Diana Petterson Massachusetts, U.S. Travels

The Natives and the Puritans exploring the living museum of Plimoth Plantation

Me surrounded by gorgeous, colorful flowers at the Heritage Museums and Gardens at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. I am not a flower aficionado but I was absolutely awed by the beauty of the various flowers and gardens. Aug. 17, 2017

Walked through lush modern day gardens and also took a step back in U.S. History to the settlements when the English colonists, the Puritans or Pilgrims seeking religious freedom, landed on the Wampanoag, the Native people’s, homeland in 1620.

The lush modern day gardens of the Heritage Museums and Gardens at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass., turned out to be a special thrill for me. I’m normally not into flowers, but the gardens and the flowers at Heritage were rather awe-inspiring.

The settlements, neither original structures nor on the original site, are part of what is called the “Plimoth Plantation,” a living history museum. The original settlement site was located in the present-day center of Plymouth, the city, and the recreation is an interpretation of what the early colony may have looked like. I have to say, I felt an uneasiness at the whole re-enactment thing. I appreciate that both cultures are being represented and their stories are each being told at the settlement…which is called a plantation…”Plimoth Plantation.” But for me, it’s like someone coming to my front door looking for a home, they come into my home and suddenly, I’m being evicted. A very simplistic analogy, I know, to historical events that ultimately took the lives of many people.

Well, here is what I saw today. Tomorrow, I venture to Salem, Mass., to learn more about the infamous Salem witchcraft trials of the 1600s.

Sandwich

A quaint B&B at the picturesque Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
A close-up of the hydrangea growing in Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
Another quaint gingerbread-looking B&B/restaurant at the picturesque Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
And, who doesn’t love a barn-like building with red doors…another beauty at the picturesque Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
The American flags flying outside a shop in the small, but quaint town of Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
One of several peaceful areas on the 100 acre public garden of the Heritage Museums and Gardens at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
Me surrounded by gorgeous, colorful flowers at the Heritage Museums and Gardens at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. I am not a flower aficionado but I was absolutely awed by the beauty of the various flowers and gardens. (Aug. 17, 2017)
More beautiful flowers at the Heritage Museums and Gardens at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. I am willing to learn if someone can tell me the names of these flowers. (Aug. 17, 2017)
A lily pond and waterfall at the Heritage Museums and Gardens at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
And, for the kids at heart, the Heritage Museums and Gardens at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass., has a tree house surrounded by lush greenery. (Aug. 17, 2017)
I call this hydrangea heaven at the Heritage Museums and Gardens at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
The Heritage Museums and Gardens also has a world-class collection of American automobiles at its Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
The Heritage Museums and Gardens also has a world-class collection of American automobiles at its Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass. This 1919 Pierce-Arrow was both prestigious and expensive in its day. Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Co. out of Buffalo, New York, priced this beauty at $6,500 and marketed it to wealthy Americans impressed with quality workmanship. (Aug. 17, 2017)
Another part of the Heritage Museums and Gardens at Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass., is its gallery of American Art. This 2012 painting by Yvonne Jacquette, “Late Sun Above Madison Square Park II, is a birdseye view of the city that never sleeps. (Aug. 17, 2017)
This 2016 oil on linen painting, “Dusk, Gowanus Canal” by Derek Buckner is another painting at the Heritage Museums and Gardens, at the Cape Cod town of Sandwich, Mass., on display at its gallery of American Art. (Aug. 17, 2017)

Plymouth

This dome-shaped wetuash (house) of the Wampanoag natives, covered with bark and cattail reed mats, is part of the Plimoth Plantation’s living history museum dedicated to presenting the separate and shared history of the native Wampanoag and the English colonists in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
A Wampanoag woman talking about her food preparation as part of the Plimoth Plantation’s living history museum in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
The tools of the Wampanoag as part of the Plimoth Plantation’s living history museum in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
The 1627 English Village of the colonists at the Plimoth Plantation’s living history museum in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
Inside the one room home of a couple (costumed guides playing the roles of colonists) at the 1627 English Village at the Plimoth Plantation’s living history museum in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
The back yard or back garden view of the timber-framed houses at the 1627 English Village at the Plimoth Plantation’s living history museum in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
The granite canopy surrounding the Plymouth Rock on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
The Plymouth Rock, which rests on the shore and sea level of the Plymouth Harbor, is ensconced beneath a granite canopy in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)
Massasoit, the great sachem of the Wampanoags, is the protector and preserver of the Pilgrims of 1621. The statue was erected in 1921 by the “Improved Order of Fed Men” as a grateful tribute. (Aug. 17, 2017)
This stone entitled “National Day of Mourning,” next to Massasoit, the great sachem of the Wampanoags states: “Since 1970, Native American have gathered at noon on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands and the relentless assault on their culture. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.” This plaque was erected by the Town of Plymouth on behalf of the United American Indians of New England. (Aug. 17, 2017)
This statue, along the Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Mass., is in honor of William Bradford, the governor and historian of the Plymouth Colony. Bradford, who was born 1590 in Austerfield, England, migrated to the Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower. He died in 1657 in what was called Plymouth, New England. (Aug. 17, 2017)
On a clear day, you can see almost forever along the Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2017)