Amhurst to Mystic via Sturbridge

We woke to torrential rain and warnings of thunderstorms and flooding. Hm. We had no choice but to drive on but we had to decide whether or not to call in at Old Sturbridge Village. Old Sturbridge Village is a recreation of life in New England in the 1830s and I was keen to learn a little. As it was pretty much en-route we decided to drive there and then decide. 

On arrival it was still raining but we decided to go in. We were pleased that we did. We did get a bit wet walking between the buildings but the village was fascinating and very well recreated. Each building has a narrator, dressed in costume, who explains what they are doing as though it was the 1830s. Because of the weather there were few people around and we often got the undivided attention of the narrators and were able to chat. It was slightly bizarre but I learned so much about the life and times of the early days of independent America. 

One of the most interesting monologues was done by a lady who told us she was a 19th century midwife. Her description of childbirth was nothing short of hair-raising; 1 in 7 women died during or shortly after apparently.

I enjoyed our chat with the shoe maker. Can you believe shoes weren’t handed - it was cheaper to have a single last and identical shoes. Ouch. The printer was another interesting character. Apparently there were apprentices, whose sole job was to put down the clean pieces of paper before passing the plates through the press. Now there’s an idea!

Eventually the rain stopped and we were able to wander without getting wet. There was a pottery where the narrator explained that often farmers would make kitchen pots as a side line if they happened to have a patch of clay in their fields and in another building, a display of glass items and the moulds used to make them. 

After we had taken in as much history as we could we adjourned to a local restaurant for a pleasant, late lunch. The drive to Mystic was uneventful, showery in places and dry as we went further south. We were happy to return to our reading for a quiet evening.