|
I ended up so busy last week (what with my brother & his wife visiting,
and running the Blessing of the Fleet with him, etc.) that I didn't have
time for any Web updates or picture posting... so let me start to make
up for that now by putting up a few pictures of Martha's Vineyard. And
I think (for those of you who aren't familiar with this area) that I should
start with a map...
The top is north, the bottom is south, etc., and from the Connecticut border
to the eastern coast of Cape Cod is almost a hundred miles. Block Island
is part of the state of Rhode Island; Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are
part of Massachusetts. The high speed ferry goes from Quonset Point (about
half way up the west side of Narragansett Bay) to Oak Bluffs (sort of the
north-east corner of Martha's Vineyard) at 34 knots in good conditions
(equivalent to almost 40 miles an hour). (Note the phrase "good conditions"
-- the remains of tropical storm Franklin were somewhere out in the Atlantic
sending swells toward the coast that were three or four feet high -- this
made for a bumpy ride that produced a lot of sea-sickness among the passengers.)
 |
Nancy and Sue on the third level observation deck on the ferry -- approaching
the Jamestown bridges (there are actually two bridges side by side: the
old bridge -- with steel towers and supports -- and the new bridge , all
straight flow of reinforced concrete, like a highway overpass that is a
mile long)
|
As the ferry began to leave the sheltered waters of Narragansett Bay, a
crew member came up to tell us that the captain was closing the top level
observation deck because he was expecting a rough ride due to the swells.
As I've noted, that was a very accurate prediction. Nancy held out for
almost half of the trip, but finally the ferry's movements got to her.
Sue was not physically ill, but she definitely was not ready for a return
voyage that was predicted to be at least as rough, if not more so. Thus,
they began talking about staying overnight in hopes of calmer seas the
next day.
On the right, a view of Oak Bluffs Harbor. It was a foggy day. |
 |
We took a transit bus from Oak Bluffs to Edgartown -- that's the lower right hand corner of
Martha's Vineyard, with Chappaquiddick Island practically touching it.
After a while Nancy was feeling up to sight-seeing. She and Sue found a
hotel room for the night. We wandered about with Sue acting as our tour
guide because she and her husband used to rent a house in Edgartown for
a week or two every summer.
 |
 |
| Above: Nancy resting with a Coke in front of The Black Dog Store
in Edgartown. (Purveyors of t-shirts, coffee mugs, caps, etc., all with
silhouettes of a black dog.) |
The hotel in Edgartown where Nancy and Sue were able to get a room for
the night. The banner in the eagle's claws reads "Since 1747" |
 |
 |
| A typical scene in Edgartown -- beautiful flowers and marvelous old houses. |
The ferries going to and from infamous Chappaquiddick Island -- just a few hundred feet from Edgartown. |
 |
 |
| Looking toward the harbor from North Water Street. |
A view from the harbor of the backyards of those buildings on North Water
Street. |
 |
 |
| Wind and fog -- Nancy is walking toward the lighthouse. She is holding
her jacket in her hand and the wind is pulling it out straight -- yet the
lighthouse is almost hidden in fog. |
This is the Edgartown Harbor Light.
It was moved here to replace a lighthouse that had been essentially destroyed
by the deadly hurricane of 1938. |
| At last it was time for me to get back to Oak Bluffs to catch the ferry home (I had some work I had to do). I had originally thought about eating at the Offshore Ale Company's brew pub in Oak Bluffs, but I was running short on time. I remembered that the last time we were on Martha's Vineyard we had grabbed a quick seafood lunch a a place called Nancy's, right on the waterfront. |
 |
 |
 |
| So here was my harborside fish & chips dinner. |
Shops and restaurants line the waterfront. |
Nancy and Sue were wise to spend the night on Martha's Vineyard. The ride
was even choppier on the way back - it felt at times not unlike a carnival
ride -- but by morning the five foot swells had fallen to the one to two
foot range and they did not have a bad ride back.
The final picture -- sunset at Quonset Point as seen from the ferry approaching
the docks. |
 |
|
