The Events of Saturday, October 23, 2010

          Bourne Scenic Park was a lovely campground. I walked the path along the Cape Cod Canal this morning, watching fishermen heave their lures into the water with long fishing rods. After showers and breakfast we drove to the town of Plymouth.

          Unfamiliar readers will require a little family background here. I am a descendent of the Pilgrim John Howland—not directly, through paternal lines, but indirectly, through marriages and siblings. To honor this heritage, males in my family have Howland as their middle name. My middle name is Howland, as is Ben’s, my dad’s, his dad’s, his dad’s—and after that I lose track. In the town of Plymouth is the Jabez Howland House, which is headquarters for the Pilgrim John Howland Society. We hoped to learn more about these Howland ancestors by visiting this site. Our plans were to go to the Mayflower II this morning and the Jabez Howland House this afternoon.

          Mayflower II has an interesting history. I learned today that the Mayflower Project was a ray of hope during a period of political turmoil for both the U.S. and England. The ship, an exact replica of the Mayflower, was built in England during the 1950s as a cooperative venture between the Plimoth Plantation (which we visited yesterday) and English shipwrights. In 1957 they finished the ship and sailed it across the Atlantic, from England to the U.S.

          Our visit to Mayflower II was brief. There were three costumed women onboard, playing the role of newly arrived Colonists. Our girls enjoyed talking with 14-year-old Constance, who played string games with them. When Constance learned we were from California (which she referred to as a Spanish owned island) she asked if we were Catholic, and if we were she would be in trouble, for she was not allowed to speak with Catholics.

          We found signs indicating that there would be a ranger talk at Plymouth Rock at noon, so we went to the rock and waited. No ranger came, so we took our photos and departed. We learned that the Jabez Howland House closed for the year on Columbus Day. We drove by it, but it did not merit any more of our time.

          It has been almost three weeks since our last visit to the laundry, and the situation was becoming critical. So our afternoon adventure took place in the Mayflower Coin Laundry. There we discovered the joy of large washing machines. Did you know they make a machine that washes 70 pounds at a time? Well, they don’t. The machine said 70 pounds, but it only fit about twenty pounds of our towels, sheets, etc. Our other items took up four smaller (40-pound) machines. Even so, it took us just three hours to wash and dry all our laundry. Not bad at all.

                For dinner we drove back to the shoreline. As we dined, we watched the giant yellow full moon rising from the water.  We then drove to the Plymouth Super Walmart, where we parked and did some grocery shopping. We started to watch the first episode of Emma, a six-part BBC serial on DVD. That was a terrible choice. We will abort this series and start a different movie tomorrow.