Mayflower II

We are now visiting Ama and Grumpy for the week - it is nice to spend some summer days out here and currently we are battling about what to do tomorrow - do we do a day trip to the Vineyard, to Nantucket, to Provincetown?  Today everyone is on their way to the Cape while Mommy tends to the one work thing she needs to do this week...  bummer...  But, before work usurped my time, I got to go see "the" rock, and go on the Mayflower II with the boys. 

Plymouth Rock is smaller than everyone tells you - and there is a nice park ranger there to help you understand the history about it, but it is close to a main road and a marina area and if you have two very active boys ages 3 and 5 you cannot hear a word the park ranger is saying. I think my parents and husband might have learned.  To get here, you just go to downtown waterfront Plymouth, and park.  Walk to the boats, and you will see a large pavilion with the rock in it.  No need to pay, and no need to stand there more than five minutes, but I guess everyone should see it just once.

Just a few hundred feet away is the Mayflower II.  This is operated by the Plimoth Plantation people, it is one of their remote sites - and you can get package tickets to go to the other sites or just go to this one, whatever your choice.  It took us about 20 minutes, but that is mostly because James really thought it was a pirate ship and Joel Andrew was too shy to really chat with the roleplayers who were on board and neither were excited to read the panels leading up to the boat either - they wanted to get on, see the stuff and move along.  Which was fine with me. 

Strollers are certainly a no-go here and I am guessing in 5 years might be the more ideal time to get them really understanding and learning from their visit.  Though, I was impressed that Joel Andrew pointed out to James that it was not a pirate ship but a boat that the pilgrims came on.  Joel did ask the roleplayer what they ate on the boat, and he pulled out a biscuit which totally surprised them.  Mommy was surprised to hear these roleplayers are paid for their work - I admitted to the ticket taker that my museum has all volunteer roleplayers, to which he replied: "oh no, no, no, they are not accurate."  Yeah, buddy - we do what we can.

So, all in all a great visit but if you are careful with you dollars, and your kids are between 5-8 (that magical age where you still need to pay to get them in and they might not really truly be absorbing everything yet) - you may just do better to walk around outside, see the boat from the pier and visit the rock.  We are hoping for a visit back in a few years where we can really learn, interact and spend more than 15 minutes.

Now Mommy is off to do some work in Cohasset - and then what?  - And tomorrow - what will we all do to explore the south shore together?  Hmmm.