Tuesday, September 15, 2009

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park



     In the mid-1800’s New Bedford was the whaling capital of the world. Herman Melville sailed from New Bedford on a voyage that was the basis for Moby Dick. Portions of the town around the waterfront have been restored as park of the National Historical Park. Some other mansions around town have been restored as well.
     In addition to the buildings, an old wooden Schooner – the Ernestina – has been restored and we were able to tour it. The boat started out as a fishing vessel and then carried some of the last large groups of immigrants across the Atlantic.
    We had a delicious lunch in one of the restored buildings. We have been trying to eat local foods when we are out and about. Yesterday I had a great succotash soup – very rich and spicy. I am going to look for a recipe for it. Today we both had a hearty Irish stew at a Celtic diner. We saw cranberries being harvested on our way to New Bedford so I’m looking for some cranberry scones for tea tomorrow.
     The main feature of the New Bedford area is the world’s largest whaling museum. I really get a better understanding of a subject if I can experience it. The museum had a ½ scale whaling ship to climb up on and look at the rigging and the working decks.   There was a separate display with sleeping cabins and tiny galley. Several whale skeletons were wired together and hung as though the whales were swimming so I could get a sense of the actual size of the animals. Some movies included photos and old film from the days of whaling. We really found it all so interesting. I learned a lot today.

1 comment:

Melanie said...

Hello! I'm with the Whaling Museum and just wanted to say that we're glad you had a good time visiting our museum! If you took any pictures or wanted to learn more you can check out our flickr account and share your pictures with us! http://www.flickr.com/photos/nbwm/

Thanks again so much! :)