Long Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

A gray and cloudy day at Plymouth's Long Beach. At low tide, the bay side of Long Beach is a nice place for a long walk - even with cold, wind, clouds, and sprinkles.

One of the few houses on Plymouth's Long Beach, it sits on the narrow peninsula that juts approximately three miles into Plymouth Bay. Long Beach is a barrier beach protecting the Plymouth Harbor and serves as a significant habitat area for both migratory and nesting bird species.

I can't imagine having this many dogs - there were at least ten!

The harbor is located at extreme left, the bay is to the right.

This bivalve had been picked clean, perhaps by a gull.

I saw quite a few of these unusually colored stones on the beach.



Swan Tipping, Bartlett Pond, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

I am not a proponent of animal tipping - neither cats, dogs, horses, nor especially cows. But swans - they are willing tippers and do so without the need of human provocation. On second thought, sometimes my cat falls over for no apparent reason but I digress........

Imagine having to extend your head and neck straight down into cold water just to eat. I think swans got a bad deal on that point.

I suspect these two are practicing for the 2012 Olympics in London - the synchronized tipping event.  In the strange but true category, the British Crown has right of ownership of unmarked mute swans in open water - follow this link to the reference.  Who'd have thought.  Sounds more like a Monty Python skit......

Random Observations, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Speed bumps (or "judder bars" if you are in New Zealand) are both a scourge and a blessing - annoying to the driver but - they force the cars to move slowly, they offer added protection to children playing nearby and, they change the local ambiance to a calmer pace.  We very rarely see speed bumps in New England - they are not compatible with snow plows!

I know that dogs are smart but, I think this is asking too much for a dog to see this sign, interpret it, and comply with it. It is ambiguous at best - "no curtsying?'" - I don't know of many dogs that curtsy. Further, a really smart dog might wonder if the prohibition applies to all breeds or just the silhouetted figure's breed. This sign maker should be more precise to achieve complete understanding. 



White Horse Beach Rock Garden, White Horse Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

At low tide, a section of White Horse Beach reveals a rock garden,  teeming with many forms of aquatic life.

All these rocks are covered at high tide except Flag Rock, at center above.

Sometimes one can find a big quahog in the shallows like this six inch dandy specimen.

Yes, it's cold up here in New England for part of the year but - southeastern Massachusetts is still one of the beautiful spots on our planet.



Country Lane, White Horse Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

What a difference a season can make: the same view in autumn and in winter (except for the broken railing).

 

White Horse Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This doesn't feel quite like the South Carolina beaches shown on my blog in recent months. It is still winter up here in Massachusetts. (I believe I have mentioned before that I am a wimp about cold weather).

Same coat, same sunglasses, same ocean - more hat, more layers, more cold.

At low tide, White Horse Beach is as beautiful as any.

In typical Cape Cod style, many houses in the area have gray, weathered shingles and white trim.

It will take quite a battering for the ocean to erode this bluff....

Low tide. The speck in the center is flag rock. The tiny smudge on the horizon left of center is Gurnet Point.  "The Gurnet" marks the northern entrance to the Plymouth Harbor where the Pilgrims arrived 400 years ago from England.

Same view in the summer, tide is a little higher but still not high tide. (Tidal variation in this area is almost 14 feet between low and high).

Summer is still a long way off but, at least signs of spring are already showing in these crocuses. It is good to be home.

Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Last random sights from the Colonial town.

A colonist's garden.

OSHA would not be pleased with how this ladder is constructed.

The age of the specialist -  I guess this fellow would open your wine........

........and this fellow down the street would pour it into the glass.

The recreated Capitol building - the first in America in 1705.

The breezeway of the Capitol building.

Getting out of the old jail.

This is my final post from our Williamsburg visit. Time to head back home to New England and resume "real" life after three months on the road.  I doubt I'll continue to post daily as I have been, but on the other hand, each person's home area can be someone else's destination - new and different places to go and things to see are relative - thanks for traveling with me these past few months! 

Colonial Williamsburg People, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Random sights of people in the Colonial town.



Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Here are a few random sights from just wandering around the streets in Colonial Williamsburg.

Seven Royal Governors lived in this house at different times - including Thomas Jefferson.

Lots of benches for tired tourists to sit for a spell.

A colonial four hundred year old sheep basking in the late winter sunshine and warmth.



Wren Building, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

The Sir Christopher Wren Building at the College of William and Mary in Virginia is the oldest college building in the United States and the oldest of the restored public buildings in Williamsburg. It was constructed between 1695 and 1700, before Williamsburg was founded, when the capital of the colony of Virginia was still located at Jamestown. Generations of William and Mary students have attended classes and lectures, enjoyed meals, and attended chapel services therein.

And this huge keyhole requires..........

.......a huge key to open the main door, shown here with a modern key for comparison.