A Day In the Life | A Trip Back to the 17th Century

Hello guys! Welcome back! Today I will be talking about our visit to Plimoth Plantation. I have been here a few times; the first time was when I went to Boston on our eighth grade trip. It was early summer and still a bit chilly. The second time was last summer and then the third time was this past Thanksgiving when I went with our family and it was COLD. This time, however, the weather was warm and pleasant. Personally, I enjoyed the experience the most when we went during the fall because Thanksgiving and Plimoth go together. The fires are blazing in the pilgrims’ homes and the Wampanoag homesite, your breath frosts in the cool air and everyone is bundled up. The atmosphere there and at that time is wonderful.

As a history buff, Plimoth Plantation is always a lot of fun and a great chance to explore history. People may think that history is boring, but that is probably due to only studying history in a classroom. History is not about memorizing facts; it is a chance to discover how people lived and how historic events influence current events. I love it when I can connect events spanning decades (Franco-Prussian War to World War II is an example).

After watching the introduction video, we walked down to the Wampanoag homesite. Everyone here speaks English and talks from a 21^st century P.O.V..

Then we strolled along the “woodland path” to the village where everyone there is role-player speaking from the 17^th century. The idea is to ask about their lives and their opinions. Sometimes they will ask what is happening back in England and you have to flounder for a response. Last summer we were asked this and Dad responded that the prince and princess had a baby, meaning William and Kate. The role-player was confused and thought we were crazy!

After a picnic lunch we headed to Nye Barn where they have rare breeds from the 17^th century. But when we entered the barn we were surprised to a see a . . . llama. I know, a llama in a “17^th century” barn. No one was there so we could not ask why a llama was with the goats. It is still a mystery.

At the gift store, I got some maple sugar candy that we ate last night. Let me tell you, they were delicious. If you don’t like sugar or maple syrup, however, you would not like these.

And that was our day! I hope that you had a great day and I will see you next time.

Thanks for reading!

Washington, D.C. Day Five | Museum and Flying Home

For our last day in Washington, D.C. we decided to go to the Museum of American History before heading to the airport for our flight. We took the metro from Dupont Circle to Metro Center on the Red Line, and then Metro Center to Smithsonian on the Orange Line. We got there early (all Smithsonian museums open at 10:00 am) and we weren’t allowed to wait inside, so we tried to find some shade close to the doors.

When we did get in, we went straight to the Star Spangled Banner that Emma really wanted to see. It is beautiful and it is astounding to see something so iconic. Then we saw an exhibit about a house. The Smithsonian took a house from Ipswich, MA and transplanted into the museum. The exhibit told the history of the house from the perspective of five families that lived there from the 1760s to the 1940s. I’ll link to the exhibit HERE. One of the docents was telling us that no one really notices the exhibit because it is tucked away behind construction. But if you are there, you should go because it is very interesting.

The most exciting thing that we saw at the museum was the First Lady dresses. I have seen this exhibit before, but it is always amazing. I love reading about the backgrounds of the dresses and looking at the individual styles of the First Ladies. In the center of the room was Michelle Obama’s red Jason Wu gown from the second inauguration. Usually they have her white one from the first inauguration because, fun fact, the First Lady’s second inauguration dress is traditionally kept in the President’s Library. The Smithsonian has it on lend for about a year and then the white Jason Wu dress will be back. While I like the white gown better, I still think that Michelle Obama can pull off most things.

After we had lunch at the museum cafeteria (I had a chicken Caesar salad wrap) and then walked back to the metro station.

We got back to the hotel and packed our bags in a cab to go to the airport. While I like D.C., I don’t know it yet. I’m excited to explore it this fall!

Thanks for reading!