Grown-Up Field Trip: Part 2

So this took a little longer to write than I had anticipated. 

I apologize. 

We woke up from our glorious night of rest and headed to a kitschy restaurant for breakfast. The food was ok but the restaurant did not receive a good review from mom. If you have award winning Corned Beef Hash, it better taste award winning! 

Apparently, my face blows up after taking Benadryl

After we filled up for the day, we then headed over to Duxbury, Mass for our own private torn of our 8th and 9th Great-Grandparent's home!! 

John Alden was a Cooper, Barrel Maker

Our tour started outside the house. Our tour guide, Matt from The Alden House, gave us a quick timeline of the Alden's time in Plymouth and their journey to Duxbury.  The Alden's first settled a few hundred yards east of the present location. Just a short walk through the woods from the present day home.  

The site of the Alden's first home, built in 1627

An interesting fact that I walked away with was that out of all the Pilgrims descendants, the Alden's children were the most easy going. All of the other Pilgrim's children made news for things most people wouldn't want to be known for, i.e., ending the pact with the Indians. The Alden's were simply living day by day. I wonder what they would think of their notoriety today? 

Myself, sister, and Mom at the Alden House

 After our tour was complete and we drove around the city of Duxbury and visited the Myles Standish Cemetery, America's oldest maintained cemetery. The burial place of John and Priscilla are unknown, as well as the date of Priscilla's death, but there are two plaques for them beside the grave of their oldest son, Jonathan. 

Gorgeous View of Duxbury

Plaques for John and Priscilla Alden

Once we had seen all of Duxbury, we drove back to Plymouth and visited a few more spots. They included The Mayflower Society Home, Burial Hill, and The Pilgrim Hall Museum. We capped the night off with the best meal of the day, White Pizza and Red Wine at The Upper Crust and sundaes at Friendly's. 

Our last day in Plymouth started at the Plimouth Plantation. The Plimouth Plantation is a recreation of a Wampanoag Indian Homesite and a 17th Century English Village. It is an interactive and realistic recreation of what life would have been like for both the Indians and Pilgrims a few years after the Pilgrims had arrived. 

Cooking Pumpkin

A Wampanoag Winterized Hut, as known as a Wetus

On our way to visit our 'ancestors' at the English Village

Pilgrims cutting wood 

17th Century Style Home

Gorgeous views of the village from the Fort

After we had finished at the Plantation, it was time for us to head out of town and back home. On the drive to Boston, we stopped at Presidents John and John Quincy Adams' birth place home and final home in, wait for it, Quincy, Mass. We didn't have enough time to take the tour so we just walked around and took some pictures. 

Peacefields, The Old House, of the Adams, also descendants of the Aldens!

The grounds held a gorgeous English styled garden

The weekend was a success and we were actually surprised that we were not able to view everything that we wanted to! Who knew that Plymouth, Mass was so interesting?!