CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS

Jaycie’s Bunny Hoppin’ News:

By: Jaycie Lillie, 8/15/22

We visited Cape Code National Seashore. YAY! From the map it looks like an arm. We first went to the visitor center. They had 5 movies! So, we did a little in our junior ranger booklet while watching the movies. We watched two, Men of Iron and Standing Bold. We then looked at the exhibits. There was watercolor art that looked real when you stood at a distance, and old artifacts. We stepped outside and looked at Salt Pond. We did more junior ranger then turned in our books. We got our badges and jumped in the truck. We ate and headed to the beach! The beach had many shells and even more rocks along with very clean water. We could not swim deeper than our knees because there had been shark sightings and momma was worried. When the time came to leave Jett and I didn’t want to go. It had been one of the best beach days ever! Except for the part about sharks. It has been the best beach day on the trip.

Jules’ Journal:

By: Julianne Lillie

8/15/22 – With her Pinterest board FULL, Jaycie has had the “itch” lately to craft. So we were super excited to find a Hobby Lobby near (30 min away) us! So we hit up Hobby Lobby this morning for her supplies so she can get busy during her down time. After that, we headed for Cape Cod National Seashore’s Visitor Center.

There the kids earned another Jr. Ranger badge & we watched 2 of the park videos.

From there, we grabbed some fresh cod fish tacos (when in Cape Cod, right?) at Basco’s Grill and had a picnic outside. The weather was absolutely perfect!

With our bellies full, we set out to visit some lighthouses! The first light we visited was Nauset Lighthouse. It’s used a lot in Cape Cod’s posters and branding materials.

We then visited 3 sisters lights – no longer operational and moved inland now. But back in the day were extremely important in navigating ships into the harbor. Here's Jett and I with 2 of the 3 sisters.

And lastly we visited Cape Cod’s first lighthouse – Highland Lighthouse.

By now we were all ready to get our toes in the sand, so we headed for a public beach! Despite the water being extremely frigid, there were actually some people swimming! And Jaycie got into the water up to her knees. I wouldn’t let the kids swim as there had been shark activity along this beach in the last 24 hours. (Sharktivity app is a must, so thankful an RV neighbor shared it with me!) The kids ended up playing in the sand for hours! Jaycie and I also collected some pretty shells.

It was so beautiful and relaxing to listen and watch the waves with our toes in the sand! Jaycie deemed this afternoon as “the best beach day ever!” So I think it’s safe to say Cape Cod has captured our hearts!

8/16/22 – We got a slower start this morning as our shower drain decided NOT to drain today. (2nd time this has happened on our trip. Thankfully, it’s an easy fix and Jason has all the right tools now to fix it!) So, Mr. Fix It got busy and took care of it! He’s amazing! We then drove about 30 minutes to Plimoth Patuxet which is an interactive museum devoted to educating people about the lives of the Wampanoag native people & the pilgrims. They start off the experience with an educational video in a large theatre providing the history of this land and the backstory of why this museum came to be.

Then they sent us to our second stop which was Historic Patuxet, where the Wampanoag people lived before the pilgrims arrived. We learned about their dwellings, water canoes, cooking/diets, gardening, & weaving. Here's a very LONG log they are working on slowly burning out into a water sealed canoe vessel using the same technique as the Wampanoag people did long ago.

Wampanoag home called a We-tu

Wampanoag toys made from hides and husks

Lots of white tailed deer skins... that was predominantly what the Wampanoag people hunted.

Then, we continued onto the last stop which was the pilgrim’s plantation. They set up their plantation right beside the Wampanoag natives and they were friendly neighbors… hence the Thanksgiving feast that took place there! The experience consisted of live actors dressed as characters in the 16th century speaking old English (very good accents!) who were going about their usual day in that time period. We were heavily encouraged to stop and ask them questions and talk with them. It was really neat engaging in conversation with them.

Here's Jett in the 2nd story of the fort. 5 cannons were brought over on the Mayflower. 4 mini cannons and this larger cannon (replica).

Jaycie loved walking through their gardens with the fragrant herbs. She now wants to grow her own herb garden when we return home.

Jett even helped Ned with splitting some wood!

We got to go inside their homes, look through their trunks, sit on their furniture so that we can get a good understanding of their daily lives back then. I must say…. having dirt floors and no running water would be really hard for me! Not to mention no A/C or HEAT! The Lord knew I was meant for the 20th century!

After we explored it all, we ate lunch onsite which was pretty cool! Their menu was fancied after foods and meals of that time period. These foods we now associate as “Thanksgiving food” so think poultry, cranberries, cornbread, stuffing, etc. I ended up choosing the “Turkey Gobbler” sandwich which was roasted turkey, dressing, & cranberry sauce on a whole wheat bun with dark gravy for dipping. It was like eating a thanksgiving plate all in one bite! It was so delicious, I just had to share it with Jason!

After that, we drove about 10 minutes to the Mayflower II and boarded the ship. It was a recreation of the original Mayflower based on historical documents and journals describing it.

It was much smaller than I expected. I could NOT believe that 132 people could fit on that ship let alone LIVE on it for 2 months straight while crossing the ocean! I’m not sure I would sign up for that journey! And by the looks of Jaycie's face... I'm thinking she's right there with me staying in England!

Jett on the other hand found it nice and cozy! Sign him up!

We then got a look at Plymouth Rock which was also much smaller than I expected. But still, pretty neat!

We then were being begged by the younger 2 Js for more beach time… so we found the nearest public beach & hung out for a bit! It wasn’t as “pretty” of a beach as the one yesterday, however this one had beautiful tumbled stones in all different colors. The kids still managed to have some fun in the sand and collecting stones while Jason worked from the car.

We had a blast in Cape Cod and are sad we’re heading away from the water tomorrow. But onward we must go to a new state!

Jett’s Wild Flight: Plymouth

By: Jett Lillie, 8/16/22

We arrived at the Plimoth Pantuxet Museum and got tickets. We watched a video and began our journey. We went to old huts and learned about old canoes and furs of the Wampanoag people. Then we went in the art making place, colored a picture and shopped. Then we went to the village. In a fort we saw some cannons that were 1,800 LBS! We explored some houses and I chopped off wood with a lumber Jack and listened to all the English accents. Then we went to the Mayflower 2, looked at the exhibits and explored the ship. Their beds were small and little to no storage. We got off the ship and looked at Plymouth rock. Although I had fun, the Rock wasn’t what I thought it would be.