Only seven miles off the Cape Cod mainland we made a quick trip to the Vineyard by ferry. After disembarking we boarded an Island Tour on to an old school bus for a two and a half hour sightseeing trip around Martha’s Vineyard. It seemed the best way to get a good overview of the island and its six towns.
Our driver Lee was a free-spirited soul caught up in his own humor as he narrated about the island. He was reminiscent of a ‘60s hippie dawned with a pony tail and beard. At Vineyard Haven, one of the Vineyard’s main ports of entry, the bus took a quick drive passing the Main Street’s shops and sites.
Along the roadsides heading to the outer island the landscape is densely woven with wild grape vines. When the 17th-century British explorer Bartholomew Gosnold discovered the island replete with wild grapes, he named it for his daughter Martha.
We continued on a scenic drive passing ponds and through the fishing village of Menemsha, which is home to the Island’s Coast Guard Station.
At Aquinnah (Gay Head) a thirty minute stop off the bus allowed time for a view of the brightly colored Gay Head Cliffs and the historic Gay Head Lighthouse.
Back on the bus Lee regaled us with lots of stories about celebrities. Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama have visited here often on vacation.Others have summer homes on the vineyard such as news anchor Diane Sawyer, Ted Danson from the TV show Cheers, Meg Ryan, and former John Balouchi of the Blues Brothers. Most of their ocean front private properties, even the Jackie Kennedy Onassis estate, are set back far from the road down long gated driveways behind the trees.
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| Jackie Kennedy Onnais's driveway on the Vineyard |
Lee explained that one cannot build on the island unless their land ownership is three or more acres. Land has not been cheap costing as much as one million per acre back in 1980 when he first came to the Island.It is understandable why today Meg Ryan currently has her house up for sale. Lady GaGa has purchased land to build a home on next to Meg's property.
Arriving back in Oak Bluffs we disembarked to enjoy Circuit Avenue, which is the equivalent to the Santa Cruz boardwalk with shops, ice cream parlors, restaurants, an arcade, and America's oldest continuously working carousel, the "Flying Horses". It was extremely crowded with droves of summer tourists. A short walk from Circuit Ave. is Martha's Vineyard nineteenth century Methodist summer camp consisting of hundreds of colorful Victorian gingerbread cottages off the village green.
In order to escape the crowds at Oak Bluffs, we hopped on a VT Bus #13 to return to the elegant town of Edgartown. The scenic route took us passed the long stretch of State Beach, along the Eastern shore of the Island, and over the famous “Jaws” Bridge where the film was done.
We strolled around the streets of lovely Edgartown in the afternoon. The town is known for its stately white-painted captain houses and churches that are reminiscent of the great whaling era. It is also home to many great boutiques and fabulous restaurants, as well as beautiful waterfront inns and unique upscale Main Street experience. Black Dog logo items seemed to be quiet popular amongst several of the shops.
Flowers climbed along white picket fences, bloomed in window boxes, and adorned the front porches of charming colonial homes everywhere. Several youngsters had their little lemonade stands set up along the way.
By 4:00pm it was back to Oak Bluffs to allow enough time to catch the 5:15pm ferry back to Falmouth on Cape Cod. Six hundred people waited to be loaded on board. With the hordes of summer visitors coming to visit Martha’s Vineyard we decided not to make a second day trip back. There was a certain quaintness to the Island, but in many ways we felt it has been over romanticized.
