Plimoth Plantation

Plimoth Plantation is a museum that includes a1627 English village and a Wampaoag Homesite.   This is a wonderful place to visit.  The staff are either natives or English settlers.  We listened to many stories about their every day lives and the reasons they came across the ocean.  We really enjoyed the gentleman who explained the religious reasons for leaving their old homes in search of the freedom of religion.

this gentleman explained the religious views of the village to us.  Could have listened to him all day

Mayflower II

Moored at Plymouth Harbor is the Mayflower II which is a reproduction of the Mayflower that brought the Pilgrims to the east coast.  For a small fee, you can go aboard the Mayflower.  Once aboard you will meet some of the Pilgrims who are waiting their turn to go ashore.  They will tell you their story of why the wanted to come to the new land and about the trials they faced traveling across the ocean.

Rhode Island Fishing

Really do love technology.  I was able to purchase a Rhode Island fishing license online.  Had a short trip to our new campground  Whispering Pines in Hope Valley.  Enjoyed lunch and then it was off to search for worms.  Lady at grocery store told us where to go to fish the river.  Success again.

fish on

nice trout

a bigger one

Mystic Aquarium

Mystic Aquarium is not a large aquarium.  We enjoyed visiting the aquarium, but it does not come close to the Monterey Aquarium.   However, we did get to see some whales and a sea lion show.

whales had a beautiful area.

moon jellies.  Not a lot of jellies to see.

poison dart frogs

sea lion show

Submarine Museum

Submarine Museum is only about 9 miles from Old Mystic.  The museum is not very large so we were able to see the exhibits and go onboard the USS Nautilius after church this morning. 

2 man Japanese sub

turtle

USS Nautilius

Mystic Seaport, Connecticut

What a beautiful day to go to a seaport museum.  We were there during their wooden boat show which meant that there were lots of extra boats to see.  The museum has set up an early 1800s seaport complete with ships and buildings.  Some of the buildings had staff inside to explain how fishing affected the seaport.  Really interesting to hear their stories.  There was also a building that talked about the tattoos that the sailors got.  A lot of them would have a pig tattooed on one foot and a rooster on the other because when ships wrecked, it was usually the pigs and chickens who survived.  Lots of information on whaling.  I did not realize that, in the early days, a whaling trip took 3-4 years.  Long time to be gone from home.  There were also lots of small sailing vessels to see that families used in the bay.  All in all, a wonderful day

FDR would spend a day on the bay in this vessel.

One building had a history of tugboats.  Lots of models to see

some of the vessels allowed you to go down below

A large whaling vessel.  Had to climb a few flights of stairs to get to board this one.  We were allowed to go below and see how the sailors lived while onboard.

Remember the Amistead

beautiful climate for flowers

Fishing in Connecticut

Didn’t take long for Gary to get out the worms and pole to start fishing once we got set up in Old Mystic, Ct.  Beautiful campground and only 3 miles from places we want to see.  Our bay door wouldn’t open, so now we will have to work on it, but, a Lowe’s and Walmart are only 10 miles away. 

a very beautiful pond on the campground grounds.



Hard at work trying to catch a fish

success

and another one.

Ground Zero, 9/11 Memorial, Museum

One more day of taking PATH, this time to the World Trade Center.  Still cannot believe how many people are in such a small area.  After getting directions from the info center, we made our way around the construction to the World Trade Center Visitor Center.  We decided to tour the small museum and go on the walking tour.  Both of our tour guides were connected to 9/11.  One guide lost her son, the second lived in an apartment close to the South tower.  She is one of 3 bird sitters in the area.  Yep, I wrote bird sitters.  She makes a living by bird sitting when people go on vacation.  On 9/11 she had about 3 birds in cages that she saved.  She and her friends wrapped cloth around the cages, put the cages on a broom, and walked south to escape the dust from the collapsing tours.  She is once again able to live in her apartment.  Those who were evacuated from their apartments or places of business were given 15 minutes months later to remove their personal things.  It was amazing to see what items were found after 9/11.  The museum had some of those on display.  First time I have been in a museum and could hear a pin drop.

North end, unfinished museum in back

This is the window of an airplane. It was found on Church street by the towers.




This church was used by the volunteers at Ground Zero to rest from there hard labor.

what the area will look like in the future.  Work has begun on a couple of the buildings, work on rest will begin when the economy picks up.

New York, Time Square, Empire State Building

Great day in New York.  We caught the PATH train that took us into New York.  Got off at Time Square and got in line at the TKST to get tickets to see the Jersey Boys show.  30% off tickets.  We got our tickets for $34.50 each.  Thought that was pretty good for a Broadway show.  We had some extra time, so we walked to the Empire State Building.  We really had a great time at the show.  Gary could even remember what he was doing the first time he heard the song Sherri.  I cannot believe all the people.  Thought there were a lot of people in DC, but there are tons of people here.

view to time square

Empire State Building

view from top of Empire State Building

Statue of Liberty

A gift from the French in 1886.  The Statue of Liberty was assembled in Paris 1881-81, then dismantled and shipped to New York.  But before the statue could be reassembled, the people of American had to raise money to build a base for the statue.  The statue is made out of copper about the thickness of 2 pennies.  We took the audio tour which I highly recommend.  We were able to go into the museum and take the pedestal tour.  If you want to see the museum and go out on the pedestal, make sure to arrive early, or better, get your ticked online.  We had to pay $7 to park the car.

original flame, inside the pedestal

what the face looks like

this shows what the inside of the statue looks like

looking up inside the statue.  The round staircase is over 300 stairs to the crown.  This trip books up for months.  It is free, but a limit of 240 people a day can go.