First Provincetown, now Plymouth

I'm beginning to wonder what I was thinking, agreeing to go on this trip with my hostess.  She certainly has more energy than I!  But I shall persevere. 

After spending our first day in Cape Cod in Provincetown, my hostess got a wild hair and decided to track down a needlework shop.  What a splendid idea, I thought - a quiet afternoon of tea and stitching is just what I need!  However, the next morning it was raining, and my hostess wasn't wild about driving far in nasty weather, so we visited the Cape Cod Community College library instead.  My hostess said this was a bit of "professional exploration" for her, as she works at a community college library herself.  She seems to be keeping most of her opinions about the facility to herself, but she and I both enjoyed this quaint winding stair between the second and third floors...

The weather had cleared when we left the library, so my hostess said we would head for Plymouth, MA.  Evidently there is a shop there called "The Sampler."  Ah, a good, solid name for a store -- no cutesy play on words!  I like it.
Sadly, it was closed.  The nice ladies in the tourist information stand couldn't tell us why.

But, having driven from Hyannis to Plymouth, my hostess was reluctant to simply leave, and said we would "make the best of the day."  The weather had changed for the better, so she decided we would walk around (rather aimlessly, I thought) and see the sights.

We started out down by the harbor, where the Mayflower II is docked.

These bollards are HUGE!  I was intrigued by the fibers in the ropes they use to tie the boats to them.

(My hostess informed that no, I cannot use these in my needlework.  Hmph.  I think she lacks creativity.)

Here I am, sitting on A Plymouth rock.  THE Plymouth rock is beneath a large granite portico, and one can only look down upon it while a park tour guide babbles on about it.  Again I say hmph.  Ah well, a rock is a rock, I say, and who can tell exactly which ones those Pilgrims might have touched?

Next, my hostess introduced me to a lovely Pilgrim lady.  She was part of a monument erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution to honor the female settlers of Plymouth.

I find these Pilgrims to be quite likeable.  Quiet, serious, practical....what is not to like?

This Native chap, on the other hand....

Evidently this is Massasoit, a sachem of the Wampanoag tribe who helped the Pilgrims find food and maintained peace between his people and the settlers during the Pequot War of 1636.  While I am led to understand that the native people of this area were a proud and noble tribe, I DO wish they wore more clothing.  I found his lack of proper pants a bit upsetting.

With more time to kill, my hostess wandered back into the town proper and poked her nose into a few shops.  She also made the hike up Burial Hill, to see some of the oldest tombstones in the country.  A bit morbid, if you ask me....

Finally, on our way back to the car, we stopped at the Pilgrim sarcophagus, a memorial to the 51 Pilgrims who died during the first winter at Plymouth.   It is at the top of Cole's Hill, overlooking the harbor and the site of the rock.

I was quite tired.