Plymouth Rocks! Day 11

Saturday, August 16, 2014:  After the Patriot's football game last night, Theresa came home with Dave so there were five of us going to Plymouth, Massachusetts, this morning: Theresa, Mary, Dave, Michael, and me.  Our first stop was the Jenny Grist Mill with its peaceful, duck-filled lake and lovely, shaded gardens.

The river turns the large wheel for grinding grain inside the mill.  We didn't tour the mill today because we did years ago but we couldn't resist strolling around the lake and over the foot bridges.  Ducks and swans were everywhere.

It's always pleasant to watch the graceful swans and the brown ducks swimming in a line.

Daughter #4, Theresa, in pink, and Daughter #5, Mary, with son, Michael.  We wanted to see Plymouth Rock and the Harbor!

There are quite a few monuments to the Pilgrim settlers of this area in Plymouth.  This one gives recognition to the first governor of the Plymouth Colony, Governor William Bradford.

Can you imagine landing a ship full of Pilgrims from across the ocean in the year 1620?

The famous Plymouth Rock, on the edge of the Plymouth harbor, in a monument.

The ornate monument housing Plymouth Rock.

We wished to tour the Mayflower II, replica of the original ship of the Pilgrims, but wanted to walk around the harbor jetty first.

How could this small vessel bring 102 passengers across the ocean?

The very spacious and protected harbor at Plymouth, Massachusetts, housed hundreds of ships of all sizes: another place I would have just liked to sit on a bench and watch for days and days. . .

Theresa starting to walk across the large rocks of the Plymouth jetty.  The five of us walked clear to the end - .72 mile - and back again, after lunching at Sam Diego's mexican restaurant in town.  The walk was very windy and quite challenging!!

Me/Jan, at the end of the Plymouth jetty in the harbor, quite pleased with myself!

For walking across the jetty, my prize was getting closer to the harbor's two lighthouses so I could get a better photo.  This one is called the Duxburg Pier Light, or the "Bug Light."  It resembles a coffeepot!

The second lighthouse is Plymouth Gurnet, the oldest active wooden light tower in Massachusetts, approximate 3 nautical miles from the harbor edge.

Plymouth is a very interesting town!  It's certainly worth a trip to the Massachusetts coast!

Clouds shade the sun momentarily over the jetty and harbor at Plymouth.

There wouldn't be a proper trip to the seacoast without a photo of a sea gull!  This fellow posed willingly.

Grandson, Michael, playing on an anchor at the end of the jetty.  After this, the Mayflower was closed and we walked back to the parking lot, went home, and had a fruit, cheese, crackers, and wine dinner.

Dave on the jetty, snapping a photo of the photographer!