Dad's Life 3D: Pilgrims and a big surprise in Boston

It was nice to wake up to the sounds of the Atlantic lapping on the shore outside our window. The same shore that the Pilgrims landed on in 1620. Plymouth Rock is just up the coast about a mile from our hotel. The rocky beach just outside our hotel made at least one boy extremely happy, as he skipped rocks over the ankle slapping waves.

I'm not sure what I was expecting with Plymouth Rock. I guess I was thinking Gibraltar or the big rock in Morro Bay. Plymouth Rock is about the size of bean bag chair. No kidding. Apparently it is about 1/3 of the size it once was. Before they built a fence around it, people would chisel off chucks of it for souvenirs. Even still, Plymouth Rock was never very big.

Just up the hill above Plymouth Rock is Plimoth Plantation. I'm not sure why it's spelled differently, but it is. Plimoth Plantation has a re-created 17th century English village and a Wampanoag homesite. I'm not big on re-creations of anything, but I'm quickly learning on this trip that it's a great way for the kids to understand and connect with the history much better.

Both the village and homesite have been re-created to be accurate living depictions of what both may have looked like. They are pretty great, actually (Not that I knew what they really looked like, but what has been built has been done well). Actors play the parts of the English settlers, while the Wampanoag are actual natives. They are either decedents of the Wampanoag tribe or from other native nations. Archeologists have found artifacts and human remains in the Cape dating back 12,000 years prior to the white folk getting there. But, they officially say the Wampanoag have been in this part of the country for the last 8,000 years. All of the commonly known history, is what has been written by the 17th century settlers. Even the decedents at Plimoth Plantation say, "What we know from the settlers writings..."

This kids discovered a new game that the 17th century kids would play at the plantation, Nine Men's Morris. Both kids did very well playing it, so we picked up a travel version of it that is very similar to a travel a travel version of tic tack toe that I used to play with my sister on our road trips in the bubble top Ford.

Unbeknownst to the kids, I had a surprise awaiting them in Boston, so we had to get back on the road!

We arrived in Boston around 5pm. We had dinner reservations at 7pm, so there was just enough time to freshen up. Imagine that. We went from the 17th century, to a historic metropolitan city in just a couple hours, via a convertible muscle car! Wow, my kids are getting everything and the kitchen sink thrown at them!

Our hotel is on the Boston waterfront in the North End. The North End is incredible. It's their Little Italy and every weekend during the summer, there is a different Italian Feast. And when I say feast, I mean they shut down the street with food vendors and carnival style booths. This town is so alive! The feast was packed with locals and tourists alike. The energy was vibrant and joyous! People, young and old mixed and mingled with laughter, food and excitement!

And this was just on our way to dinner! The kids got a big surprise when their friends from back home, Isla and her sister Stella snuck up on them near the Faneuil Hall marketplace! Mazzy and Isla have been friends since they were eight-months old, and are now classmates. They used to play at the Duck Park in the Venice Canals before either could even walk! There's something cool, yet shocking when you run into friends from back home 3000 miles away.

The Flannery's were on Nantucket the same time we were on Martha's Vineyard. We knew we were going to be in Boston around the same time, so tonight was the night for good times with friends! We ate at the Union Oyster House, which is the oldest continuously running restaurant in America. It opened in 1776.

After dinner, we all went back to the Madonna Della Cava festival that I spoke of earlier. The kids had a blast! After some funnel cake and multiple rounds at the game booths, it was time to call it a night. What's great, is that the Flannery's are heading up north like us, so we may just run into them again...

Day 7 – August 11, 2017
Start: Plymouth Rock MA
Destination: Boston MA
Mileage (Muscle Car): 42 Miles