What & Where is this?
Did you get it? It’s Plymouth Rock.
The first time I went to see Plymouth Rock I was surprised to see the monument. For some reason I expected a rock possibly protected by a fence around it. I wasn’t expecting this elaborate memorial.
Plymouth Rock located in Pilgrim Memorial State Park is in one of the most heavily visited State Parks in the system. The big draw being the “Rock”, the world-famous symbol of the courage and faith of the men and women who founded the first New England Colony.
Every year nearly one million people from all over the world come to visit the town where in 1620 Europeans first made a home in New England.
The park is located on Water St, Plymouth , Ma.
In 1774, Plymouth Rock split in two when a team of oxen attempted to raise it. Only the lower portion was left at the waterfront. The upper portion was moved to be displayed in the Town Square. Souvenir seekers caused further damage so the rock was moved again to the safety of an iron fence at Pilgrim Hall in 1834.
It had a rough trip to the museum obtaining a distinctive crack when it fell off its conveyance.
In 1859 the Pilgrim Society acquired the other half of Plymouth Rock and in 1867 a canopy structure was completed on the waterfront to house it. In 1880 the upper chunk was united with the lower piece with cement and 1620 was carved into the rock.
Plymouth rock made its last move to its current location in 1921 during the celebration of Plymouth’s tercentenary and a new canopy.
If you plan to visit you will find a replica of the Mayflower, the Mayflower II, anchored in the park.
So that’s challenge #1. Tomorrow I’ll have a new one for you. 🙂 At least you know it won’t be the Mayflower!
I am counting my lucky stars these days. Joe and I had a great cruise on The Carnival Imagination but Carnival is being plagued with bad news stories these days.
The string of bad luck started January 13, 2012 with the sinking of the Costa Concordia, one of the worse passenger ship disasters since the sinking of the Titanic.
At the time I wasn’t aware that Carnival Cruise Lines was the parent company for the Costa Concordia not that it would have made any difference to me when I accepted the free cruise from my time share.
Blissfully unaware of any issues at Carnival we looked forward to our mini cruise. We joked about the ships that had engine fires or became disease riddled. Stories like that were always popping up in the news. But when you consider the number of ships that are plying the seas it stands to reason that there will be a mishap now and then.
Our cruise was wonderful. In spite of less than perfect weather it was relaxing and pleasant. So it was with some surprise that I listened the horrendous reports about the Carnival Ship Triumph which became stranded in the Gulf of Mexico not far from where we had been. It was a mini cruise that followed one of the itineraries I had the option to choose. We went out of Florida, not Texas. A different choice and we could have been on that ill-fated ship. Still I felt it was just a “fluke”. Now I am beginning to wonder.
Carnival and Royal Caribbean are the largest cruise lines according to industry statistics with Carnival cornering approximately 21 % of the total cruise market worldwide with a fleet of 23 ships.
But back to the string of bad luck. Costa Concordia is by far the worse with an actual sinking and loss of life.
Then we have Triumph that drifted in the Gulf of Mexico . Passengers reported over flowing toilets, sewage in the halls, cold and spoiling food before they were towed to port.
Following the Triumph in quick succession we had the Elation…
Then , Dream
and now Legend!
Carnival Elation had to be escorted by tugboat because of a malfunction in its steering system.
Carnival Dream lost power and toilets stopped working . Even though they were in port at the time no one was allowed to get off the vessel.
Carnival Legend was on the last leg of a seven-day cruise through the Caribbean when technical problems affected its sailing speed.
It’s been reported (but I haven’t been able to verify) that in a months time 3 other Carnival Ships have reported problems.
Carnival announced this week that it is conducting a “comprehensive review” of all of its ships. Until things improve I think I’ll stay away from Carnival Cruises.
I’ll be heading off on another cruise in May, north to Alaska. I’m looking forward to seeing the glaciers and wildlife of our 49th state but we won’t be cruising with Carnival. This trip is on the Princess Cruise Line. I haven’t heard anything bad about them lately. 🙂
My Mexico cruise/ Fort Lauderdale adventure is winding down. I have one last thing to squeeze in and that is a visit to family.
I met my cousin at Lester’s Diner in Fort Lauderdale where we enjoyed a real good old-fashioned breakfast of pancakes and bacon. The diner is like a blast from the past, an authentic 50′s style restaurant and home to the infamous 14oz coffee cup. This signature landmark has been a family owned and operated business in South Florida for over 43 years.
My cousin told me she used to work there and met her husband there. Another old-fashioned touch. She was a waitress, he was a trucker. Sounds like the basis for a romantic movie. 🙂
My cousin is the outgoing one and she seemed to know everyone as we made out way to our booth.
After breakfast we headed to my aunt’s home which turned out to be literally around the corner from the Diner and after a short visit there we went on to the airport also just “around the corner.”
That should have been the end of the story. Drop off rental car, get on plane , arrive home but it turned out it wasn’t quite that easy. I dropped off the rental and grabbed the shuttle to the terminal. I checked my bags curbside and headed into the security line. It was huge. As I stood there looking around I realized I didn’t have my coat! It was still in the rental car. I tried calling the lost and found but kept getting lost in the IVR prompts so back to the shuttle to reverse my previous trip.
At the Hertz counter they directed me to lost & found and there was my coat. Yay! Now back on the shuttle again to the terminal and back on the line. It hadn’t moved much. I was in the same place as when I left. Slowly , very slowly the line began to creep forward.
In the Fort Lauderdale airport the security is on a slightly lower level from the check in counters. As the line crept forward I eventually reach a point where there was a ramp that led down to the TSA agent and security scanners. I wish the TSA had allowed pictures because at that point I could look out over all the travelers and it was a wall to wall sea of people all jostling and pushing for position! It was an amazing sight and I had lots of time to watch as I waited for my line to move forward again.
Once at the scanners the routine was the same…shoes off, lap top out of the luggage, walk through scanner, retrieve, put shoes back on and find the gate. Whew! from the time I got back on line the 2nd time until I made it to my gate it was over 1 hour! So glad I went early. My cousin had suggested I chat a little longer saying I’d be through security in 10 minutes. Maybe if I was on an early flight but apparently not if you are flying mid-day!
The rest of my flights were uneventful. I offered to be “bumped” in exchange for a $400 voucher but I would have to fly out the next day, not just a later flight on the same day so I passed it up.
My flight finally landed around 8:30 pm amid snow and sleet. The parking valet had my car warmed up and cleaned off when I got off the shuttle. The drive home was not too bad in spite of the weather and there they were. 2 little furry faces meeting me at the door.
I love travel but I love coming home too.
