Stepping Back in Time- Plimouth Plantation and the Mayflower 2

Have you ever wondered what it was like to live back in the 1600s in New England? Before America even was America? A great place to experience what life may have been like is Plimouth Plantation in the state of Massachusetts.

Located in Plymouth, MA, Plimoth Plantation is a living history museum where you can explore how the pilgrims, some of the first European settlers, and the native tribes used to live on the shore of the Atlantic ocean.

My family and I went there in June 2014. We rented a house by the shore where we had access to a community beach...

where we found lots of treasures, including this nice crab shell...

We even had some visitors in the backyard...

The beach was nice, but the main reason we went there was to check out Plimouth Plantation and the Mayflower 2.

I have always been fascinated with history and how the people who came before us used to live. This was the perfect opportunity to get a peak back in time to how the pilgrims and the natives of this region made their living...

We went to Plimouth Plantation first, spelled 'Plimouth' instead of the modern-day 'Plymouth'...

You can buy tickets at the Visitor Center, where there is also a museum...

Informational signs can be found all throughout the site...

Not only does it have a 17th century English village, but also some examples of how the Wampanoag tribe lived...

There are people dressed up in period costumes throughout the site as well, and they share with you what it may have been like to live way back in the 16 and 1700s. Also at the Wampanoag camp, there is a cool dugout canoe...

They have directional signs pointing the way to all the site has to offer...

We took a walk along the Eel River, a nice place to enjoy nature...

And then entered the Plimouth Village, a rendition of what life was like for the pilgrims who first came over from Europe back in the 1620s...

They had gardens...

and you could go inside the houses to get a better idea of how they lived...

They also have a building that is under construction so you can see how they built new structures...

All of the workers are very helpful and love to tell about how their characters lived! Some are more talkative than others, but that is the nature of who they are supposed to be and what jobs they have, such as field hands, who didn't have too much time to chat...

We then headed down the street to where the reconstructed Mayflower 2 is docked. (It is in Mystic Seaport in 2020 to get ready for the 400th celebration of the Pilgrims' landing!) On our way to the ship, we stopped to see Plymouth Rock...

Not too impressive, but it is there to mark where the pilgrims (colonists) are thought to have landed...

We then headed towards the tall sail ship...

You can board the ship and explore both on deck...

and below decks, where the crew lived and stored food,etc. There are people dressed in period costumes on board as well...

After checking out the ship, why not head across the street to John Alden's Gift Shop? John Alden was one of the crew on the original Mayflower...

After a day full of traveling back in time, we headed back to our accommodation and took an evening stroll on the beach to watch the sunset...

Plimouth Plantation and surrounds is a must see for any history-lover and is well worth a visit!

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