Far Away Island

Far Away Island

Nantucket was our next stop with a brief overnite in Vineyard Haven Harbor on the way. Nantucket is indeed far away – 30 miles from Hyannis on Cape Cod and exposed to the force of the mighty Atlantic.  While not as tiny as Block Island, Nantucket is also a mecca for tourists even this early in the summer.  Ferries rock the waters between Cape Cod, Connecticut and Rhode Island to bring visitors to these off shore summer enclaves. 

We were hoping to miss some of the busy season since for most of these destinations, the “season” doesn’t get in full swing until after June 25^th.  However, we have found a lot of people like to get a jump on the crowds so while not crazy busy, there are plenty of people about.  On the positive side, there are also special activities such as the film festival we hit in Nantucket. It seemed a good reason to extend our stay to see a Norman Lear documentary and meet the producer and director.

Another highlight of a visit here is a tour of the Whaling Museum with special presentations and exhibits on whaling and the tragic story of the Essex – the Nantucket ship rammed and sunk by a whale and the inspiration for Melville’s Moby Dick.

Much of the historic town center was saved because time passed it by when the whale oil business collapsed.  Unlike other towns of the era where progress led to the destruction of historic buildings in the name of urban development, Nantucket was by passed until it was rediscovered and intentionally preserved as a living tourist attraction. On the city tour we walked among historic homes from the golden age of the whaling barons to an early windmill and even homes from the 17^th century. New buildings are also carefully constructed to fit the style and scale of this quaint New England village. As Steve said, somehow they got the zoning issues settled early on.  

Fortunately, not all the streets are cobble stones since we also found time to do a little biking here in spite of the many narrow, one way streets and nearly constant vehicle traffic.  We traveled a loop on a paved bike trail to see the Sconset lighthouse that had to be moved.  Built in 1850 it was moved further inland in 2007. The sad truth is this island is eroding and therefore constantly changing and may eventually even disappear – in the distant future.  Until then it does offer a place to recharge and relax with nearly perfect mild summer temps. 

This sign says it all: