Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Road Trip Greatest Hits, Part 2

Posted: August 6, 2010 in Top 5, Travel
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For Part 1, Click HERE.

#5 – Boone-Mergency, Defiance, MO (2006) – The “Beer and Now” trip seemed to take us to tons of attractions that required we watch a 7-10 minute video before getting on with the actual visiting of the awesome thing. This was the case at the home of Daniel Boone, too, and when we combined that with the fact that all the employees were senior citizens wearing authentic period garb, our expectations weren’t particularly high.

And truthfully, it was a solid visit but not amazing. We saw the bed where Boone died, but so much was off limits and not allowed to be photographed that it ended up being kind of lame. One part stuck out, though, and it may have been the hardest we laughed the whole second day of he trip.

One of the elderly docents was escorting us to the Boone home from the gift shop, explaining a few things on the way, when suddenly some sort of burglar alarm started sounding from the ol’ Boone place. Immediately the wisecracks started:

“That’s the original alarm Daniel Boone himself installed.”

“Somebody just touched Daniel Boone’s body.”

And so on. What made it so classic, though, was the really, really elderly woman who bolted out of the gift shop at top speed and hauled ass to the house presumably to find out if there was a real intruder. If there was, I really think she would’ve killed him. This woman was legitimately worked up. I’ve never seen an octogenarian run so fast.

We nicknamed the incident the “Boone-Mergency” and still rate it high on our list of greatest road trip hits. Kevin’s still upset they didn’t sell Boone’s Farm wine there, though. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. At least we got to watch that sweet 7-10 minute video, right?

#4 – Kevin Gets Violated, Louisville, KY (2008) – In order to save money, we’ve always just gone with one hotel room, and then as many guys who were on that particular road trip would just split the cost. In ’08, that caused some problems when there were five grown men sharing hotel space. This led, unfortunately, to the heterosexual sharing of beds. That, in kind, led to something that Craig will never, ever live down.

Put yourself in Kevin’s shoes. It’s like 3:00 in the morning and you’re sound asleep. You feel an arm drape around you, then a rough, hairy leg, then the light nuzzling of chin stubble on your shoulder. You’re positive that the only other people in the room are four dudes, so you know this can’t be good.

And it isn’t.

Our dear friend Craig had just grown too accustomed to sharing a bed with his girlfriend (now fiancée, soon wife) Laurel. Apparently (and unfortunately for Kevin), he’s a cuddler.

We had to spend the rest of the trip calling “Not It” for sharing a bed with Bingaman. He never did repeat the unconscious show of affection, but that doesn’t mean those of us that drew the short straw on any given night slept with any sense of security.

#3 – Beale Street, Memphis, TN (2008) – Memphis is a gross city. There’s absolutely no denying it. But Beale Street, where the blues feel right at home, is an absolute Mecca for music junkies, and we just so happened to go on the perfect night to get the most out of the experience.

It was a deliciously warm Saturday evening in June, and since it was the first day of that particular trip we were more than ready to get the most out of the night. What’s so great about Beale is that they keep about three blocks of the cobbled road blocked off to cars, and up and down are just a ton of blues bars that have their own personal outdoor stages. You can buy gigantic beers at little stands and then walk around from band to band just taking in all the great music.

We had a few drinks, enjoyed the weather and the music, and got a hell of a show from local legend and one-man-band Richard Johnston in front of an oldschool theater on the east end of Beale. It was just one of those great nights that make you love summer, and love road trips even more.

Also, we made lots of friends.

#2 – Spook Cave, McGregor, IA (2006) – “Okay,” our guide said as we crept up to the entrance of the cave in our small boat, “This is going to be a bit of a tight fit, so please watch your heads as we make our way inside.”

Kyle, Kevin, and I looked at each other with a bit of confusion, but we were heading towards the mouth of the cave pretty quickly and coming to the conclusion that a statement like “watch your heads” was significantly understated. We literally had to fold our bodies in half to squeeze in, and even then the rocky walls scraped and tore at our sweatshirts.

