Martha's Vineyard

Sue and I spent a great eight days on Martha's Vineyard. Here's the report of those days:

Day 1 - Friday, 6 July

We drove up 95 North from New Jersey, hitting little to no traffic along the way. Yay! We got to Woods Hole and parked, taking a shuttle bus to the Steamship Authority terminal. There, we waited for the 2:30pm Ferry over to Oak Bluffs. The ferry ride was uneventful, and we got to our hotel by about 3:30pm, checked into the Nashua House, and went to our room. The room was small, but we had a balcony with a view of Vineyard Sound, so that helped "expand" the size of our room...

We went to eat dinner at Zapotec Restaurant, a Mexican place right in Oak Bluffs. I had chicken and swordfish fajitas, which were quite tasty!

We went back to the room, and waited out a short thunderstorm, which was really the only rain we had while we were awake the entire time we were there. We lucked out with the weather!

That evening, we walked around Oak Bluffs a bit, and just got the lay of the land. I should say, that Sue got the lay of the land, as I've been to MV at least 8 times beforehand, but this was only Sue's 2nd time on the island.

On returning to the hotel, we sat on the balcony, and watched the parade of hootchies going by, out to party in Oak Bluffs. Hours of entertainment there. We also crushed heads, in the true "Kids In The Hall" style...

Day 2 - Saturday, 7 July

On this day, we used the bus passes we had purchased for the week, to travel to Edgartown, in order to go to South Beach, the beach along the Atlantic coast of the island. It's a very narrow beach, I'm assuming because of erosion. I didn't go in the water, but Sue did, and found it cool but refreshing.

Of course, I put sunblock on, but managed to miss a good part of my legs and feet, so I ended up getting a bad burn on the tops of my feet and ankles. No fun there, but it seems to always happen.

I'm still peeling now down there, just for your information.

Where did we eat that night? Can't remember, but it was good!

Day 3 - Sunday, 8 July

This morning started with Sue and I going out on a boat, so she could go para-sailing! Sue's a bit more of a risk taker with some of this stuff than I am, and she really enjoyed her trip about 400 feet into the air, floating around with the parachute up there! It looked like fun, but I still have no real urge to do it myself.

After that, I think I just took it easy most of the day (resting my feet and ankles, as it hurt a bit to walk), while Sue did some window shopping in Oak Bluffs. Again, good food, but I can't remember specifically where we ate.

Day 4 - Monday, 9 July

I'm putting the dates in here, as if we really kept track of what day it was... ;)

This Monday, I believe we went into Vineyard Haven, to check out that area. It was quaint, but VH is not a town with a lot of options. Oak Bluffs has all the "stuff" to do, Edgartown is hoity-toity, and VH is just kind of there. It's nice, but nothing tremendous....

We were there for awhile, and headed back to Oak Bluffs after awhile. I think we ate at Giordano's, a great pizza place in Oak Bluffs that night. Not sure... It's amazing how quickly some stuff blends together...

We spent a lot of time walking around, going from place to place, just enjoying being outdoors. Walking along the ocean, checking out the harbor, that kind of stuff.

Day 5 - Tuesday, July 10

I think this was the day we went on a nature trip to Chappaquidick. We went with about 12 other people in a truck on a nature tour. You'd think, on a nature tour, people could actually be quiet, and enjoy looking at nature in as non-impactful way as possible, but that wasn't our truck, unfortunately. I enjoyed the drive, and the tour, but it just wasn't quite what I was hoping for, with people yakking away.

We saw beaches, birds, sand, houses, and a lighthouse. It was nice. :)

Day 6 - Wednesday, July 11

Relaxed. Sat on the balcony. Went to see Harry Potter in the afternoon, in Oak Bluffs in the Island Theater. It was fun, but the theater is OLD, and showed it... Walked around afterwards, had a quick dinner in the Island House Pub, I believe. Laid back, basic food.

Most of our time was spent relaxing. It's a good place to just take it easy.

Day 7 - Thursday, July 12

I think we actually went earlier, but this may have been the day we went to Aquinnah, formerly Gay Head. Nice walk down to the beach, and Sue went along to the bluffs.

I'll have pictures of all this stuff soon, but I wanted to have one post with text, and one with photos.

Day 8 - Friday, July 13

Went to Menemsha this day (or the day before)... Sue went shelling, and I sat at a little food shack to read my book. It was fun and relaxing... The books I read while on the island were "Death by Black Hole," by Neil Degrasse Tyson, and "Almost A Miracle," by John Fehrling, about the American Revolution. Both books were quite good, I'd recommend the collection of science essays by Tyson to anyone interested in astronomy or science.

Day 9 - Saturday, July 14

Leaving the island.... Had a good breakfast at Laura Jeans, a restaurant in Oak Bluffs, and caught the 10:45am ferry out of Oak Bluffs. Was home by 5pm.

Lots of good food, lots of quality time with Sue, lots of enjoying looking at the ocean, lots of laughing. It was a great time. MV is a special place for me, it's just very relaxing, and a good place to go to be with special people. I'm glad I could share it with Sue....

Photos coming soon!

NP: Pete Townshend - Save It For Later

I'm not dead!

Yes, I haven't posted in awhile, but I've been away! Sue and I went on vacation to Martha's Vineyard for a week (July 6-14th, to be precise), so there was no computer access during that time. It was actually kind of nice, being away from everything, not having any regular access to tv, computers, or other media.

I'll write up a full report soon, but I wanted to let regular readers of this blog (all two of you!), that all was well on the Lord front...

This week has been about getting back in the swing of work, and looking towards the rest of the summer. In a lot of ways, my summer ends on August 16th, when RA Training for this year begins, but that'll be fine. Sue and I will cram a lot of fun into the time between now and then...

In other news, my friend Joe got engaged! Wedding nuptuals will be at the end of October. Congrats to Joe and his girl Sally!

NP: Frank Zappa - Sofa #1 (10 December 1970)