Day #5 Plymouth, Pilgrims and Portland - Oh My!

Up bright and early - what was that?  Thunder?  Yes, a nasty storm was brewing so we hustled to check out of the Crowne Pointe Inn and packed the car.  Down to the Cape Cod National Seashore for one last look as the storm broke around us and left only a few drops of rain on the very pollen covered Pony!

Driving up the coast in the overcast weather surely kept the heat down in the car.  On the way, we stopped at Seafood Sams in Sandwich Massachusetts.  Of course I tried their Lobster Roll and Jim had their chowder and rock shimp lunch special.  Can't ever get enough of the LOBSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!

We drove north with the first stop being the town of Plymouth and Plymouth rock!  As I mentioned on Facebook, the Pilgrims stopped first in Provincetown and second at Plymouth.  Unfortunately there was no fresh water in Provincetown, so the Pilgrims went a little further to the mainland and settled at Plymouth.

The Plymouth Rock is now protected by stone and steel but before that, portions of the original rock were chipped away by well-meaning visitors.  Today, it is about 1/3 of the original size.  The park service gives 10 minute talks about the Rock and our Pilgrim Fathers (and mothers) every hour at the Rock.  Close by is a replica of the Mayflower, the Mayflower II.  Built in the 1950s, a replica was built and 33 men sailed from Plymouth England to Plymouth Massachusetts!  See the info about their journey here.  We visited the gift shops surrounding the Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock.  So cool!

Our trip continued through Boston and up to Portland Maine.  Tomorrow will be a trip into Portland to do the Old Port, and to LL Bean in Freeport!

Day #4 Second day in Provincetown

Slept in!  Then had another wonderful breakfast served up by the chef at the Crowne Point Historical Inn and Spa.  Sitting on their semi-enclosed patio for breakfast and overlooking Bradford Street is just a grand experience!

Once breakfast was over - scrambled eggs and Pistachio muffins - we went back downtown to do a little contributing to the economy of Ptown!  On the way to shop, we noticed that Ptown's Trolley gave 40 -60 minute narrated rides!  Ok, we hopped aboard the Trolley and LuAnn, our driver, took us for a glorious ride through the west end of Provincetown, passed the Pilgrim Landing Monument and out to the Cape Cod National Seashore Park.  We saw all types of plants at the National Seashore including the Beach Heather (photo, right), scrub oaks, seagrass and alot more I don't know the names for!

When the ride was over, we tried another Lobster Roll at The Red Shack.  They had 6 different types of Lobster Rolls at this food stand - including the California Roll that I had with bacon and avocado and the Moroccan that Jim had with yellow curry!  Different but yummy still!  Then we went to do shopping - salt water taffy, "Life is Crap" and Cape Cod t-shirts, fudge, cranberry macaroons! A trip to the Portuguese Bakery found us purchasing Fig Bars, Date Bars, Baklava, and a dough ball with a very creamy pudding inside. A local favorite, Beach Plum Jam, was also purchased - can hardly wait to try it on toast!

On the way back, we stopped by to take a picture at the Provincetown Masonic Lodge - where Paul Revere signed the charter for the Lodge (King Hiram's Lodge).  Chartered in 1795, this is one of the very old buildings still in use today.  We walked the 0.5 miles back to the Crowne Point Inn - that makes a total of 3 miles in 2 days, I might add - and took a NAP.
 
We woke up just in time for the usual wine, cheese, veggie and cracker hors d'ourve hour from 5 pm to 6 pm.  Being so relaxed and a little sore from all of the walking the past few days, we voted unanimously to eat at the Inn once again.  Could I resist the Mussels cooked in butter, shallots and white wine again?  NO! So I had them with a lovely Caesar salad/cranberry bread croutons and Jim had the pan-seared sea scallops with asparagus.