Moving on to Massachusetts!

We began our day in Massachusetts with a stop in Plymouth. Plymouth was the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, passengers of the famous ship "the Mayflower". Plymouth is where New England was first established.

 

Plymouth Rock

The rock seems very small to actually have been where the Mayflower landed...it is said there used to be a chisel and hammer kept here for travelers wishing to chip off a souvenir.  Perhaps this explains the small size :)

 

In Plymouth there is a replica of the original 17th century Mayflower ship, the Mayflower II.  The replica was built in England during 1955–1956, in a collaboration between Englishman and an American museum. The ship was built from reconstructed ship blueprints held by the American museum with hand construction by English shipbuilders' using traditional methods.  On April 20th, 1957, recreating the original voyage, Mayflower II was sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.

 

With a few exceptions (electric lights added and ladder replaced with a lower-deck staircase), the ship is considered a faithful replica, with solid oak timbers, tarred hemp rigging, and hand-colored maps. The ship is 106 ft. long by 25 ft. wide, 4 masts, and 6 sails.

It seems like a large ship but just imagine 102 passengers on board for 66 days, not to mention the estimated 30 crew!

 



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We continued on to Boston where we toured the U.S.S. Constitution, also known as "Old Ironsides."

The ship was named by George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America. 



"Now, this next week, the Lord willing, I aim to take my little girls that's just got out of school on their little school vacation, so I pray that you will pray for us. My oldest daughter, in high school, she wants to see where Paul Revere made his midnight ride, where he left the church there. And we... It's right up here in New England and we want to go up and see that.  Then, I've always wanted to see Old Ironsides. How many ever heard the Old Ironsides poetry? It's my favorite of all that I know; outside of Christian, that's my best. I just... I start to read it and I choke up and sit down, walk around, go back. How could you sink it after... It's just like taking a horse and killing him after he's made a living for you and your family. I just--I just can't see that. "So I'll extinct her!" No, don't do that. When the British cannonballs hit against it and bounced off its old oak sides, I--I couldn't see you take it out and sink her. 

Give her to the gods of the storm,
The lightning and the gale!
I really like that."
 -Brother Branham



In 1830 a poem was written by Oliver Wendell Homes Sr. as a tribute to the U.S.S. Constitution.  Because of this poem the ship was saved from being decommissioned and is now the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat.

Aye tear her tattered ensign down
long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon's roar;--
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee;--
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!'



 

After working 20 hours the sailors would go down to their hammocks for a four hour sleeping shift.



The Officers ate in here but the enlisted men sat on the floor by their hammocks to eat. 



Inside the tiny little "pantry". 



Barely big enough for one cook!!!



I thought it was cool how the cannons each had a name.



Inside the Captains quarters...he had a little nicer sleeping arrangement then everyone else! 

Whatcha guys see? :)

 

Also in the Boston Navy Yard across from Old Ironsides is another naval vessel used during World War II, the U.S.S. Cassin Young.

 

Operations Office 



Can you imagine using a mixer this big?! 



Benjamin doesn't look too sure of this new perch :P

 

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There was an interactive children's museum about ship life on Old Ironsides.



There was also a display where they could practice tying up the ships rigging while balancing on a rope.

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While in Boston we also visited the Bunker Hill Monument.



Follow the bricks up to Bunker Hill...

The Bunker Hill Monument was built to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major battle between British and Patriot forces in the Revolutionary War.

 

We climbed 294 steps to the top of the monument...

While we were sitting in the grass below the monument we looked over to see David crawling along the sidewalk intently focused on catching the squirrel seen further down! :P



Walking back to the van to continue our travels! 

 

New Hampshire bound!

Our Adventure Begins...

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York,

Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts,

New Hampshire, Vermont, & Maine

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9 states and 2,500 miles later we are back to our home on the hill.

 

 After a flurry of packing we left on Thursday morning for the first stop of our vacation, New York!

 

 We took a ferry from New Jersey to Ellis Island.

 

The tallest building on the left is the New World Trade Center.

 

 

David was a little nervous on the ferry, hanging on for dear life! :)

 

 Ellis Island Immigration Museum

 

At the Ellis Island Immigration Museum there was an audio tour you could take with you as you walked in the different rooms.  It was interesting to hear facts and real life stories of immigrants who passed through the same building!

 Inside the Great Hall

From 1880-1924 millions of immigrants made their way to the United States.

650,000 came from Asia, 9,000,000 from Northwestern Europe, 8,200,000 from Eastern Europe, 5,300,000 from Southern Europe, 20,000 from Africa, and 1,850,000 from Canada.

 

 

  Immigrants with possible mental disorder would have to form the wooden blocks given to them into a square. They were told they had to complete the square in 3 minutes.  The park ranger there with the display told us that what the immigrants didn't know was that it really didn't matter how fast they did it, it was a test to see how they worked under pressure. 

 

 It's harder than it looks!!

 

 The Great Hall

You would sit in this room on long benches, after riding on a ship for over two weeks, listening for hours for your name to be called.  When you went up to the podium it would be decided if you would be permitted to come into the United States or be sent back to your country because of disease, criminal record, or physical impairment.

We took another ferry from Ellis Island over to Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty stands.

 The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28th, 1886 as a gift to the United States from the people of France.

 

I found this chart on sizes of features of the Statue of Liberty, it's pretty interesting and gives you an idea of how big the statue really is!

 

Height of copper statue	151 ft. 1 in
Foundation of pedestal (ground level) to tip of torch	305 ft. 1 in
Heel to top of head	111 ft. 1 in
Height of hand	16 ft. 5 in
Index finger	8 ft. 1 in
Circumference at second joint	3 ft. 6 in
Head from chin to cranium	17 ft. 3 in
Head thickness from ear to ear	10 ft.
Distance across the eye	2 ft. 6 in
Length of nose	4 ft. 6 in
Right arm length	42 ft.
Right arm greatest thickness	12 ft.
Thickness of waist	35 ft.
Width of mouth	3 ft.
Tablet, length	23 ft. 7 in
Tablet, width	13 ft. 7 in
Tablet, thickness	2 ft.
Height of pedestal	89 ft.
Height of foundation	65 ft.
Weight of copper used in statue	60,000 lbs.
Weight of steel used in statue	250,000 lbs.
Total weight of statue	450,000 lbs.
Thickness of copper sheeting	3/32 of an inch

 

We were able to climb up to the pedestal of the statue, in order to go all the way to the crown you have to have reserved tickets... the soonest we could have reserved them was December!

 

Looking up the statue from inside the pedestal.

 

 

 David and Elainah on a replica of the Statue's foot inside the pedestal museum.

 

 

 The tablet the statue holds is inscribed with the date July 4th, 1776.

 

 

We left Liberty Island and took the ferry to Battery Park in New York City and walked to the 9/11 memorial.

 

 There are two huge water fountains where the footprints of the World Trade Centers were.

Names of those who lost their lives during the 9/11 tragedy are inscribed on the wall around the fountains.

 

 

 On the ferry headed back to New Jersey

 

After our big day in New York we drove on through Rhode Island and Connecticut, spending the night in Massachusetts.  Our second day would be packed full as be explored Boston!