We arrived on the island and immediately had the same feeling we get when we visit the Isle of Wight in the UK: you feel like you're still in the US but also not. It's that island feeling that makes everything seem more relaxed and holiday like.
The ferry arrived in the town of Oak Bluffs and we were staying in a huge pink gingerbread style B&B called the Oak Bluffs Inn. We arrived at the B&B to homemade lemonade, freshly baked cookies, port and sherry, snacks and tea and coffee. It really was a home away from home. The owners of the B&B were amazing hosts, checking we had plans to get the most out of our visit, recommending sites to see and guiding us to the best bars and restaurants in town. We even bumped into Eric whilst listening to live music in The Ritz who introduced us to a couple locals, one of whom was named Jerry and Lee immediately thought it was Jerry Springer. After a few probing questions trying to not be too obviously but eventually failing and having to admit our theory, we found out he was just Jerry from Martha's and not the Springer. MV is the holiday destination for the rich and famous, so hopefully we didn't look too odd in our questioning.
We woke up, had breakfast and headed out for the day on a tour of the island. There was so much to do and see, it was a shame that we only had a day to do it all in. MV is going onto our list of places to revisit, maybe for a week rather than a couple of nights, we felt like our time there only just scratched the surface of what there was to see and do.
What surprised us most about Martha's Vineyard was the variety. We were visiting stunning beaches, cliff walks and lighthouses, quaint fishing villages, up market towns with mansion houses and high end shops, farms and little dirt roads going through the countryside, art displays (one of them around the theme of boobies), historic houses and shops and nature reserves protecting vast numbers of birds and other animals.
Martha's Vineyard was the fictitious ‘Amity Island’ in the film Jaws, a swanky island holiday retreat off the coast of Massachusetts, much like the real-life island really. As we made our way around the island, we tried to tick off as many of the filming locations as we could including the Amity Island Town Center in Edgartown, the pond and bridge just outside Edgartown where the shark takes another victim and Quints workshed in Chilmark. Thankfully we didn't see any sharks but we did hear stories about shark attacks throughout our time in Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard where only a few months ago a swimmer was killed.
After a full day, we finished the day cuddling llamas before heading back to the B&B for a quick change. Lee and I have never seen a skunk before, in the wild or in a zoo but on our way back to the B&B we saw our first one ever!! We then saw a second skunk whilst we were walking into town, Lee decided to try to coo it like a cat until the skunk turned bum in the air in Lee's direction and started to lift his tail. My shouting seemed to work and Lee quickly backed off before any unpleasant liquid was released.
The B&B was a five minute walk to the town and the harbor. There was plenty to do in the evening to keep us busy, including a variety of different bars, some located on the harbor to watch the sunset, some chilled out for chatting, others with live music, arcade games and even a DJ. There were lots of different restaurants to choose from too, there was almost too much choice and we struggled to decide on where to eat eventually deciding on the Offshore Ale Company where we had a drink the night before and drooled over the food coming out of the kitchen to tables around us.
Lee and I have a bit of a reputation as hustlers on the pool table, especially when it comes to American pool where the pockets are twice as big as the ones we have in the UK. We found a pool bar in Oak Bluffs, were approach by a couple of unsuspecting American guys who we proceeded to spank at pool. They left the table with a reluctant hand shake, thankful it was just pride they had lost and headed back to their mates on the dance floor. We didn't get approached by anyone else, so after a game of shuffle board (Lee won) and a couple of games of pinball (I was back on form at last), we headed off for a sherry on the porch at the B&B before bed.
Our ferry back to the mainland was booked at 10am so we had enough time in the morning to check out the Gingerbread houses in Oak Bluffs which were located a short walk from our B&B. The houses are at the location of an old Methodist camp, and used to be campsites where attendees would put up their tents whilst they attended meetings. The tents became small houses in the 1800s for people who stayed all year-round. There are now 300 of these houses, all built in a gingerbread house style and located in a small tight knit community where you can still see the campsite roots.
We headed back to the B&B for one last goodbye and Eric took us to the top of the tower to check out the view.
We really enjoyed our time in Martha's Vineyard and can't wait to come back!
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