30 May THT- Martha’s Vineyard Trip Part II

Yesterday I shared Part I of our trip to Martha’s Vineyard, today is part 2.

Martha’s Vineyard Trip part 2

I mentioned yesterday, that this was our first trip to the “Vineyard” as it was highly recommended by family. It was also a bit of a test for me, with my PN, to see how I would be able to travel after 10 months of PT, and adhering to a pt home program.

We would fly to Boston, take a bus to the ferry, and catch it to the Vineyards, stopping at Vineyard Haven, one of the towns in Martha’s Vineyard. Each place has its own character.

Let me say that I wore about 1/3 of what I packed, and I was so glad I packed sweaters in mid May. It was a bit chilly, but I wore mostly the sweaters and longer sleeve CSW tops with CSW pants. Sneakers were a must, except when we went to dinner and I brought one other pair of dress shoes.

Historical Walking Tour ( Carnegie ) Edgartown

One of the first things we did was go on a walking tour to narrated by a woman from the Carnegie Heritage Center 

run by the Vineyard Preservation Trust. This was a gift from Andrew Carnegie, and has been a library, cultural center, and museum.

“Inside offers a a dynamic revolving exhibit, Living Landmarks, which illustrates the historical development of Martha’s Vineyard through the lens of the landmarks in Vineyard Preservation Trust’s care.”

Their goals are to preserve and maintain historic buildings and the integrity of places on the island, as well as to inform. The tour was very interesting, and one of the places we saw was an old Whaling Church. 

Recent artist painting 3d artwork to replicate the old church’s interior.

Towns

Edgartown

From mvc.com

“​One of New England’s most elegant com­munities, Edgartown was the Island’s first colonial settlement and it has been the county seat since 1642.The stately white Greek Revival homes built by the whaling captains have been carefully maintained. They make the town a museum-piece community, a seaport village preserved from the early 19th century. Main Street is a picture-book setting with its harbor and waterfront.”

This is where we stayed. It was close to everything, and we took the public buses to the neighboring towns, which was much easier than renting a car, or bringing ours. It is a charming town, with quaint shops, amazing restaurants,  historic landmarks, and beaches ( which were too cold to go to now).

I shared the Lightkeepers Inn, in Edgartown, which we stayed, in yesterday’s POST. We also saw the Edgartown lighthouse.

The Lightkeepers Inn – Where we stayed – you can see the inside of our room in yesterday’s post.

Listened to a Blues band with a 25 year old female guitarist. I even texted my sister that I was out at 11 pm! 🙂

The oldest Pagoda tree

Vineyard Haven

When ships were powered by wind and sail, Vineyard Haven was one of the busiest ports. There is much history to these whaling villages, and I could go on, but if you are interested, THIS SITE, is excellent for more historical information. Great restaurants, hotels, inn, shops and views of the water. The earliest English settlement dates back to the 1600s.

Oak Bluffs

The charm and down to earth charisma of Oak Bluffs won our hearts. “Oak Bluffs is also the home of the Flying Horses Carousel, the oldest continuously operating carousel in the country. Its horses were hand-carved in New York City in 1876” credit mvc.com  We did see the Carousel, but it was being renovated and unvieled on Memorial Day week, so I couldn’t go on it .

We visited a bar in the evening called, The Ritz. It was a small islander, neighborhood bar. I tend to like the smaller ones that have character and are cozy. There was a rock band playing that are regulars on the MV scene. We spoke most of the evening to a local fisherman, Mark, who said he was ready to retire. As the redness spread to his face, he offered to buy us Green Tea shots, a mixture of Jameson and Peach Schnapps. Let’s just say we slept well that night, but I love hearing stories from locals.

Aquinna/Fishing Village of Menemsha

“​Many year-round residents of Aquinnah are descendants of the Wampanoag tribal members who showed the colonial settlers how to kill whales, plant corn, and find clay for the early brickyards. Much later, these Aquinnah Wampanoaq were in great demand as boatsteerers in the whaling fleets.”

There are a small amount of people who live on Menemsha/Aquinna, and we saw the fishing village. Since we ate some hearty lobster rolls, we were too full to eat there. But talk about fresh, the fish practically leap onto your plate!

Here is where we saw the Gay Head lighthouse, the only operating lighthouse left on MV and the Aquinna Cliffs, which were so picturesque, they didn’t seem real. The lighthouse was actually moved, as it was getting to close to the cliffs, and they were fearful it would collapse. We watched a time lapse video in the museum of this lengthly task.

Where the lighthouse was originally near the cliffs, and where it was moved.

The Cliffs

Food- Oh How we Ate Well

Can’t get enough clam chowda

The Lookout voted the BEST lobster rolls in MV. Hubby has his hot with butter, mine was cold with light mayo. Soooo good!

Gingerbread Houses at Oak Bluffs

The trip is nearly over and we are on our way back to our Boston hotel. Let’s just say it was a bit windy!

It was a great trip and I really needed a change of scenery!

Don’t forget, you can read about PART 1 OF OUR MARTHA’S VINEYARD TRIP HERE.

Have a great week!

Jess xx

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