Two for One

The Martha’s Vineyard Post

Sometimes a vacation calls for playing tourist, and on Wednesday, I did just that by taking a jaunt over to Martha’s Vineyard.

I had a lovely day there wandering in and out of the stores and taking in the Vineyard architecture. The ferry landed in Vineyard Haven and after I walked Main Street there, I took a bus over to Oak Bluffs, which was much more my cup of tea. I could tell the minute I stepped off the bus onto Ocean Park, which is just that – a large park area adjacent to the water and surrounded by large Victorian homes. I spent part of the day walking that neighborhood, and I picked out the big green mansion as my favorite.

The other area I really enjoyed visiting was the Campground – an area founded as a gathering spot for large summer Christian revival meetings for the Methodist Church. The area is famous for the cluster of colorful gingerbread cottages that replaced the tents as the summer meetings grew in popularity. I imagined sitting on a porch rocking and reading.

In the center of the Campground stands a traditional church and a tabernacle – a huge open pavilion. They’ve been praying for the salvation of souls here since 1835 – in the quiet of the fall, there’s a stillness about the place that gives you pause. While I was sitting on the green there, a tour group decided to test the acoustics in the Tabernacle by singing a verse of Amazing Grace. It felt like echoes of the past. Quite lovely.

I grew tired of walking, though, and by 3 pm, I decided it was time to head back. The ferry ride is really quite nice – smooth sailing and not too cold, although I’ve been on prettier ferries. Enjoying time on the water is part of the treat of heading to the Vineyard.

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean , to ride on the crest of a wild raging storm. To work in the service of life and living, in search of the answers of questions unknown. To be part of the movement and part of the growing, part of beginning to understand.
~ John Denver, Aye Calypso
(Do you remember Jacques Cousteau’s TV specials? Aye, Calypso!)

Back on the Cape, I decided to find a beach on the sound for my daily sunset walk, and wound up on Mashpee Beach. With no clouds in the sky, the sunset was quite bright, but I missed the painted clouds I’ve been seeing on the other evenings. Not that I am complaining… a walk on Vineyard Sound at sunset counts as a special occasion.

The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.
~ Isak Dinesen

A Staycation Day

Thursday, I stuck close to home base. The day started with a yummy crème brule French toast breakfast (my favorite so far, but really they are all over-the-top delicious). I walked Breakwater Beach for almost an hour and then packed up my computer, beach chair, and snacks to head over to Seymour Pond to work on some personal and professional planning.

It’s true that you can set your mind to pondering something and then go about your business and the thing will get worked out and presented to you in a flash of insight. I’ve been pondering my plans for teaching, writing, and workshops over the last few days as I’ve been driving around. But a whole set of clear ideas came into my mind on this morning’s beach walk. I enjoyed setting them down on digital paper. There’s nothing like working outside with the sun shining and the breeze blowing for a bit of inspiration and productive planning. However, it did get a little chilly at the lake by early afternoon, so I brought everything back to my third floor nook to work on a little more.

I took a late afternoon call from my friend Maria, and I think we talked for an hour! I then headed out to check out a favorite art/craft gallery on the way to Mayflower Beach for sunset.

It’s fun to notice the differences among the beaches here… bay beaches vs. ocean beaches vs. sound beaches vs lake beaches. Sandy and rocky. High tide and low tide. Pounding surf and lapping waves. Lined with homes, and backed by huge dunes. Tonight’s edition was a bay beach at low tide. The homes are high above the beach and have multiple-story staircases leading down (most with a portable final section that was stored on landing higher up). I imagine that’s done both to protect the stairs from the pounding surf when the tide comes in and to discourage folks from deciding to check out the homes at the top.

But that was just a fleeting observation before the sunset show. I chose Mayflower because I had read that people especially liked watching sunset there. On the bay side, the sun usually sets inland – you don’t see it go down over the water. But here, the sun was out over the water as it waned, and with a few clouds over in that part of the sky, the sunset was quite beautiful.

As usual, I’m having a bit of trouble getting dinner right. With sunset at 6:15, I either need to eat really early or wait until afterwards, which could be 7 or 8 – late for me. So both last night and tonight, I opted to run to the grocery store for something light. Tonight, I had ham and cheese on crackers along with some fruit and one of Donna’s yummy chocolate chip cookies. Breakfast usually tides me over until at least 1 pm, and I try to eat light lunch. For dinner, though, restaurants here are too fancy for my taste and of course they feature seafood which is not a favorite. Still, perhaps I’ll go for fancy tomorrow night as a toast to my last night on the Cape. (Sniff)

I could stay for a few more weeks… at least.

Find what brings you joy and go there.
~ Jan Phillips