Day 7: Charting a Course from the Vineyard

Or: "New Boat, Old Hotel"

Last day on Martha's Vineyard, so we got up a little early and packed the car. We were scheduled for the 2:45 ferry from Oak Bluffs, so we wanted to make sure we left the hotel in time to do a few more things before we sail.

The weather was a cloudy and cool this morning (no surprise after last night), but I think the rain will hold out for a bit. Overall, I'd say we've been pretty lucky.

Breakfast this morning was at another of our favorites, Among the Flowers Cafe in Edgartown. I'm surprised we hadn't been here yet, but there's so many great places to eat in MV. We almost had dinner there Monday night, which was unusual (Fourth of July), because they're usually only open for breakfast and lunch. But the wait was way too long. So glad we went back. Great example: Madison ordered a bowl of strawberries, and they took the time to slice them up and plate them artistically.

Afterwards, we drove up to Oak Bluffs for some last-minute shopping before getting on the ferry. Marsha bought a sweatshirt (necessity) and finally picked out a new Black Dog shirt that she liked.

Thanks to the weather, we thought the ferry ride would be a bit rockier than the trip over. In fact, we could feel it moving while we were still sitting at the dock.  But once we got moving, the ride was perfectly smooth. What's more, we immediately noticed that our ferry was brand new (built this year) and still had that new boat smell.

The drive to Newport was just fine, though it took a while to get out of Woods Hole and Falmouth. Those little tiny roads with traffic lights every few blocks aren't meant to handle the endless stream of vehicles coming off the ferry. They could use another road just for ferry traffic or let the lights stay green longer. Still, we made good time and arrived with plenty of time to get settled in at the hotel before our 6:45pm dinner reservations.

Or so we thought. Our hotel, which was on the water and rather pricey, was less than we expected. There was no elevator, so we had to carry the bags up three flights of stairs. That was no big deal, but the room itself had a musty smell. Madison's bed was in an upstairs loft (which was cool), but the sheets had stains and the bed cover was torn. For the price we were paying, we expected something cleaner. They offered to move us to a different room, but our preference was to just go elsewhere.

Fortunately, they were nice about it and gave us a full refund. Marsha was able to book us another room at the hotel we stayed at before (which we really liked), so we repacked the car and rushed over. By this time, it was almost 6:30. We checked into the new hotel and they left our car out front (parking is now valet only; they had both before), then we rushed off to still make our dinner reservation just in time.

After dinner (at The Mooring, which was great), we went back to the new hotel and got our bags. The new room actually needed a few lightbulbs, but otherwise was a huge improvement over the previous one. We'd switched rooms before, but this is the first time we've switched hotels.

Once we finally got everything situated, we got comfortable and settled in by watching The Shawshank Redemption on TV. Great movie to end the day.

Day 6: The Road to Oak Bluffs

Got up at a reasonable hour this morning and had leftover donuts for breakfast. They were still pretty darn tasty, especially Marsha's apple fritter (which was originally as big as her head).

The original plan for today had been to rent bikes and ride to Oak Bluffs. But since Madison isn't as fond of biking as Marsha and I are, we opted to walk instead. And since Oak Bluffs is six miles away, it was quite a hike indeed.

There was a good long stretch where it was rather hot and there was no breeze, but once we got to the beaches, it was a lot better. Plus, the view is amazing.

I knew we'd made a lot of progress when we finally reached the American Legion Memorial Bridge at Joseph Sylvia State Beach. This bridge is significant for two reasons. First, it's known as "Jaws Bridge," because this is where a major sequence was filmed (attack on Alex Kitner and the guy rowing in the pond). Like many of the Jaws locations, it looks exactly the same as it did 40 years ago.

The other reason is because despite all the signs telling people not to jump off, they do it anyway. We saw a bicycle cop there, but no one seemed to care, and neither did he. Some of the stores even sell T-shirts.

When we finally made it to Oak Bluffs, we went straight to Giordano's (no relation to the chain in Chicago), one of Madison's favorite places for pizza. They're a family run business (four generations) that's been open since 1930. In addition to the great food, we were just thrilled by the A/C.

After lunch, we walked across the street to the Flying Horses carousel. We purchased a 10-ride pass the other day, so we still had two rides each. While I did manage to grab more than one ring at a time this time, none of us got the brass ring. Though Marsha came pretty close.

We'd originally thought about walking back to Edgartown, but after enduring the six-mile hike there, we decided to take the bus back. It was either that or Uber.

Once we got back, we changed into our swim suits and went down to the beach to wade and look for sea shells. After a long, very hot day, the cool ocean water felt just great.

By this point, it was starting to get late, so we decided to head back to Menemsha to watch the sun go down again. We figured by going earlier we'd (hopefully) get a good parking space and I wouldn't miss it. We also planned to pick up some seafood and eat dinner on the beach.

