Cape Cod & Martha’s Vineyard

I love long weekend trips! And this trip was double the fun because it was a “girls’ trip!”

We flew into Boston then picked up a rental car for the 80-mile drive to Cape Cod. Our accommodations were a 200-year old home and cottage in West Dennis which is one of the many charming, coastal towns. Without exception, every town I visited on the Cape and Martha’s Vineyard was beaming with excellent seafood, historical architecture, and friendly people. Funny how the Northeast seems to value and maintain its old buildings and furnishings while much of the country tears down, throws out, and starts over.

Day One was spent on Martha’s Vineyard which is an easy one-hour ride on the ferry from Hyannis to Oak Bluffs. Our excellent host was a local to both Massachusetts and Virginia so she was perfect to show us around. Over the course of the day, she drove us to all six towns on the island, stopping for highlights along the way.

Leaving the port at Oak Bluffs, we passed this idyllic grass square complete with a gazebo and geese. Without noticing that we’d left Oak Bluffs, we ran straight into Edgartown where we stopped for lunch. Time for a lobster roll!

Edgartown is the county seat (aka “shire”) and it still holds the look of the wealthy whaling days with rows of big, white homes for the ship captains.

Just off the tip of and part of Edgartown is Chappaquiddick Island, a small state park marked by a ranger taking tolls. Access to Chappaquiddick is off the paved road via a small, dirt road and a low bridge that spans a waterway about 8-10 ft deep at high tide, according to the ranger. It sent chills down my arms to think about July 18, 1969 when Ted Kennedy drove off the bridge, swam free, left Mary Jo Kopechne inside the submerged car, and did not report the incident until the next day. Minutes before he notified authorities, Mary Jo’s body was recovered by local police. Kennedy pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident that caused personal injury and was sentenced to two months in jail; all of it suspended. He continued to have a successful political career and was the second-most senior member of the U. S. Senate when he died in 2009.  Here’s a picture of the Chappaquiddick Bridge.

The entire island of Martha’s Vineyard is 100 square miles (about 22-mile long and 5 miles wide) and is referred to geographically by locals as up-island and down-island or sections such as west chop and east chop. (We were told the island is shaped like a pork chop thus the expressions.) 

Up-island has three small, rural towns–Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury. In Aquinnah, the western most point of the island, we stopped at the beautiful Gay Head cliffs and lighthouse.

Aquinnah is less than six square miles and is home to the Native American Wampanoag Tribe. The day we visited there was a Native American festival going on near the cliffs.

Next to Acquinnah is Chilmark with Menemsha. There was something extra-special about the little fishing village of Menemsha and I would love to go back to spend more time there.  It’s a favorite spot for watching the sunset while savoring take-out lobster dinner.

Winding out the last of the six towns, Vineyard Haven (aka Tisbury) is followed by West Tisbury. Vineyard Haven is the primary harbor and stays open all year long unlike Oak Bluffs. All along the way we were directed to huge homes and sites with local history such as the estate where the Obamas stay when they’re in town, the theater where Jackie Kennedy frequented, the community center where James Taylor or his brother and sister perform, and the neighborhood where Carly Simon and her family live.

Back in Oak Bluffs for the return ferry to Cape Cod, we stopped by the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meting community. This is an adorable community of 318 gingerbread cottages, each one cuter than the one before. 

The community was founded in the early 1800’s as a camp with tent sites for inter-denominational Christians to meet and worship. Today it’s recognized as a National Historic Site. 

The homes have names and dates displayed on the porches and makes for a lovely, afternoon stroll. I felt like we were walking through the setting for the Hansel & Gretel fairytale.

Near our ferry port, we stopped at Nancy’s, the restaurant where Malia Obama worked last summer.

(I did not take this picture of Malia nor did I see her. If I saw any famous people, I didn’t recognize them.) Our server said she worked as a hostess for a couple nights then was moved to the window of the outdoor cafe. Once she was recognized it became a side-show and Secret Service removed her. It’s easy to see why wealthy people and celebrities like Martha’s Vineyard. We never saw a police officer and I assume there’s little-to-no crime. In spite of the incredible wealth, everyone was quite unassuming and uniformly pleasant.

Back on Cape Cod we spent the next couple days biking, hiking and enjoying the huge cultural change from Virginia Beach. Entering the Indian Lands Conservation Area at the West Dennis trail head to the Cape Cod Rail Trail, we hiked along the Bass River.

The area had very few people and was full of birds, butterflies, and natural beauty. Both of my hiking companions are biologists so they positively identified a red-tailed hawk giving us an aerial show swooping repeatedly over the wetlands.

Cape Abilities Farm is a non-profit organization providing employment and skills training for people with disabilities. The beautiful produce and flowers are then sold at stands and served in restaurants across the Cape. We stopped at the farm in Dennis to explore a bit and left with honey, candy and other treats. 

Next to the lobster, perhaps my favorite thing about Cape Cod is the Cape Cod Rail Trail. There are so many miles of great biking between quaint towns. We rode the Shining Sea Bike trail between Falmouth and Woods Hole. 

Once in Woods Hole, we parked our bikes by the ferry station and walked through the town stopping to sit a while with Rachel Carson, pioneer marine biologist, conservationist, and author of “Silent Spring” credited with promoting a global environment movement. 

Next stop was the Marine Biological Laboratory. There is no fee but donations are accepted. All the displays were of life found in the area including  this skate…

and this angel fish.

Where ever I go and however great the museums, aquariums and other places are, my favorite thing to do is almost always walking the streets and getting a feel for the community. 

On my first trip to the Cape I was introduced to the Boston accent and frequent conversations regarding Ivy League schools, universally liberal politics, and topics that rarely come up in SE VA conversations. Now on my third trip to Cape Cod I know what to expect and I warmly welcome the diversity of sound and thought.

While the beaches are fine, they’re not amazing. First, it’s never warm enough for me to sit in my bathing suit and, secondly, the water is cold which is not good for me but is a favorite for sharks. The Saturday after our visit a man was killed by a shark attack at Wellfleet Beach. That’s the second shark attack at Cape Cod beaches this summer.

Evenings on the Cape were almost magical. Passing neighbors and dogs, we walked to the beach for sunset …

then happy hour at the cottage …

and a delicious dinner with interesting conversation in the comfort of the Emslie’s summer home passed down through generations.  After dinner we walked about 1/2 mile to O’Shea’s for live music and fellowship with local residents. It’s the friendliest place I can think of. The Spampinato Brothers rocked the place on Saturday night! You might remember them from “The Simpsons” where they played in cartoon characterizations. Our server danced across the floor, hugged everyone she met, and almost cried begging us not to fly back to Virginia Beach where a hurricane was approaching.

“Cheers” where the television show was filmed is in nearby Boston but, in my experience, O’Shea’s is where everybody knows your name.

There’s no doubt that I’ll go back to Cape Cod. Perhaps I’ll be brave enough to go in winter next time. It could be fun to see everything covered in snow. Hurricanes and all, there’s no place like home.

I saw this sign at one of the many little shops in Falmouth. It seems to fit.