Mayflower II, a full size replica of the original Mayflower.
Plymouth is on Cape Cod Bay, 40 miles south of Boston. The first permanent European settlement in New England, it was founded by the Pilgrims on December 21, 1620. The Mayflower began its historic voyage on September 16, 1620, leaving Plymouth, England with 102 passengers. After a sixty – five-day journey, the Pilgrims anchored on November 21 at Provincetown. The settlers soon discovered Plymouth Harbour, on the western side of Cape Cod Bay, and made their historic Plymouth Rock landing on December 21.
Mayflower II, a full size replica of the original Mayflower.
The Plymouth Rock Canopy. Pilgrim Memorial State Park is one of the most visited parks in the USA. Nearly one million people a year come from all over the world to visit the town and to see Plymouth Rock. This simple glacial erratic boulder on the shore of Plymouth Harbour has become a world famous symbol of the courage and faith of the men and women who founded the first New England colony. A landscaped waterfront park provides scenic views of Plymouth Harbour, and the Mayflower II.
According to legend, Plymouth Rock is the boulder upon which the Pilgrims landed when they arrived. The residents of Plymouth, who first set out to preserve the symbolic rock in 1774, had the unpleasant experience of watching the rock split in two when a team of oxen attempted to raise it. Only the upper portion of Plymouth Rock left the waterfront, originally for display in the Town Square. Souvenir seekers who desired to bring home a "piece of the rock" caused further deterioration until Plymouth Rock was moved to safety inside an iron fence at the Pilgrim Hall Museum in 1834. The Pilgrim Society acquired the other half of Plymouth Rock in 1859, and in 1867, a Plymouth Rock canopy structure was completed at the waterfront to house it. Unfortunately, the canopy was not large enough to hold the whole rock, so a few pieces had to be hacked off and sold as souvenirs. Finally, in 1880, the upper chunk was reunited with the lower piece of Plymouth Rock....cement did the trick! And 1620, the date of the Pilgrims' arrival in Plymouth, was permanently carved into the rock. Plymouth Rock was moved for the last time during the celebration of Plymouth's tercentenary in 1921 to a new canopy.
American school kids learning their history from a guide, dressed in a period costume.....
......and in front of the statue of William Bradford....
........a leader of the Separatist settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. He was elected thirty times to be the Governor after John Carve, the first Governor died. He was the second signer and primary architect of the Mayflower Compact in Provincetown Harbour, and is credited as the first to proclaim what popular American culture now views as the first Thanksgiving.
Chief Massasoit was known for befriending the Pilgrims.
Mayflower Society House.
Plymouth town centre.....
AK–47 anyone?
Boston, one of America's oldest cities, and its extensive waterfront......
......lots of it.....
Downtown.......
Holocaust Memorial.....the main part of the memorial consists of six large towers of glass. Each of these towers represents one of the six death camps. Each tower is made out of plates of glass that are etched with white numbers which represent the registration numbers of victims........
Boston Common....the Freedom Trail starts here. It is a 2.5 mile path through downtown Boston that leads to most of the significant historic sites......
Just like home.
The famous Swan Boats.....
Boston was home to the first subway system in the United States
A typical Bar.....rows of TVs, mostly covering football...the American kind. Loads to see and do in and around Boston. Definitely worth a longer visit.