It was unbelievable, and we laughed the laugh of desperate people. You know the sensation you get in the pit of your stomach when you’re playing Tetris, and you start to realize that the stack of blocks is getting too high and you’re going to lose soon? That’s the sort of anxiety we had entering the cave, only like times a thousand.

Things did eventually open up, and for some reason the good people at Spook Cave really play up the fact that the area is supposed to be haunted. The “skeleton” of the first guy supposedly killed by spirits in the orifice was wearing a Spook Cave t-shirt. Kyle asked how he knew it was going to be called Spook Cave. The other patrons laughed. Our tour guide did not.

As far as attractions we thought were going to be lame, and actually did end up being lame but delightfully so, this one took the cake. To this day we all regret the fact that we didn’t buy t-shirts. At least we took advantage of some of the more colorful photo opportunities, and we got great video footage of us hysterically entering the cave. Little else matters, I suppose.

#1 – Shawshank Prison, Mansfield, OH (2005) – According to my itinerary, which is like Danny Tanner detailed, the Ohio State Reformatory was supposed to be closed for tours on the day we would be driving through. Since it was here where so much of “Shawshank Redemption” was filmed, we thought it was at least worth stopping by to snap some exterior shots for the ol’ collection. That’s really all we expected, but we ended up with much, much more.

There was some sort of auto show happening on the front lawn of the defunct prison, so they were giving special tours that day which combined the three different offerings they usually provide there. This is a huge place, and so an hour long tour can really only get you through about a third of the building. For the special occasion, or tour guide (who was awesome, by the way), took us through a Greatest Hits version of all three tours in about an hour and a half, and every minute of it was enthralling.

The ties to the movie would’ve been worth the trip by themselves; we got to see the beam where Red carved his name in the movie, we got to sit in the warden’s desk, and we got to see a number of areas on site where other parts of the movie had been filmed.

But beyond that, the building is just a ridiculously creepy place. It’s been out of commission for years, so the paint is peeling off of darn near everything and the entire place is in disarray. On Halloween, ghost hunters get locked in the facility for the night and freak themselves out.  Idiots.

People were murdered in that building, and the atmosphere is such that you’d swear you could see the blood on the walls and floors. Add to that the fact that “Shawshank” is like one of the five best movies ever, and you’ve got probably the coolest thing we’ve ever done on a trip. There were just so many levels of entertainment value there. Consider it the ultimate tourist stop. We sure did. And do.

So where do road trips go from here now that I’ve got a baby girl that severely limits my ability to go on the road with my brother and idiot friends for a full week at a time? Extended Man Weekends—mini road trips that basically consist of a weekend plus a Monday. Ball games, fine local eateries, and of course plenty of the usual Americana we’ve grown so accustomed to frequenting.

For now though, we’ve just got the memories, but what fine memories they are.

Road Trip Greatest Hits, Part 1

Posted: August 2, 2010 in Top 5, Travel
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Between 2005 and 2009, my brother and I went on four epic road trips that spanned ten states, six major league ball parks, and more novelty roadside attractions and museums than I can recount. We’ve always taken along a few pals with us on these trips, which always have been an extremely good time in every sense of the word.

This is a look at some of the finest moments over the past half decade of road tripping. There’s no way to include all the fun we’ve had during that time, but here are a few of the major highlights, many of which include video. So enjoy. We sure did.

#10 – Lost in Minneapolis, MN (2006) – Without question there’s a certain risk factor involved with taking these sorts of trips. You’re driving to places you’ve never been before, so if something were to happen you’re at least several hundred miles from home and don’t know anybody who could come to help you. That can be kind of scary if you pay attention to it. Luckily for us, we really only paid attention to it once, and that was the time we thought we were going to be murdered right there on the streets of Minneapolis.

