As the Thanksgiving Holiday dawns upon us, we may choose to appreciatively devour amazingly prepared home cooked meals, root for our favorite college football team, or maybe even steep ourselves in the rich American history that comprises this holiday. Most of us travel to be with family on the harvest holiday, but for those of us who want historical, Thanksgiving-inspired trip ideas, look no further than New England.
The landing place for the pilgrims that began to forge the templates for our present day legal and social contracts, New England is the center of America’s family beginnings. Because while there were military outposts in Virginia in the 17th century, it was the few families who braved the perils of open water, pregnant or with small children (even a dog!) seeking religious freedom who carved our culture out of the land they found off the shores of Massachusetts.
Plimoth Plantation, a Smithsonian Affiliation Program, offers travelers the chance to explore the “original” settlement at Plymouth, as well as a reproduction of The Mayflower. The Freedom Trail in Boston is another way to experience sixteen historically significant sites through a 2.5 mile brick-lined route along the streets of Boston, including the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. For travelers with access to a car, a scenic and historical drive through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine is outlined here, where history dates back to the 1630s and earlier.
New England accommodations tend to be more quaint and personal, though Marriott has a timeshare property in Boston, the Custom House, and several smaller timeshares exist in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire. PTR has timeshare resales listed at several of these properties at exceptionally reasonable prices, so that if you fall in love with Fall Foliage (a big thing in the Northeast), you can contact us to make an offer on a New England timeshare resale.
Your Thanksgiving Holiday may be spent watching football, holding cans of beer; or maybe it’s around the table with your family, or watching Charlie Brown’s rendition of the pilgrim’s ocean crossing and cultivation of a new world in the face of hardship. Thanksgiving is one of those wholly American holidays, deeply rooted in our country’s socially formative years. And while the more generous party of the original Thanksgiving feasts hasn’t received the just and honorable treatment it deserves at the hands of the U.S. Government, it is something we can do in our own homes and personal traditions to acknowledge that without the support of the Native Peoples, America would not be where it is today. However you celebrate Thanksgiving, it is a holiday that reminds us to be grateful of the richness of our lives and not take for granted our myriad comforts and opportunities.
