Some surprising advice we received from the locals was that it wasn't really worth our time to go to Plymouth. One sister said she had never taken her family or friends who came to visit, but they always wanted to go to Salem. We however, had watched a show that highlighted the sites in that city. We were fascinated with it and couldn't wait to see the things that he had. We respectfully thanked the sister for her advice, but we went anyway!
The first thing we wanted to see was the National Monument to the Forefathers.
National Monument to the Forefathers
We had never heard of this monument before, but it was highlighted in the tourism show. It was impressive on the show and even more so in real life. It was huge and beautiful!
It is an 81-foot high solid granite monument. It was completed in 1888. I am sad to think that in my years of learning about the founding of our country, this was never shown to me. It is truly impressive, and if you are ever in Plymouth, you definitely need to take time to see it!
(I'll quote Wikipedia for the description of all the pieces of the monument.)
The plan of the principal pedestal is octagonal, with four small, and four large faces; from the small faces project four buttresses. On the main pedestal stands the heroic figure of "Faith" with her right hand pointing toward heaven and her left hand clutching the Bible.
Upon the four buttresses also are seated figures emblematic of the principles upon which the Pilgrims founded their Commonwealth; counter-clockwise from the east are Morality, Law, Education, and Liberty. Each was carved from a solid block of granite, posed in the sitting position upon chairs with a high relief on either side of minor characteristics.
Under "Morality" stand "Prophet" and "Evangelist";
under "Law" stand "Justice" and "Mercy";
under "Education" are "Youth" and "Wisdom";
and under "Liberty" stand "Tyranny Overthrown" and "Peace".
On the face of the buttresses, beneath these figures are high reliefs in marble, representing scenes from Pilgrim history. Under "Morality" is "Embarcation";
under "Law" is "Treaty";
under "Education" is "Compact";
and under "Freedom" is "Landing".
Upon the four faces of the main pedestal are large panels for records. The front panel is inscribed as follows: "National Monument to the Forefathers. Erected by a grateful people in remembrance of their labors, sacrifices and sufferings for the cause of civil and religious liberty."
The right and left panels contain the names of those who came over in the Mayflower.
The rear panel, which was not engraved until recently, contains a quote from Governor William Bradford's famous history, Of Plymouth Plantation:
"Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by His hand that made all things of nothing and gives being to all things that are; and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all praise."
We were glad we still had enough daylight left to see it!
On the grounds were some trees that were perfect height for little kids to climb.
Plymouth Rock
Our next stop was to see the famous Plymouth Rock. We had learned from the show that it was pretty small, so we kind of knew what to expect. It's not this large rock where everyone stepped on that is sometimes depicted in paintings. Some say that this isn't even the actual rock. But whether it is or not, this rock does symbolize the landing of the pilgrims and all they stood for.
William Bradford Statue
We also saw a statue of William Bradford, governor of Plymouth.
After these first sites, we realized that both our phones were without power, so we couldn't take anymore pictures. We needed to find a place where we could charge them so we could take more pictures of the things we saw. Also from that tourism show, a restaurant was shown, so we went there. Thankfully we were sat at a table near an outlet, so we could plug in our phones and have them charge while we were eating.
The Cabby Shack
The lobster mac and cheese was a dish that was highlighted on the show, so we made sure to order one of those. We also ordered a lobster roll--to give lobster one more try.
I'll say that I liked lobster served these ways better than just lobster. But still, I'm sorry, it's not my favorite. But the food was good and we had a good evening there. Oh! And when we had pulled up, there was a biker getting onto his motorcycle. He asked if Glenn wanted to rev the engine. He did and was surprised at how loud it was. He was really nice!
Coles Hill Burial Ground
After dinner, it was dark of course, so we had to take pictures of the rest of the things in the dark. We headed up to Coles Hill Burial Ground. Here we saw the pilgrim sarcophagus, which marks the first burial ground for the passengers of the Mayflower.
We also saw the statue of Massosoit. He was very helpful to the colonists.
Burial Hill
Continuing up the hill is a place called Burial Hill. It's hard to rad the sign, but it say that this hill has been used as a burial ground since the first settlers. Many of the original markers were made from wood and are no longer standing, but there are many that still remain. Governor William Bradford is buried here.
At the bottom of the stairs leading up to the cemetery is the spot where the first pilgrims established a place of worship in 1620. The current church building there was built in 1899. We didn't get to see the inside personally, but the tourism show also highlighted this. The interior looks like the inside of a ship, giving honor to the pilgrims and their voyage in the Mayflower.
So even though some of our time in Plymouth was at night, we still enjoyed the things we saw. It is a quaint little town with a lot of history. We saw a few other statues and things but we don't have pictures of them. We're glad we were able to see the many historic places here and to appreciate the sacrifices of many who helped established the country and freedoms we have today.
Heading back to our hotel which was closer to Boston, we drove through the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, or the Big Dig. This was for Paul. 😉 It is a large tunnel that goes underneath downtown Boston. It was pretty cool.
And we saw this cool bridge in Boston too.
We sure are grateful for civil engineers and their amazing feats! 😊
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