Plymouth, Massachusetts

We left Connecticut this morning, traveled through Rhode Island and now have landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts.  For some history, during the 16 century a group of English Puritans known as Separatists attempted to reform the Church of England. To avoid persecution, they hopped on the Mayflower at Plymouth, England and set sail for Virginia.  Diverted by storm, they landed on the shores of Cape Cod.  They ended up staying in the area and established a colony called Plymouth.  Today, these settlers are much better known as “Pilgrims”, a term coined by William Bradford.  Plymouth faced many difficulties during its first winter, the most notable being the risk of starvation and the lack of suitable shelter. The spring brought hope to the settlement along with a group of Indians who befriended the Pilgrims and taught them to raise crops, hunt and fish.  After the harvest that fall, members of the Plymouth Colony joined with the Indians in a three day feast, the first American Thanksgiving celebration, ingratitude for their blessings. 

This area is quite different than where we were in Connecticut. There are highways and cars everywhere. Although today was sunny and in the low 80’s, the rest of the week and weekend has a forecast of rain, wind and storms. We were hoping to go whale watching, but it is cancelled for the next few days due to the weather.  We also want to visit the cranberry bogs.  Hopefully we can still see them farm the cranberries.

We are staying at the Sandy Pond campground.  The pond is part of the campground.

SANDY POND