A visit to Massachusetts is not complete without a visit to Plymouth Rock. Few physical places hold such a strong place in our national consciousness. The Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. When I was a kid, I imagined a large rock outcropping, or maybe a huge glacial erratic boulder that made it easy for the Pilgrims to jump out of the rowboats and on to the shore of this new land. Something BIG.

A good friend loved bringing visiting family to see Plymouth Rock, and attempted to capture their looks of disappointment with a photo as they strolled up under the grand monument and looked down to see a little rock sitting on the sand. Plymouth Rock is an ordinary rock. It isn’t very big. The only clue that this rock was somehow important is the big 1620 carved into it, and the ridiculous monument built around it.

Did they really land on a rock with a wooden boat? Would any ship’s captain allow that to happen? More likely they pulled up onto the sandy beach, walked through a few feet of water, and climbed up onto the rock for a view. Even more likely, they ignored the rock altogether, or used it as some kind of landmark. Apparently the Rock used to be bigger. Souvenir hunters chipped off bits and the Rock broke in two a couple times as the town moved it from one place of honor to another. The man who identified the Rock as the actual landing place wasn’t even alive in 1620, but assured everyone that his father (who wasn’t a Mayflower passenger) swore to him that the rock was the very spot when the Pilgrims first landed. However the Pilgrims used (or didn’t use) the Rock, it only takes a minute or two to realize that everything you learned about American History is a lie. There is no way anybody landed on this rock, and no way George Washington could not tell a lie about chopping down any cherry tree.

To recover from the disappointment, I headed toward the fried fish places, parked the car and walked the Plymouth Jetty. The jetty is about a mile long, and gives a great view of the town. At the right time of year, you can find Brant swimming near the jetty, and scan the rafts of sea ducks for something interesting. (Surf Scoters for me, last time). Then, oysters!

Pilgrim Hall Museum has a piece of Plymouth Rock that visitors can touch! Now that would be exciting.