To Boston

Yesterday, we ended up skipping Kennebunkport. I've heard it's a cute little town, but I just didn't want to drag the kids through it and I saw all I felt like I needed to of the Bush compound on Google images. We had plenty of work to catch up on anyway.

This morning, we headed off to Boston (actually, Plymouth is where we are staying). Robin left us a nice package of post cards on our step...so thoughtful! If you are in the southern Maine area, I highly recommend them (www.wassamkisprings.com).

We are in our tenth new state!

Our site here in Plymouth is Ellis Haven Campground, which is this behemoth place with loads of what appear to be full-timers, but it seems oddly empty as if they have all gone elsewhere for the winter. Their RVs (and fences, decks, signs, etc.) are here, but no people. For the temporary sites near us, they are largely vacant.

I asked the lady in the front office for a recommendation for dinner somewhere between a typical touristy place and McDonalds and she recommended a local pub that ended up being just OK. Typical pizza, burger, and beer joint. It is adjoining a grist mill, which ends up being one of our stops tomorrow.

However, it put us in the perfect place for free parking and a short walk down a trail adjacent to a stream directly into the heart of tourist Plymouth. We spent an hour or two down here just walking around.

I won't go into great detail about all the pictures. I'll just say that there are monuments of one type or another everywhere. There must have been a dozen. Some for old stuff and some for really old stuff. Makes me realize how little history I really know well. Let me also mention "Plymouth Rock". You can see the rock and then this monument that surrounds it. Inside that monument, it is also surrounded by an iron fence. Not really sure of the purpose, because it would be easy for someone to jump in to vandalize it, though definitely harder to get back out. I suppose it makes it very difficult to steal it. I took a picture of this sign nearby that basically explains that it is just an urban legend. It is a very old rock, but probably had nothing to do with the Pilgrims who settled here.

This is the Mayflower II, which is an exact replica of the original Mayflower. It was built in England in 1955 and sailed the same route the original Mayflower did to get here. We get to walk through it tomorrow.

We ended the night at the Plimoth Candy Co (a historical spelling). The kids spent their own money and took home a mini-Halloween sized load.

Tomorrow we are headed to Plimoth Plantation, the Grist Mill, and the Mayflower II and if we have time left, we'll go to a factory tour of Cape Cod Potato Chip Company, one of our favorite brands at home.