatched roof.

…described agricultural and gardening practices.

Once we were fully immersed in village cultural life we moved on to our next adventure – Lunch in Plymouth.

Nana and Kim celebrating their choice of “Thanksgiving Wrap” – Turkey, stuffing, cranberries. What could be more appropriate in Plymouth?

From the restaurant it was a quick walk to “the rock”

Though it is housed in a dramatic Greek temple-like structure its presentation can still be improved.

The next stop in our Plymouth adventure was the Plimoth Grist Mill.

The mill dates to 1636. Note the metal structure on the left. That’s an “eel ladder” to help young eels get up to the pond where they grow to maturity.

The interpreter described the difficulty of adapting English technology for grinding wheat and barley (small, soft grains that don’t grow well in this area) to grinding corn (a large hard grain that’s indiginous to the area)

Then it was time to leave Plymouth and head for Cape Cod. We alighted in the town of Hyannis and checked in to our condo unit – home for the next 3 nights.

Once we were settled people set off to explore the grounds;

The pool. It should be noted that while the temperature was in the high 60’s, the wind made it seem considerably chillier.

Meanwhile the birthday boy settled in for a bit of relaxation on the deck, overlooking the water, book in hand.

Eventually we regrouped and headed out for dinner – Papa’s choice. Papa chose the local Brazilian Steakhouse. We all ate too much! But it was sure good.

Then it was back to the condo to relax, deal with photos (and the name of that Wampanoag long house – nobody could remember how to spell it), and rest up for tomorrow.

I think we have a plan for tomorrow. Throughout the evening I’ve heard several options. We’ll see what actually happens.

Till then, rest well, R