Day 5: Sweet, Sweet (Vineyard) Haven

Today is my birthday! Had a perfect morning by getting ready quickly and heading out the door to The Black Dog Tavern in Vineyard Haven for breakfast. Naturally, traffic out of Edgartown was slow going and I dreaded trying to find a parking space.

Managed to make it in plenty of time and then, lo and behold, I found the perfect parking space right across the street! Wow, it must be my birthday or something! Parking was for two hours, so that actually gave us time to eat and even explore for a bit afterwards.

Breakfast was good, though they'd changed the menu up a bit since our last visit. I had to tweak another dish just a bit (no chocolate chips) to get my banana pancakes (which, while very good, are not actually in my top three).

Afterwards, we still had nearly an hour left, so we finally got to stroll down Main Street and check out some of the little shops. That was a welcome treat! We found a couple of little shops that we liked quite a bit, particularly one called Mix that sold vintage merchandise. Madison get a Great Gatsby shirt and I found a bag of vintage matchbooks.

We'd planned to spend the afternoon on the Edgartown beach this afternoon, but after we got back from Vineyard Haven, Marsha and Madison were feeling a little run-down (probably the heat), so they opted for a nap instead. Which was just fine, since this leg of the trip is largely schedule free. We're on Island Time.

So, I went for a walk and just explored Edgartown for a couple of hours. I went down to the docks and looked through a couple of the shops. There's a hoodie I wanted to get from Soft as a Grape. They didn't have my size at Vineyard Haven, or even any size at the Edgartown location.

Madison was feeling better by the time I got back, so we got ready for dinner. There's a new restaurant here in Edgartown called Atria that has a more casual pub downstairs called the Brick Cellar, which is known for their amazing hamburgers. We assumed (incorrectly) that we didn't need reservations for the Brick Cellar. Luckily, they were able to fit us in. Have to say, the burgers were definitely amazing. Really surprising for an island known for seafood.

After dinner, we went back down to the docks and just enjoyed the view as the sun went down. This place is just beautiful and so relaxing.

Finally, we hopped in the car and drove back to Oak Bluffs for dessert and some late night shopping. My birthday parking luck held out again and we got a great spot right in the main circle. 

First stop was Back Door Donuts. It's actually Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Cafe' & Bakery, but from 7:00pm to midnight, they sell hot, fresh donuts out of the back door. People line up in the parking lot to get them. The experience is half the fun.

Last stop for the day was Soft as a Grape in Oak Bluffs. Thankfully, they had my hoodie, so we got one. Worked out perfectly, because they closed the store as we walked out. Have to say, it was a pretty darn good birthday all around.

Day 3: We're Gonna Need a Smaller Boat

Happy Independence Day!

Well, shock of all shocks, we managed to get up this morning before the alarm even went off. We've been so worried about the hour drive to Woods Hole and the holiday traffic, we managed to leave by 8:15am.

We did such a good job beating the traffic, we actually got to the ferry two hours early. So they put us on an earlier (and much smaller) boat. Which was fantastic, because our other concern was making it to our hotel in Edgartown well before they close down the streets for the Independence Day parade.

The small ferry let us out in Vineyard Haven (the other dock is in Oak Bluffs), a good fifteen minutes before we were supposed to have left on our original ferry. Despite being early, we were still anxious to get to Edgartown. So, we drove straight on to the hotel and parked.

As expected, our room wasn't ready, so we walked down to the beach. We went up inside the Edgartown lighthouse, which was built in 1939 after the original wooden 1828 structure was damaged in a hurricane. The current one is all metal and prefabricated. They just bolted the pieces together and instant lighthouse!

We strolled around Edgartown for a bit just to take it all in and look around in the various shops. Grabbed some lunch at the Seafood Shanty, then went down to the pavilion by the Chappaquiddick Ferry, sat up on the roof, and just enjoyed the sights and the breeze.

The Colonial Navy of Massachusetts were lining upright below us, so we watched them get started and followed as they marched up to Water Street and performed in front of a nearby hotel.

Since the parade wouldn't start for a couple more hours, we caught a special showing of Jaws at the Edgartown Cinema. So cool to see scenes filmed 40 years ago in locations where we'd just been standing. Hasn't really changed at all. Last time we were here, we took the Jaws tour, which I was happy to see is still going strong.

We got out of the movie in plenty of time for the parade. We found a spot on the sidewalk near the theater and watched it go by. It seems they have a tradition of throwing candy from the parade vehicles. Some kids even had nets on long poles to make it easier to catch flying pieces.

After the parade we finally checked into our room and relaxed for a few minutes. We finally ventured back out a while later for a small dinner before catching the fireworks.

All in all, an excellent Fourth of July!