Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims

We decided to visit Plimoth Plantation this Thanksgiving. That's right. The real deal. This is where Thanksgiving began in 1621.

This was the Wampanoag Homesite. They dress up like the Wampanoag people did in the 17th century, but they don't try to role play. These women were making duck soup with wild onions, which they refused to share.

And this guy was just hollowing out a log with fire to make a mishoon (boat) that could last 10-30 years depending on the type of wood. Seriously, these people were inspiring. It made me want to be better to the earth and not buy junk.

And then, all bundled up on our way to the 17th-century English Village.

These men were making a ladder to fix one of the houses that burned down a year ago. They're taking their pretty time.

All the people there played a role of someone from the colony in 1627. It was fun asking them questions.

And this man...is my husband. He he he. He found some armor and asked a 17th-century fellow if he could try it on. He agreed to it. Actually, Jason just informed me that the fellow told him to try it on. He said something like, "Go heft its weight." He probably meant "go lift it up" and Jason mistook that for "go try it on." They were a little hard to understand sometimes.

Cannons on top of the meetinghouse. (They didn't call it a church because they felt the church was the people in it.)

A nice view of the village. Hey, that person waving down there with a stroller looks awfully familiar.

And then we visited the Mayflower II. It was built in England and sailed across the Atlantic in 1957. It is a full-scale representation of the original Mayflower.

And finally...Plymouth Rock. Jason thought it was smaller than he imagined, and I thought it was bigger.

And no Thanksgiving would be complete without Mexican food. Lily's first Thanksgiving meal. Can you tell how impressed she is? Can you also tell that she began the meal by spilling water all over the table?

The next day we decided to take in the sights and sounds of Salem (alliteration), but we were duped and consequently disappointed (alliteration again!) with the witch trial "museums" we selected. We thought we got a sweet deal. Anyway, water under the bridge. Luckily we did manage to go to Nathaniel Hawthorne's house (pictured below) and the one that inspired his House of the Seven Gables (pictured above).

Lily on the luggage cart. She LOVED it. She looks like an aspiring actress/singer. Or a jailbird. Hopefully the former.