On to the Vineyard

On to the Vineyard

Last year we made an overnight stop in Vineyard Haven Harbor, but eager to get on to Nantucket Island, we never went ashore.  This time we headed for the Lagoon Pond anchorage and followed MOJO through lift bridge that guards the very narrow entrance.  All in all, we made four stops on Martha’s Vineyard as well as a few bus and bike trips, pretty much covering the island.  As others have mentioned – each village here is unique – and this is almost an understatement!  Probably the only consistent feature is the traffic.  We were blown away by the congestion and crowds, especially in comparison to sparse and quiet Cuttyhunk. Huge ferries begin arriving in the harbor about 6 AM and don’t end until well after dark. Most of these are car ferries in Vineyard Haven which accounts for the enhanced big world hectic feel of the place. Watching the cars and trucks load and unload can be entertainment in itself. In the Lagoon, we were sheltered from the ferry traffic but to venture into town, we had a longish dinghy ride through the harbor – hopefully timing our arrival to avoid any ferry arrival or departure.  Most of these guys are BIG.

Vineyard Haven is almost the middle of the Island so it was easy to catch buses to visit nearby villages not on the water.  The Farmer’s Market in Tisbury was one stop that attracted us and it did not disappoint. We found local cheeses and veggies plus bake goods and a picnic lunch. A quick run through Alley’s General store proved it really was an old-time general store complete with every olive oil known to man and a post office and everything in between. 

We continued on to the western end of the island to visit the Gay Head Lighthouse.  One story we were told is that the name Gay Head was given to the cliffs there because of their cheerful colors. Unfortunately, some of the colorful sands have eroded leaving them with a slightly less “gay” appearance.  However, the view from the lighthouse is still impressive – even more so since the entire structure had to be moved away from those eroding cliffs in 2015. The town of Aquinnah,  at the Gay Head Light, is controlled by the Wampanoag tribe of Indians who besides the concessions and shops also staff an interesting museum in the old Vanderhoop farm house. Among the things our guide taught us was that this tribe is the source of “wampum”. I previously thought wampum was a generic term for Native American trading goods; however, here I learned it is specifically beads or jewelry made from the Quahog shell.  Precious modern pieces were offered in the shops and antique ones on view in the museum. Sadly, no wampum made it back to our boat. It was impressive that descendants of this tribe still live and thrive on their native island.

exploring original foundation

lunch at the Black Dog Tavern

In Vineyard Haven we also learned who Martha was.  Apparently, she was the daughter of the same Mr. Gosnold whose name we first heard on Cuttyhunk. He named the island after his daughter and the grapes that grew there…..at least that was the story we were told.

Oh yes, before we left Vineyard Haven we headed to the dock one last time for a quick breakfast and had the good fortune to encounter two very special people – Michael and Denise from Nobski Light.  These are the fine folks who royally entertained us in Fairhaven MA last year on our way south and kept us safe through tropical storm Hermine. They also encouraged our re-addiction to jigsaw puzzles.  We shared breakfast and passed along a couple puzzles that we were taking to the local thrift store – (they had sustained us through a recent stormy day when we were stuck on the boat keeping dry.) It was wonderful to see them and hand those XXXX puzzles off to folks who are also puzzlers.