On a recent Monday morning, as the Island Queen ferry departed Falmouth, Mass., for Martha’s Vineyard, a tanned passenger wearing a neck bandanna and a black tank approached the bow, revealing the slogan on the back of his shirt: I’d Rather Go to Hell Than to Work.
Fellow travelers nodded appreciatively, then rattled off the names of boats docked in Falmouth Inner Harbor: Wine Down, Raisin Hell, Sudden Comfort II. Forty-five minutes later, when the ferry arrived in Oak Bluffs, its 600 passengers were in full-blown vacation mode, pushing bikes, beach gear and strollers in pursuit of Vineyard adventures.
Though Martha’s Vineyard is just five miles from Cape Cod, the 100-square-mile island feels far removed from Massachusetts. From the raspberry-toned hydrangeas that flop lazily over fences to the playfully-named cocktails (the Obamarita, created by Sharky’s Cantina, salutes the First Family’s August visit), everything about the Vineyard says playtime. Outfitters can arrange fishing trips for anglers who seek sea bass and bluefish or provide strap-on jet boots so thrill-seekers can propel themselves through the ocean dolphin-style, an adventure known as fly-boarding. If the Vineyard vibe is slow to sink in and crowds become irksome (the Vineyard welcomes up to 95,000 visitors daily in summer), take a cue from a sign at the Gourmet Café & Bakery in Oak Bluffs: “Relax This Ain’t the Mainland”.
Though most visitors are day-trippers, some folks feel they need to see the entire island in one shot. It’s unrealistic, given the Vineyard is 20 miles from east to west with six towns worthy of exploration. True, there are ways to get places fast: rental agencies offer Mini Cooper convertibles ($200 per day) and European-style mopeds ($100 daily), and there are taxis and tour buses. If you want to balance sightseeing and leisure, however, you need heels, not wheels; comfortable sandals and a bus schedule (vineyardtransit.com) are all that’s required to maximize your time, enjoyment and budget on a brief sojourn.
24 Hours, Three Towns
When time is short, staying Down Island (which looks “up” on a map) is a good strategy. Vineyard Haven, Edgartown and Oak Bluffs all boast beautiful beaches, picturesque harbors, abundant water sports and extensive dining, shopping and lodging. From centrally-located Oak Bluffs, it is 15 minutes by Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority bus to either Vineyard Haven or Edgartown. On a day trip, it’s easy to cover two towns; if you’re staying overnight, you can comfortably explore three.
Oak Bluffs
Oak Bluffs, an ideal starting spot, has a high-spirited Victorian flavor. The Flying Horses Carousel, once a fixture on Coney Island, entices visitors to take a spin and try to grab a brass ring. After riding the nation’s oldest platform carousel, made in 1876 by Charles Dare, venture up Circuit Avenue for salt-water taffy and fresh-made fudge.
In Oak Bluffs, the houses are equally delicious. The Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association boasts 300 candy-colored cottages with gingerbread trim, so frilly and fanciful they seem to have been lifted from a board game. Built in the mid-1800s by faithful families who gathered at Wesleyan Grove for religious camp meetings, the privately-owned cottages populate the streets by the open-air Tabernacle, an architectural gem built in 1879 with colored glass windows, wrought iron arches, an octagonal cupola, and seating for 3,000. In summer, the Tabernacle hosts public ecumenical religious services and cultural events, such as art shows, movie nights, and theatrical productions (www.mvcma.org).
For a change of scenery, take the bus to Island Alpaca, a 19-acre farm with 70 sweet-faced alpacas and a shop stocked with hats, gloves, and scarves made from their cashmere-like fleece.
Vineyard Haven
On an island with million dollar views, the scene from atop the Mansion House, an inn and spa on Main Street, is especially rich. Whether you’re a guest or not, request access to the cupola deck to watch sailboats bob in the sea, gulls slice across the sky, weathervanes spin, and shoppers engage in retail therapy.
One could easily spend an afternoon shopping and dining on Main Street. At the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore (35 Main; 508-693-2291), stock up on summer reading, as President Obama and his daughters did when they visited the shop on their 2011 vacation. The Simon Gallery (54 Main; 508-687-9556), features rock and roll photos of Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, and James Taylor and Carly Simon, taken by her brother, Peter Simon. A photojournalist since the 1960s who toured with Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead, Simon also runs photography workshops and can be commissioned by vacationers to shoot family portraits in the Vineyard’s flattering golden light. The gallery also features the work of Ronni Simon, Peter’s wife, known for her bead, metal and driftwood sculptures and intricate jewelry, hand-crocheted of silver and gold wire and laced with semi-precious stones and pearls. Midnight Farm (44 Main; 508-693-1997) is an upscale home store co-owned by Carly Simon.
Edgartown
Though Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster “Jaws” was shot in Edgartown (among other Vineyard locales) in the 1970s, the shark still lives. Visitors can book a Jaws walking tour highlighting movie sites or chomp on Shark Attack, vanilla ice cream laced with white chocolate chunks and raspberry puree.
If you want to sink your teeth into history, however, return to Edgartown’s whaling days, when bakeries turned out hard tack instead of chocolate croissants and the waterfront smelled of rigging tar and hot metal. On North Water Street, impeccably maintained colonial, Federal and Greek Revival sea captain’s homes look as crisp as pressed linen. The gentleman who lived at the corner of Morse and North Water streets, Captain John Osborn Morse, even survived a tangle with a sperm whale that chomped on the captain’s boat, by lancing the mammal in the vital organs. These days, the Morse House, with eleven bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a water view, rents for $18,000 a week in August (the tariff drops to $5,000 in January), but there’s no charge to ogle the exterior.
Whaling days, among other chapters in the island’s history, are chronicled at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, featuring a small campus in a quiet, residential neighborhood with an herb garden, oral history exhibits, and a hands-on area for children. During a visit, guests learn fun facts – Martha’s Vineyard has only been an island for 6,000 years, for example, due to a rise in sea level – and explore the culture of the island’s native inhabitants, the Wampanoags. Evidence of the Vineyard’s creative, sometimes quirky, nature is in full bloom: exhibits include tombstones dedicated to beloved pet chickens, art fashioned from seaweed, and a retrospective of the former two-story Oak Bluffs ballroom, the Tivoli, whose transposed letters spell I-LOV-IT.