We had gone to see a baseball game at the P.O.S. Metrodome but left early because we could give a crap about the Twins and had another couple hours to drive before getting to our hotel for the night. The problem was that we literally could not find the onramp to our interstate and thus spent 30 minutes driving in circles trying to find our way out.

Keep in mind, this was back when we were still using print-outs from Mapquest to guide us. No GPS yet, folks, and no smartphones either. When our original directions failed us, we had no choice but to stop and ask for new ones.

Our first attempt at that occured at a gas station in what we soon realized was a really, really bad part of town. We decided not to even get out of the car. After driving around a bit longer, we saw a nice-looking gentleman in a suit with his date walking towards a parking garage. We asked him if he knew the way to the interstate, and he said he did. He’d go and get his van out of the parking garage and lead us there.

When he came out he parked a few meters away from us and then strolled up to the car all hard with one of his hands behind his back. I legitimately thought we were going to get carjacked and/or murdered. With urgency he whipped his hidden hand around to the foreground and presented… three disgusting energy drinks we were familiar with from a buddy of ours getting involved in a pyramid scheme. This guy was involved in the very same pyramid scheme and didn’t want to kill us; he just wanted to sell us caffeine and ginseng.

So we didn’t die, and he did get us to the interstate, but let’s just say it’s a good thing we packed plenty of extra pants. Because we all peed a little. Just a little. Some more than others. Like Kyle. Especially Kyle.

#9 – Drive Safety, Niles, IL (2005) – There’s a half-size replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Niles, Illinois called, aptly, the Leaning Tower of Niles. It’s just a fancy-looking water tower right outside the local YMCA, but it was definitely worth a drive through the suburbs on a cloudy summer afternoon to give it a gander.

The structure itself was formidable, but what really made the experience memorable was the excited Asian tourists we met while snooping around.

They, too, were there for the Leaning Tower, but when they spotted us a new form of excitement sprung onto their faces and they asked if we’d pose with them in a picture because we had blue eyes. I guess that’s something they also hoped to experience while in America? They were extremely nice so we went ahead and took the picture.

When we were done, the patron of the group gave us some broken but well-meaning words of advice: “Drive Safety! Be Carefully!” It ended up being probably the most quoted experience of any road trip we ever took. My brother and I still say that to each other sometimes when we’re hitting the road after a family gathering.

The really sad thing is that, to this day, we have no idea what part of Asia those nice people were from. I couldn’t even venture a guess.

Be Carefully!

#8 – Cozy Corner, Memphis, TN (2008) – Easily the most delicious restaurant of any road trip we ever took, though there was a hell of a sandwich shop in Milwaukee called Jake’s that served up the most ridiculous Rueben I’ve ever eaten.  Also, the juevos rancheros at the Fly Trap in Ferndale, Michigan were top-notch.

But this isn’t about Jake’s or the Fly Trap. It’s about Cozy Corner, which those of us who went on the ’08 trip have collectively christened “The Best BBQ on the Planet.” Some of us got ribs, others got brisket, and Kyle got the Cornish game hen (which he saw on Food Network). There was BBQ baked beans, coleslaw, tater salad, and even BBQ spaghetti. The sweet tea was on point, too, which is super important when you’re eating good barbecue in the South.

What clinched it was the atmosphere. The place was an absolute hole in a part of Memphis that I wouldn’t walk around alone in after 4:00 in the afternoon. But it was homey on the inside. The dining room felt like it was located in somebody’s home, and since the place is a family-owned business there were all kinds of people there helping us out. A ten-year-old refilled Kyle’s sweet tea, which we found overwhelmingly quaint.

We go out of our way on these trips to find great places to eat, and this was easily the best spot we ever encountered. That, I think, counts for something in a list such as this one.

