New England Vacation--Days 10 and 11--July 31,2010

Boston!   How do I describe Boston?  Well, when we first arrived on Friday morning, it was beautiful!  Boston is really a very pretty city.  But the quiet was short lived, however, because it didn't take long for it to become CROWDED!  And that's putting it mildly.  The first place we visited in Boston was the shipyard and the USS Constitution.  This is a beautiful ship and dates back to the 1700s.  It is the oldest floating vessel in the world.  It was a war ship for our newly founded nation and was never defeated in any battle.  It was amazing to look at how well all the things on the ship were preserved.  Paul and I both felt so honored to be aboard such a vessel.

We liked the swan boats, too.  How would you like to peddle people around a pound for a summer job?  It was a quiet ride and we got to see all sorts of sights along the way, even a wedding couple who'd just gotten married.

We also enjoyed the harbor cruise.  I know you guys aren't going to believe this, but this was the fourth cruise (counting the ferry ride) I went on, and I did not get sick!  That Dramamine is good stuff!

What did we NOT enjoy?  The extremely heavy traffic and so many people!  New York has nothing over Boston!  Boston may not be as big and New York, but the people and traffic are very similar to New York City!  Give me the country life any day!

We spent most of today in Plymouth, MA.  This was much different than Boston.  It was still a tourist spot and therefore lots of people, but not nearly as many as there were in Boston.  The Mayflower II is a beautiful replica of the original Mayflower.  It is much bigger than our Elizabeth II moored in Manteo.  It looks very similar on the outside, but the interior is better suited for transporting people.  When you think of how many people came across the Atlantic in this vessel, it doesn't seem suited for people at all.  One hundred and two passengers and about thirty crewmen sailed all the way from England in this small ship.  When you see how many actual beds were on the ship, you ask yourself where did they all sleep.  The obvious answer:  anywhere they could! 

I stood on the deck of this humble but impressive little ship and looked out over the harbor.  My thoughts turned to those first settlers who had so bravely fought their way across the mighty expanse of the Atlantic Ocean to face the hazards and hardships of this newly found world.  What thoughts ran through their minds so many years ago as they stood exactly where I was standing today?  If you go back and read the story of the Pilgrims, you'll come to realize that it was only by the grace of God and for the privilege of serving Him that these people made it safely to this new land.  And we are reaping the benefits of their courage, determination, and devotion to our mighty God!  Thank you, Pilgrims, for our Christian heritage!

 Another impressive place was Plymouth Rock.  Yes, there actually is a "rock".  It isn't as big now as it was when the Pilgrims moored the Mayflower to it.  When the Pilgrims first arrived, the Mayflower did not come into port here.  It was moored about a mile and a half out in the harbor.  All the people and supplies had to be hauled ashore by the smaller boats you see tied to the side of the ship in the picture above.  It was later when the actual Mayflower was brought in and actually moored to this rock.  All the attempts during the years to preserve the integrity of this rock actually caused it to become smaller and smaller.  It is still very impressive, however.  To think that we were actually standing and walking in the very spot that the Pilgrims' feet had walked.  Our country is truly an amazing place.

We stopped in a gift shop before we went up to Plymouth Plantation, a village much like Jamestown where everything was just as it was back in these early days of settlement.  My eye caught something hanging up above my head as we walked in.  It was a very beautiful picture of the lighthouses along the coast of New England.  I did a double-take, however, because one of them looked just like our Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  Much to my surprise and delight, they were NOT the lighthouses of New England, but our own beloved lighthouses along the coast of our beautiful North Carolina!

Today was our last "touring" day here in New England.  Tomorrow we head for Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland.  We'll visit Charity's grandparents-in-law in Connecticut for an hour or so and then head on toward home.  It will be two long driving days, and we'll see many new things along the way as we continue our "adventure" on the road.  Hopefully, we'll have "fair winds and seas to follow" as we turn the bow of our "ship" towards home.