Walk into the Past

Today is rainy-day Tuesday (it rains in New England...I'm telling you, it RAINS...) It did NOT, however, rain on us last weekend.

Last Saturday we decided to explore a place they call "Plimouth Plantation." This is very close to the town of Plymouth, and the Mayflower II that we visited last summer. They spell it with an 'I' to avoid confusion with the town, and also in earlier times they actually did spell "Plimouth" that way.

We walked back into the 17th century, right after the people of the Mayflower had completed their treacherous journey across the Atlantic ocean. Their first winter here killed fully half of them--of the 102 people on the original voyage, 52 people died within 6 months. They built homes as close to English style as they could, mostly because that was what they were familiar with. Not because it was necessarily the best protection from the cold.

Kara stood by a pile of wood that would probably last OUR family 5 winters here...

We asked questions and heard stories from immigrants who fled their countries for a better life, or for a freedom from persecution. The kids fed their livestock...

...and learned from a steelworker first-hand how he made hinges...

Then we walked through the Wampanoag village. MANY of these people--entire villages-- died of diseases the Pilgrims brought with them. Different clothing, different homes, different philosophy on raising children.

The women farmed.

The men hunted.
Children just played. No jobs or chores, sunup to sundown, until THEY decided they wanted to learn or do more. Employees at this park are actually Native people, belonging to various nations...this part was especially interesting, I think. Also, our children REALLY liked that philosophy of raising children!

One man had a drum, and Teresa asked him to play. He ended up singing us a mournfully hypnotic song--it was quite amazing. It felt weird taking pictures of them...so I didn't. These two Wampanoag photos are from the Internet.

It was a great day! These types of places help us think, and hopefully set aside stereotypes. Maybe we can respect and understand just a tiny bit more, the people of that time.

Beach Week

Well... as Hagar the Horrible once said, "It's tough to get back to work after a vacation!"

We have returned from the family reunion on Frank's side: a beach house in Wildwood, New Jersey. Who actually lives in New Jersey? Nobody in the family, of course. We just chose a "central location" so 3 of the 4 families could drive. Pam and her crew in Seattle would have to fly no matter where we chose, except of course for the Seattle corner of the U.S.

For those of you who were like me, and had no clue on the planet that there were beaches in New Jersey, I can report that YES! They EXIST! And it was even sunny for us, all but one day. The water was NOT warm, mind you...Frank and I donned wetsuits to make boogie-boarding more comfortable. (The water is freezing in California, too...)

The 2nd day we took the boards out, I was pummeled by a wave, actually twice, and came away with a beautifully scraped chin and a very sore jaw. Who knew you could go from an upright, standing position, to churning upside-down to hit the back of your head on the ground, and then immediately hit your CHIN on that same sandy bottom? New mantra, repeat after me: "I respect the waves...I respect the waves...I respect the waves..."

It seemed that the cousins had a grand time, which I believe is truly the main point of family reunions, after all. That, and letting the grandparents see everybody. Here is "Everybody!"
I haven't downloaded all the group shots, but this is one windy beach attempt. (People are such good sports to put up with photo shoots!)

We were able to have all 17 under 1 roof, so I think that was more fun. Meals together, board games like crazy, reading novels, and of course Grammie D brought fun crafts for the kids. Wildwood and Cape May are actually pretty family-friendly, for anyone who finds themselves in that corner of the state of New Jersey. They boast wide beaches, boardwalk amusements, mini golf, a park nearby, paintball, movies, bowling...of all that I just listed, the only one we didn't do was the bowling; I'm just telling you that it was there.

We drove down on July 4, a week ago last Saturday. Our detour was Six Flags, since this year it made sense for us to get season passes (Kathi's visit to Boston made us check it out, and we could get some free tickets for them so we got the passes, which are good nationwide). Thinking it was going to be crowded on July 4, but what the heck, we stopped for 3 or 4 hours to ride whatever rides we could. Happily, they were running ALL the cars on most of the rides, so the lines went quickly. This also helped us avoid Saturday traffic to the beaches.

I took about ten thousand photos, because...that's what I do. I will spare you all those photos, however. Maybe I'll include Teresa on a boardwalk ride,












Frank miniature golfing,
and Kara and Teresa, and David and Nick playing in the sand.











Now, sorry Hagar, but reality calls--we're back! :) Have a great week!