#7 – Bear Hunting, Northern Wisconsin (2009) – We’d spent the entire day driving through the crappy Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which I swear is the armpit of America (but to be fair I’ve never been to Alabama.  Just kidding, Alabama). We were exhausted, had just left the home of a genuinely unstable person who collects twine and spins it into what he claims is the biggest ball of the stuff in the world, and had only a couple more hours to cruise before settling down in Chippewa Falls, home of the delicious Leinenkugel beer brewery, for the evening.

And I almost didn’t see it. Or maybe I did and just wasn’t sure if it was really happening. Cole, who was riding shotgun, facetiously uttered, “Uhh… Bear?” and I instinctively tapped the breaks. Sure enough, a gigantic black bear bolted out in front of us on the highway and probably came within 20 yards from hitting us. That doesn’t sound like much if you’re standing still, but at 70 miles per hours that’s pretty effing close. People die from hitting deer, for Chrissake. Imagine if you hit a bear with a little Hyundai Elantra? I mean, who would you rather tangle with—Bambi or Baloo?

Immediately after the bear scuttled his way across the road and to the safety of the woods to our right, the entire car was silent for about a half a second before we all erupted with unbelieving laughter. We took turns telling the story to each other, as if we all hadn’t just been there and seen it with our own eyes.

In the time since this happened, I think each one of us has made the bear larger and larger. Cole—the king of hyperbole—has been telling people it was at least thirty-feet tall and had a saber-toothed tiger grille. That’s ridiculous, of course. He wasn’t an inch over 24-feet tall.

Artist's Rendition

#6 – Ed’s Tooting Horns, Lexington, KY (2008) – It’s the stuff of legends. Ed made a ridiculous dare with the rest of us (as Ed is prone to do) that he could get 8 out of 10 trucks to honk at him on the highway if he made little “toot your horn” gestures with his arm.

He got off to a slow start, convincing only one of the first three trucks to honk, but what followed would’ve had to have been seen to be believed. Good thing we got it on tape.

When it got to 7-for-9, we all were getting inordinately excited. Edward rolled the window down, started yelling out things like “Maintain this pace—this is a good pace” and “He’s isolated! He’s isolated!” and then yanked his arm in plain view of the driver.

There was a long silence. Someone yelled, “Oh know, he’s on his cell phone!” But then our guy pulled the old tooter and sent us into an uproar.

For the hell of it, Ed said he’d get the next one with only one quick movement of his arm. I’ll let you just guess what happened. Like I said, the stuff of legends.

Check back on Friday for the five most memorable moments in Brigham road trip history.  It’s going to be uber.

Joel & Amy Across America, The End

Posted: August 7, 2009 in Travel
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Day 5:

Walden Pond – To be a transcendentalist was to be, in a lot of ways, pretty friggin’ awesome. If my general readership is anything like my American Literature students, the term “transcendentalist” might as well be in a foreign language for how much meaning it holds. But for guys like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, the original transcendentalists, it was a way of life more than a philosophy. In Thoreau’s case, it took him out into the woods for two years.

One of the cornerstones of the transcendentalist philosophy is a love for nature, so in 1845 Thoreau built a little cabin on a patch of woodsy land owned by Emerson so that he could spend some legitimate time with nature. It had, he thought, lessons to teach him about simplicity and beauty. After two years out there he got what he wanted to get out of the experience, and returned to real life in Concord, Massachusetts, just a short distance from the Pond where he’d been living. (more…)

Amy & Joel Across America, Part 9

Posted: August 6, 2009 in Travel
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William Bradford’s Grave – Bradford’s “On Plymouth Plantation” is probably the most famous and most detailed primary source we have of the Pilgrims’ early experience in the New World, but we don’t credit this guy just for being an interesting author. He was also the governor that held the new settlement together through some ridiculously tough times.

He’s buried in the town’s oldest cemetery, Burial Hill, which overlooks Cape Cod and the rest of the town of Plymouth. Fittingly, he’s got one of the largest headstones on the grounds, but even that doesn’t come close to showing the sort of appreciation he deserves. For goodness sake, the tallest gravestone we saw all trip was for the parents of Benjamin Franklin. And they didn’t do anything but give birth to the guy!

