We wake to a fair day in Newport. We have a fine breakfast in the basement kitchen and hit the road about 10:00 AM for the short drive to Falmouth, MA. We are headed for Martha's Vineyard, but we will be leaving the X3 behind in the Palmer Avenue Parking Lot 4 miles from the Terminal. The drive is easy and the timing is great as we get the shuttle bus right away after parking and enjoy the short ride to the terminal building. Timing continues to favor us as the schedule has been thrown off and the ferry will be leaving an hour earlier than the web site indicated (or is it the earlier ferry delayed by an hour and a half?). We wait a few minutes, then board and sit down to enjoy the calm, quiet ride.
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| Approaching Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard |
We debark 45 minutes later in Oak Bluffs, MA. From the ferry, we walk two blocks to The Dockside Inn. We get recommendations for Lunch and Dinner from the attendant and a few moments later we are seated at The Lookout. We are outside and it is a bit windy, but we are on the sheltered side of the building, so it's not a problem. In New England in May, it seems, one must not be too bothered by breezes. The Lookout claims the title for Best Lobster Roll on Martha's Vineyard. Yelp agrees. We both order the Sauteed Roll (it's warm). We both relish the ample sandwich.
Sated again, we head out for a walk to the west of town. We walk past Summercamp, a beautiful 3-star hotel featuring lots of activities. We turn south; there are interesting cottages everywhere. Each seems unique with special attention paid to the ornamentation on windows, over the doors and on rooftop edges particularly around gables.
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| Colorful MV Cottage |
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| The Pink Cottage |
We return to the wharf area and check out the bars and restaurants across the street. We then return to our room to enjoy some more down time.
After some quiet time (aka, nap), we walk the two short blocks to the Martha's Vineyard Chowder Company. We both order the Island Time cocktail. Amy has a bowl of the chowder and the Arugula Salad. Wayne has a cup of the chowder and the Tuna Tartare. The chowder is different, not as creamy and more pepper than we are used to. The rest of the meal is terrific. We return to our room. We are now certifiably on island time and really relaxed. A good day!
After an interesting continental breakfast in the sun room downstairs, we head out for the bus. This morning's destination is the west end of the island and the Aquinnah Overlook. After some puzzlement over the purchase of tickets, we obtain some change so we can buy an all-day ticket on the bus. (Amy bought her day-pass online last night.) We walk to the bus stop next to the ferry terminal, board the bus when it comes and enjoy the ride to Vineyard Haven. Here we have to exit the bus, as this one immediately goes back to Oak Bluffs. A few minutes later, the bus to West Tisbury arrives and we board. After about 1/2 hour, the bus arrives in the little town and many passengers from Edgartown join us. The bus is now full with about 8 or 10 people standing.
This being early season, and staffing being what it is in this time of Covid, we have to choose when we get to the overlook: 1) we can take all the time we want, but then we will have to wait 2 hours for the next bus back to West Tisbury, or, 2) we can limit our visit to 8 min. and get back on this bus to return east. We opt for the latter and enjoy the nice, if brief, time at the overlook.
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| View from Aquinnah Overlook |
The return trip is very pleasant as many of the passengers chose the first option. There are plenty of seats, even after we pick up a few more riders at West Tisbury. When we return to Vineyard Haven, it's lunchtime, so we visit the famous Black Dog Tavern, on the waterfront.
We share the Mezza Plate, a Goat Cheese Salad and the Mussels. Delicious. The story of the Black Dog is that it started out as the Tavern in 1971. Early on it became well known for its merchandise featuring its logo of the eponymous black dog. The clothing merchandise was so popular that they spun off "The Black Dog" clothing line. Today, the shops and the merchandise are unavoidable throughout New England.
After lunch, we go back to the Vineyard Haven bus station, await the 13 bus back to Oak Bluffs, and in 15 minutes are back at The Dockside. After a short rest, we decide to walk around the south area of town. There are many interesting buildings.
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| Bandstand in Ocean Park |
We return to our room to change for dinner. We are dining at Atria, perhaps the most renowned restaurant on the island. We hear that famous people visiting MV eat there. It's a 20 minute bus ride south, and our reservation is at 6:15, so we head out about 4:00 to catch the bus and walk around the town. On the way, we pass an eerily familiar-looking lagoon area. Oh yes! The movie Jaws was filmed here (released 1975) and this lagoon was one of the places the shark attacked. In fact, the shore area just east of this bus line is where all the town/panic/action events in the movie happen.
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| The "Jaws" Lagoon |
When we get to Edgertown, we walk through the most upscale village that we have visited in MV. We enjoy a walk to the waterfront and a casual stroll back to Atria. It's time for dinner, so we check in and are seated on the first floor, just off to the left. We have a nice view of the outdoor seating area and the covered event space.
We were told by our innkeeper that we should expect a great meal. We settle in by ordering a Cosmo (Amy) and a Gin & Tonic (Wayne). We order the Braised Ribs starter and decide to share the Scallops and a Mushroom Pizza w/ Goat Cheese and Arugula for the main. The Ribs are particularly tasty, having a sauce made with Plum and Hoisin Sauce. The Scallops and the Pizza are both good, as well. A very tasty meal, but I'm not sure it was as special as the one we had at Cara in Newport.
We are, again, stuffed, so we pass on dessert. We return to the bus stop about 2 blocks away and have an uneventful ride back to The Dockside.
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