I'd always dreamt of visiting Plymouth, Salem and Boston (again!) with the kids to dig deep into the roots of our family history--the pilgrims and "witches" and revolutionaries. And this September, we pulled the kids out of school on an extended weekend and made the trip while Mark had a conference in Boston.
First, Plimoth Plantation... a re-creation of the original village where our ancestors lived after their journey on the Mayflower, exactly as it would have looked in the 1620s.
This was such a wonderful learning experience. I love that the Wampanoag have their village nearby and offer a rich contrast to the story we learn in school.
The workers here are actually of the Wampanoag tribe, and while the story of the first Thanksgiving and the beautiful alliance with our ancestors is true, there was also much heartache as more and more settlers crossed the Atlantic bringing disease, enslaving natives and killing tribes of natives over land.
This was the watchtower at the end of the village, full of cannons and lookouts. The neighborhood safety patrol guarding Plimoth Plantation.
It was a gorgeous foggy day with few visitors... we almost had this place to ourselves, along with a bunch of pilgrims in costume and character who were like history books in themselves!
We peered into the pilgrims' yards and gardens...
... and paid a visit to Miles Standish.
This is the home of our ancestors, William and Mary Brewster, exactly at the spot where they would have lived in the village. It felt amazing to be here, imagining what their lives must have been like! Not only the hardships, but the very tight-knit community of neighbors they were tucked right in the middle of. Everyone we spoke with that day knew all about them.
We lucked out with this awesome Lyft driver who insisted on taking us to Plymouth Rock. So of course we couldn't refuse and braved the rain!
We were warned it was more like a "pebble"-ha!
And our wonderful driver also took us to visit Burial Hill, where the pilgrims along with the Brewsters are all buried.
This is the street beneath the cemetery.
The next day, we traced the history of another ancestor, Rebekah Blake Eames, an accused witch who spent nine months in prison during the Salem Witch Trials.
We decided to take a tour and eek out as much knowledge as we could. Our guide was a wealth of information and even sang a gorgeous hymn directly from the pilgrims' hymnal, as our ancestors would have sung it.
He's telling us a bit about the occult at the "Witch House." This doll was hidden in the walls, meant to protect against witchcraft.
And I've already forgotten the uses of this jar, but there was an elaborate story.
Alexander Hamilton lived here.
These are two memorials to our cousins, Sarah Good and Rebecca Nurse (from The Crucible), who were hanged. They were sisters. Our direct ancestor survived by confessing to witchcraft.
So reverent... oy! They were a bit stir-crazy after all that touring/walking.
This is the memorial to the Salem Witch Trials... which you could easily pass by if you didn't know!
We had some lunch in this original building, Ye Olde Sandwiche Shoppe. So good!
We toured Boston the next day and hired a Lyft to drop us off at the Boston Library. It has a stunning courtyard.
The lions remind me of the Nelson Atkins lions from ancient Greece in Kansas City.
SHHHH!
I could spend hours here! Felt a bit Hogwartian.
But we were here for the Sargent paintings--his hidden masterpiece, The Triumph of Religion. Stunning!
I love the stunning juxtaposition of old and modern as this cathedral reflects from the glass of the Hancock Tower.
We had chocolate soup at the cutest little chocolaterie! (It's advertised as hot chocolate, but it's pretty much just pure, molten chocolate... no milk to water it down!)
Lorelei and Gryffy used to love making patterns with the sugar packets when they were littles. This brought back memories.
See? Chocolate soup. It even comes with a spoon!
We stopped inside Victoria's Secret so that Gryffin could pose like the models, fanning his hair. Ha!
Trying to pose like the statue above. It didn't exactly work out, but as soon as we left, all these families lined up to take the same picture. The kids were very pleased that they'd started a trend. :)
While Gryffy was still in my belly we took Lorelei to Boston as a little girl and she adored these little ducklings.
We took a stroll through gorgeous Beacon Hill.
And saw Acorn Street, one of it's most idyllic lanes.
Gryffy almost fell off a tower--he's gripping the ledge for dear life!
And soon we were back on the Freedom Trail (see that red line on the road?).
Boston Commons.
The Latin School. Ben Franklin and other greats studied here.
Sam Adams. He's famous for beer.
The Paul Revere house. A bit creepy at night.
The Old North Church. Last time we were here we went inside.
Back at our hotel.
The next morning, while Mark conferenced, I took the kids to Charlestown to visit my high school friend, Leslie, and her family. We started out by brunching--yum!
And headed to Bunker Hill of Revolutionary War fame. I knew there was no way those kids--who flat refused to climb the clock towers in Munich and Estonia and Czechia--would brave the Bunker Hill Monument.
But I was wrong! I didn't even push them. Somehow they came up with the idea themselves! I was huffing and puffing up the stairs to catch up!
And what a view!
They had so much fun with Leslie's family in the park tossing the football.
We bade them farewell, and headed to the other end of the Freedom Trail we had missed, tracing it through Charlestown toward Boston.
We climbed aboard the U.S.S. Constitution. Lorelei attempted to get Gryffy to smile, but he flat refuses to indulge the camera.
We headed back toward the home of Paul Revere and decided to go inside.
Then it was back to our hotel which had this ring-swings outside that delighted us all.
And that's a wrap on Boston! The kids are already begging to go back. What a fun city!
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