As for Bradford, it was never the plan for him to become governor of Plymouth, but when the man who was originally appointed died within the first year, Bradford was the logical guy to take over. This was a guy who, despite being devoutly religious, was able to put out some pretty violent orders to maintain the safety and stability of his colony. His wife died before she even got off the boat. Perhaps worst of all, at least to Bradford, what had started as a strictly religious colony became less and less so as more Anglican Englanders made the trip over.

The guy had guts, though, like a lot of these early settlers, and his job was the farthest thing from an easy one. You’ve got to wonder how things might’ve been different were he not there to hold it all together. Would we even have a Plimoth Plantation and Mayflower II to visit today? Maybe, but probably not. But possibly. Most likely. Or not…

The Adams Family Tomb – On the way back to the car, Amy and I plucked a decent-sized stone from the Plymouth shoreline to take home with us. Why would we do such a thing? To display Plymouth Rock prominently on our bookshelf. Okay, so it’s not THE Plymouth Rock, but it’s definitely a rock from Plymouth. We had fun doing it, okay?

On the way back towards Boston we made a stop at a church in Quincy, which is where John Adams, Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Catherine Adams all are buried. We were absolutely wiped out from a long on foot in the sun, but this was right on the way and seemed like something we should do. It ended up being the most solemn experience of the week.

Click HERE for More Pictures!

Walking up to United First Parish Church you’d never guess that it houses a family tomb that includes the bodies of two presidents. Inside it’s a beautiful old church, and there were a couple of older docents there giving tours. We had come towards the end of the day, so while the older woman was talking to a group in the actual church, we chatted up the kindly old gent who waited with us to get things started. After having asked about our reason for coming we told him we were teachers with voracious appetites for history and how almost the entire vacation was devoted to taking in as much of it as we could before going home.

He sort of looked at the other tour group in the church and finally said, “I’ll just take you down to the crypt.” So that’s what we did. The thing about our tour guide was that he took his job very seriously, and I’m positive that had a strong effect on how seriously Amy and I took the whole experience as well. He told us that every morning he’d come down to the tombs and thank to second and sixth president for the opportunity to do what he does. This guy was extremely solemn and patriotic fellow, so we did absolutely everything we could to be as respectful as possible.

The tomb is just a little room with four gigantic granite boxes that hold the caskets of the Adams. We found out that earlier that day some direct descendants of the family had been there to celebrate John Quincy’s birthday. President Obama had personally sent a wreath of flowers that was now sitting atop JQ’s tomb. We were, to say the least, pretty bummed we’d missed out on that, but just being in a room with two dead presidents was in itself emotionally overwhelming.

On the way out, the docent offered Amy a flower from the presidential wreath. He wanted us to share the experience with our students, and for Amy to show the flower to her students. It was an extremely benevolent gesture and we of course accepted. We’ve got no idea where to put this flower, but how do you turn down something like that?

When we stepped back and looked at the long list of graves we’d visited over the course of the week it was difficult not to label these particular ones as the most memorable. Few people had as much to do with shaping early America than John Adams, and his wife Abigail was one of the first real feminists. John Q. was no hack, either, so just being there, in a church no less, was about as solemn as a tourist attraction gets.

Brigham’s Restaurant – My family comes from Massachusetts. There are Brighams spread out all over the country, but probably the strongest concentration of them is out East, where the original Brigham set foot on American soil a long, long time ago. As a result there’s a really famous Brigham hospital in Boston, as well as almost a full page of other Brigham’s listed in the Boston phone book. Perhaps the most famous of all, though, is Brigham’s Ice Cream.