On the way there, we noticed it was getting cloudy and there was a lot of mist in the air. We wondered if it might rain, even though the weather report said it wasn't supposed to. By the time we got to Menemsha, there was so much fog on the water, we couldn't even see the sun.

Menemsha is a working village for the island's fishermen and is all utilitarian. There aren't any sit-down restaurants, but there are a couple of places that sell seafood practically right out of the ocean. 

The most famous is Larsen's Fish Market, but we opted for The Bite. It's just a little shack and the food comes in paper bags, but they had a good line of customers and for a very good reason.

We sat on the beach and ate fried shrimp, which was delicious. Couldn't have been any more fresh. As expected, we couldn't see the sun through all the mist, but it was still beautiful and really relaxing.

After not seeing the sunset, we drove back to Edgartown. Then we walked back to Mad Martha's for ice cream before calling it a night. It's our last night on the island, so we had to take one more night time walk down Water Street before we have to say goodbye tomorrow.

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 4: Naked Fun in Gay Head

Woke up this morning to the rhythm of the pouring rain outside. The weather did the island a big favor yesterday by not raining a drop during all of the Fourth of July festivities. Today, however, all bets were off and it was coming down by the bucketful.

Since we managed to actually get up a little early, we decided to try to make it to Linda Jean's for breakfast. Their blueberry pancakes are in my top three best pancakes ever. The challenge was getting to Oak Bluffs before they stopped serving breakfast at 11:30am (which they should just serve all day). Somehow, we managed to make it just in time, despite Mapquest taking us to the wrong address. 

Afterwards, we took a ride on the Flying Horses Carousel. Moved to Oak Bluffs from NYC (probably Coney Island) in 1884, it's the oldest operating platform carousel in the US. They have arms dispensing metal rings on each side (manually fed by the operators). If you grab a brass ring, you get a free ride. Experienced riders can grab two or more at a time.

Then we took a stroll through Cottage Grove, the neighborhood of Gingerbread Houses. These are little summer cottages, most of them built in the 1880s, by members of the Martha's Vineyard Campmeeting Association.

Originally, the congregation erected tents for their summer revivals. Eventually, the tents gave way to more permanent wooden structures. While the floor plans are very similar, each cottage is unique in color and decorations. You can easily spend an hour or more just walking around and looking.

By that time, the sun had come out to stay, so we headed over to Island Cove mini-golf in Vineyard Haven. I'll go ahead and say that we've never really explored Vineyard Haven too much because it's very difficult to park and the tiny streets make traffic a bear. Today was no different, but we had a great game in which my winning streak continued.

Since we still had a good amount of daylight left, we opted to head down to the beach in Aquinnah (also known as Gay Head). "Aquinnah" is the Native American name for the area, and there's still a Wampanoag tribe that lives nearby and operates the shops there. The clay cliffs are sacred to the Wampanoags. Have to admit, though, it looks a lot like the beach in Planet of the Apes.

It's also one of the few clothing optional beaches on the island, but apparently only in certain areas which are not at all marked. In fact, when you walk down to the beach, the rules state that nudity is not allowed, so it's rather surprising when you encounter them. What's even more surprising is that they're all middle-aged. The younger bathers manage to keep their clothes on.

Last time we were there, we wanted to see the lighthouse from the beach. The problem was that the path down is very long and sends you in the opposite direction. We had to turn back without success due to the sun going down and the clothes coming off (to our surprise).

This time, we got an earlier start, so we had more time. We even had to work our way through a section covered in rocks, but we were determined. We finally made it all the way around the cliffs. But no lighthouse. Still couldn't see it. I'm now convinced that you either can't see it from the beach, or we'd have to walk a couple of miles to do so. Consider this quest abandoned.

By that time, it was getting late, so we walked back to the shops and had dinner at the Aquinnah Restaurant. This is one of our favorite places to eat, mostly just because of the view. It's really breathtaking.

Finally, we drove over to Menemsha, the fishing village, to see the sunset. On an island that changes very little, we were really surprised to see a brand new Coast Guard station and cement dock that runs the whole length of the village. Conversely, the vacant lot where Quint's shack was built for Jaws is still vacant after 40 years (the production had to tear it down after filming because it wasn't built to code).

Sadly, I missed the actual sunset trying to park (it's a real bear here, too), but Marsha and Madison got to see it. That's what was most important. And we still got to spend a few minutes together enjoying the view and the breeze.

After we drove back to the hotel, Madison and I walked down to Mad Martha's for some ice cream. Marsha got a head start on getting ready for bed. Tomorrow the plan is to get up early for my birthday and head back to Vineyard Haven for breakfast at The Black Dog Tavern. Really looking forward to their banana pancakes! I just hope I can find a place to park.

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!