We will, we will rock you: Scenes from Plymouth, Massachusetts

Plymouth Rock sits under this Greek-looking temple

Those numbers were embossed on the rock in more modern times.

Massasoit's peace pipe.

The Mayflower 2.

...and The Mayflower, too.

A local sweet shop makes chocolate covered potatoe chips (the recipe must come from Dan Quayle)

Looks like this founding father got a little too close to the firecrackers on the Fourth of July.

Happy Thanksgiving, Pilgrim

Today being Thanksgiving seems an appropriate time to chronicle a recent trip we took to Plymouth, Massachusetts, about 40 miles south of Boston and site of the colony founded by the Pilgrims, who arrived from England on the Mayflower back in 1620. It was also the site of the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621 (let's hear it for Squanto). You'll also find the famous Plymouth Rock there, a souvenir of the place where the Pilgrims got off the boat when they arrived after their long trip, although no historical references mention a rock being at their disembarkation site. Picky, picky, picky... it makes a better story to have a rock there and the tourists (and shopkeepers) love it. It sits in a protected pit under a Greek-looking pillared shelter to keep souvenir-seekers from chipping off pieces. There's also a huge National Monument to the Forefathers statue in a park nearby, and a replica of the Mayflower, the Mayflower 2, in the harbor. And Plimouth Plantation (that's the Old English spelling, so shut up, spellchecker), a popular tourist attraction where people dress in period costumes and tell you all about the history of the area, is also nearby.

What am I thankful for? Those clever people of Plymouth for coming up with Thanksgiving. Now, will somebody pass me the gravy?