There was absolutely no way I was going home without tasting the stuff, so our last evening meal in Massachusetts took us like 30 minutes from our hotel to find the nearest Brigham’s. It’s sort of like a fancy Culver’s, with burgers and fried goods and, of course, ice cream for dessert. We ordered whatever and did the ice cream thing, which was good, but we definitely had more fun taking pictures of and with everything labeled “Brigham” in the entire building. The poor teenagers working the till must’ve thought we’d escaped from some sort of mental facility. We probably could’ve pulled the name thing and gotten some free stuff, but we didn’t want too many people asking for autographs and all that. The girl didn’t even blink when I busted out the Brigham credit card. So much for celebrity. And, as it would happen, so much for Boston. We’d be leaving in the morning, but not after a few more stops on the way home.

Joel & Amy Across America, Part 8

Posted: August 5, 2009 in Travel
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National Monument to the Forefathers – Our last full day in Massachusetts took us an hour down the coast to Plymouth, which is where the Pilgrims eventually settled after coming over to America on the Mayflower. It’s one of the most fabled stories in our history, and that’s why someone built an 81-foot monument in the middle of a huge grass park hidden towards the back of modern-day Plymouth.

As far as monuments go, this one is friggin’ ornate. The centerpiece is a toga-clad personification of “Faith,” which is flanked by four smaller figures meant to represent Freedom, Morality, Law, and Education. Higher up are two huge lists of those aboard the Mayflower etched in marble, and the many other small details are too tedious and too many to spend more time on.

Built in 1888 it was originally designed to be almost twice as tall, but the whole point was to have it face Plymouth Harbor and be dedicated to those men and women that braved the Atlantic Ocean to start a colony in the New World. For us it was a precursor to the rest of the day in Plymouth, which would prove to be one of the coolest things we did all trip.

Plymouth Rock – What better place to head next than the most famous stone in America? Growing up both Amy and I were taught that this rock was the place where the Pilgrims first disembarked to start their colony. So what if that’s not exactly true? This was Plymouth Rock, people! A rock!

Okay, I’m being a little facetious. It really was pretty cool to stand right at the shore and look out on the water, knowing that almost 400 years ago the Pilgrims stepped off a boat and decided that this was the place they’d live for the rest of their lives. When they landed in 1620 they had almost no idea what was out there, other than the Natives who very likely would make things as difficult as possible for them.

A few times on our trip I would be inspired to stop myself and just imagine the history happening before me, and this was one of those times. Granted, nowhere in Plymouth governor William Bradford’s “On Plymouth Plantation” does he mention a rock, but it’s been generally accepted that the rock has always been there. It might not have been the first place they landed, but it was a landmark for incoming ships looking for Plymouth Harbor.

The Pilgrims didn’t even land at the rock and then immediately set up shop. The first land they saw was the tail of Massachusetts, and then they spent a month on the boat while search parties scouted the area for a desirable settlement location. Bradford’s wife, for example, lasted the boat trip over from Holland, but died before Plymouth was chosen as home base.

So yeah, Plymouth Rock isn’t quite the icon some history books have made it out to be, but it was still a cool moment to stare out at the cape and imagine the Mayflower moored somewhere out there. Then to turn around and see the high sloping hill where the colony was started… well, it was just a cool moment. And it was free.

Plimoth Plantation – The replica Wampanoag village and Plimoth settlement a couple miles down the road was not free, however, but despite the relatively steep price (nothing was more expensive on this trip except the Red Sox tickets), it was absolutely worth the price.

Set up exactly three miles to the south of where the real Plymouth colony was founded, Plimoth Plantation is essentially a living museum meant to resemble that colony as closely as possible as it would’ve been in 1627. We were told that the English village was actually built in 1950s and is about one-third as big as the original would’ve been. Actor/Historians come from all over the country to be part of this project, so not only is every building and tool and food item on site totally authentic to the era, but the “colonists” who reside there (from 9am-5pm) know what the hell they’re talking about.

These people stay in character the whole time, so any question they’re asked they come back with an answer pretty close to what a Pilgrim would have actually said. For example we asked one guy what he was cooking for lunch, and he looked at us as if he’d never heard the word. Because he never would’ve heard the word. Back then it was called dinner, so when I corrected myself he was able to answer me properly.

