Day 101, May 6, Plymouth, Massachusetts

 One thousand amazing things…at least…

We visited Plymouth today, enjoyed ourselves immensely, and learned so much we never before knew. Each new discovery led to more questions throughout this remarkable day. Did you know…

* Plymouth was never the destination of the Mayflower.  They’d intended to land on the Hudson River in New York, but bad weather cast them onto the New England coast, and as it was already November, they stayed.



* One hundred and four souls rented the ship and crew of The Mayflower, a ship never intended for passengers but only for cargo. They set sail in July aboard two ships but had to scrap one ship as it was found to not be seaworthy and crowd onto The Mayflower.

* The Mayflower is amazingly tiny.

* Only fifty three of those 104 souls survived the first winter.

* The pilgrims settled into what remained of an abandoned Native American settlement where land had already been cleared. The village was abandoned two years previously because of a devastating plague brought by foreign trappers which wiped out 70% of the native population in a handful of weeks.







* The first Thanksgiving occurred in November 1621. Those surviving 53 pilgrims held a 3-day feast/celebration. Food included corn, squash, and garden bounties alongside fish, shellfish, and waterfowl, On day 2, the curious natives were invited to join the festivities. These 90 additional people brought venison and other meats, but turkey definitely was not one of the main courses.




* Because of the devastating plague which had wiped out so many indigenous people, one tribe which had been particularly decimated signed a contract with the pilgrims for mutual protection from marauding tribes and starvation; the pilgrims were armed and appeared strong, the natives shared food on which the settlers depended during that first winter. 








Today we toured a Native American Patuxet village, a recreated 1627 English settlement, a 1636 gristmill complete with its fish ladder for the herring migration, and a recreation of the original ship named Mayflower II. This recreation was built in England and given to the United States as a gift for our role in WWII. It’s gorgeous! We also took a peek at Plymouth Rock and walked America’s very first street. 







The entire day was simply stupendous. And Thanksgiving will never be quite the same for having been here today. I can’t seem to clear my mind from frequently recalling this sobering chart. 




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