A Visit to Plimouth 's First Residents,The Wampanoag

The native American's that first greeted the Puritan settlers was the Wampanoag. What surprised me was that the Puritans and Pilgrims were not the first Europeans the native Americans had seen.They were used to seeing European traders that had been coming into the bay for quite awhile...not far from the Puritan village is also a replica of the native American village.. Extremely interesting.

The  Wampanoag abode

The dwellings are made of long pieces of bark. In the spring as the sap runs there is a space between the bark and the tree. An incision is made at the top and bottom of the tree and the bark is easily removed.

This young man is making a canoe by controlled burning of the inside portion of the tree.

I asked the young man if he didn't feel cold as you could see his legs are bare."Actually ",he said," I am very warm right now".

drying skins

The family was enjoying a soup of corn,beans etc.

The chief,not as threatening as the picture looks.

Enjoying his soup

Inside the bark dwelling,The lady would answer any questions we had.The dwelling was lined with animal skin covered benches that served as beds.

I was amazed that there was very little smoke inside the dwelling as it escaped upward through the hole in the roof.

woven baskets and bags hung around the perimeter holding extra food,clothing etc.

Ho Hum A Week In The Desert#1

Even Victorians need rest and diversion. In fact the wealthier ones would take a whole summer or winter vacation. The Catskill Mt's and the Adirondack Mt's. were the destinations of wealthy Easterners,especially New Yorkers,escaping the humid unbearable summer heat. Those mountains were peppered with elegant hotels and lakeside homes built by these wealthy Victorians. Until recent years these homes were falling into disrepair, ignored and unwanted. Air travel had led to their demise.
Some enterprising business men in the 50's did buy a few and turned them into summer camps and etc. As a teenager I was fortunate to attend one such in the Adirondacks. It had been built on an Island in the middle of a lake. I had not yet been won over by the all consuming passion for Victoriana but I did have a great appreciation for God's creation and the beauty there was breathtaking. Can you imagine the romance of living on an island for a week as a teenager?  The camp was Word Of Life , A great ministry to teenagers that inspired them to give their lives to the Lord.
Presently these beautiful homes are being snatched up for big prices and being refurbished and given new life.
Many extremely wealthy Easterners would travel by train to the West Coast to stay in Grand Hotels. One such is Greene Hotel in Pasadena. The thing of it is that they didn't just come with their kids and and maybe aging parents but they brought along with them their whole staff.,butlers,nannies, personal assistants, you name it.. Oh the romance of it all.