Then, trying to catch him with a question that would throw him off, I asked about religion. Because I teach this Puritan stuff to my American Lit students, I tossed out a little diddy that went something like, “What’s it like living in a Puritan community considering you didn’t come here as a Puritan?” Then I sort of leaned back and smirked. That will show him.

Except he went off for like seven or eight minutes on how offensive it was to call him a Puritan instead of a Separatist, and then explaining why he feels the way he does and how much the religion has helped him and philosophically how the whole thing works for the people at Plymouth. It was nuts. When it came time for my rebuttal I was like, “Cool. Enjoy your dinner,” and Amy and I just sort of nodded and left. Dude wasn’t rude or anything, but he definitely showed me. I dare him to talk me about basketball, though.

The other cool thing about this place was the Wampanoag home site, where the Native people that wear authentic garb and spent their days doing authentic Nativey things, actually are descendents of the area’s Wampanoag people. They dress the part, but don’t have to stay in character the way the Plymouth actors do. You just ask them what you’re thinking and they answer. The guy we talked to new literally everything about the area and its history, so we spent about thirty straight minutes chatting him up. It would’ve been a great place to take kids for a field trip. It’s only an 18-hour drive. Totally worth it, right?

Those two things combined kept us busy for a solid four hours, and if we hadn’t been starving it’s very likely we would’ve stayed longer. When we found the whole place is a non-profit facility and the only thing keeping it going was the steep admissions price, we didn’t feel so bad. Still, we could’ve spent the day at Six Flags for that kind of bread. But this wasn’t a Six Flags sort of vacation. It was about learning, and dammit, we certainly did plenty of that.

Mayflower II – After lunch at a seafood place back in Plymouth, a lunch in which I demolished my first entire lobster for the low, low price of $18, we walked to a replica of the Mayflower moored at State Pier, available for self-guided tours.

Anybody can build a boat that looks sort of old-ish and boat-ish, but to create a faithful reproduction of the Mayflower, which was a well-used boat even when the Pilgrims got to it in 1620, requires a lot of research and specialized builders. Built all the way back in 1955, this particular replica was done the right way.

Plimoth Plantation had wanted a replica of the famous boat for some time, and actually had commissioned a specialized ship builder to put together blueprints for one and start building it. The guy they hired did meticulous research about ships of the era and combed primary sources for any information about the original Mayflower, then he combined all that information and made what would prove to be the most accurate replica blueprint to date.

What P.P. didn’t know was that an English organization wanted to build a replica Mayflower as well and actually recreate the journey across the Atlantic. They just didn’t quite have the funding to do it, and had no idea where they’d permanently moor the boat when the voyage was over. Naturally, this group, called Project Mayflower, joined up with Plimoth Plantation and made it all happen.

Before sailing across the ocean, as the Pilgrims did, Project Mayflower had to make the blueprints into a tangible boat, and they did so as authentically as possible. The accuracy of this vessel went down to every minute detail—carefully chosen English oak timbers, hand-made nails, hand-sewn linen canvas sails, real hemp cordage, and exactly the sort of Stockholm tar used by ship builders in the 17th Century.

Today, the boat is still seaworthy (it sailed to Rhode Island in 2002), but it’s mostly just used to educate people about the Pilgrims’ journey to America. Just like at Plimoth Plantation there are costumed role-players on board telling all sorts of stories and answering all sorts of questions. Seeing the way the crew and passengers slept and ate was more than a little remarkable. To think of 120+ people shoved into that tiny a space for two months was a little overwhelming, but those original Americans were under no illusions that the trip would be an easy one. It was a heck of a lot easier for Amy and me; we just walked up a ramp, looked around for about a half hour, then walked down a different ramp. Our journey to America was a can of corn compared to what the Pilgrims must’ve gone through, but that’s the advantage of being born in the 1980s, I suppose.

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