Friday, October 13

Martha's Vineyard, Day 3 - Sunday, October 8

Good evening! As promised, last Sunday's adventures.

Sunday dawned cloudy and drizzly. Started the day with brunch at a restaurant a short distance from our rooms. Their website made it sound great - brunch until 1:30, Bloody Mary bar. In reality, for me, it was overpriced and did not live up to expectations. The OJ, however, was freshly squeezed and came in a gernerously-sized Mason jar :)

I (wrongly) assumed "Bloody Mary bar" meant you got to pick out the condiments of your choice. I did end up with a very good Bloody Mary (top-shelf vodka). Slim pickings on the food - not exactly what one would expect for brunch. Definitely not as advertised.

After Saturday's adventure to Aquinnah, Brother & I decided a visit to the Island Alpaca Company was a good plan for Sunday. They are in Vineyard Haven, not far from where we stayed.

What a day I had there!! The alpacas are SOOOOOOO darn cute! So friendly and gentle! Today's post will be mostly pix of them, which I will scatter throughout the post.

Alpacas

I loved this one!

Alpacas are adorable! Huge brown eyes, so soft. I took over 30 pictures that day. Some here, some at the bottom. They eat constantly (and have very large teeth).

They had two babies on the farm in a separate pen with their mothers. They were out of this world adorable! Alpacas are pregnant for 12 months, then give birth to a 22 pound baby! Wow. Alpacas are not large animals. They are about 120-190 pounds.

Baby - about 12 wks.

Baby - 8 wks.

Like llamas, they do spit (although not as much). If they feel threatened, or their babies are, or if you touch their faces. Alpacas do not like their faces touched, nor do they like loud noises or voices.

The farm had the requisite gift shop and a very hovering sales lady. The shop was small, and the lady kept bouncing around in my way and I got a bit claustrophobic.

So I wandered back to the barn pens. It began to rain a bit more steadily by that time, and all the alpacas all headed inside! It was as if it were choreographed!

Heading inside

Yup, nice & dry in here

I fell so in love with the alpacas :). Do not tell my kitties! According to their literature, you too could own one for about $1,000!

 Not quite full grown

 Heading inside

We left shortly afterwards (both Brother and I were seriously sneezing by that time).






Headed back into Oak Bluffs to ride the Flying Horses Carousel! It is tradition now!

It was really rainy and the wind had picked up by mid-afternoon, and both of us wanted libation. A lot of the places in downtown Oak Bluffs were packed by then, so we headed back to the Dockside area. Found a seat at Coop de Ville (again). Good choice! We wet our whistles, and Brother had a bowl of mussels (another of his favorites).

Mussels

Headed back to the hotel, hot shower and dry clothes from the day"s wind and rain.

Both Brother and I were starved by then, so he called a taxi (there are tons on the Island), and headed to Red Cat Kitchen for dinner. Awesome meal! I had pulled pork BBQ which was outstanding. Unusual for me; I am not normally a pork person. This sounded great though, and sure fit the bill after the day's chill! I could not tell you what Brother had as I was so busy eating :) Really cool place. Wish I had more pix besides the exterior of the restaurant. Next year!

Red Cat Kitchen

We spent two more days on the Vineyard, but I will not be posting until Sunday. Grocery shopping etc. occurs tomorrow. Otherwise my kitties and I will not get to eat next week (that would not be a good thing).

I will leave you with more pix of the absolutely adorable alpacas!

No caption needed!

Friday, October 13

Martha's Vineyard, Day 2 Part 2 - Saturday, October 7

Dinner

Good afternoon, intrepid followers! As promised, I am posting about Saturday night's dinner at Martha's Vineyard Chowder Company. It is worthy of its own post. (And I want to keep the timeline correct; my OCD-ishness showing :) .)

As mentioned yesterday, Brother made reservations ahead of time and also reserved a taxi (unbeknownst to me until we were well into the drive down to the Cape)! I introduced him to the restaurant last year as his favorite food is - clam chowder. The Chowder Company has won awards year after year for their clam chowder, and last year he was in seventh heaven after having a bowl.

Martha's Vineyard Chowder Company

Does it need explanation? :)

We arrived a bit before the reservation, and sat in the bar area. I decided I wanted wine that evening, and our outstanding bartender, Alex, did not steer me wrong with his recommendation of an Argentinian Malbec. Smooth as silk!

We were seated shortly after, and I was very happy to be next to the fireplace! The days are beautiful and warm, but October's nights have a bit of a chill.

Fireplace

Brother started his meal with - of course! - the clam chowder. I swear it was almost thick enough to stand a spoon! I do not care for clam chowder, but he raved about it all year after our 2016 visit (and all weekend this year!). He worked in food service most of his life in a managerial position, has picky taste in food when dining out, so that says a lot.

I did not order an appetizer; I knew the dinner portion would be large from last year's experience. I had my heart set on scallops that night. They did not disappoint! Four large scallops, cooked to absolute perfection, with a few large shrimp served on top of mashed potatoes and wilted spinach. I could not resist taking a picture!

So wonderful!

It is so easy to overcook scallops - even 30 seconds renders them a bit rubbery. These had a wonderful bit of sear on the outside. Absolutely. Perfect.!! Brother ordered a filet mignon, which was also excellent. He shared and gave me a slice - I did not even need a steak knife to cut it; that is how tender it was.

Our wonderful waitress, Marina, was very attentive all evening. Here are a few pictures of our bartender and waitress with my brother.

Alex and Brother

Marina and Brother

I believe we closed the place down - we were the last customers to leave. The owner, John, even came out and he and Brother spoke for awhile. Here is a pretty good picture of the 2 of them, considering I had polished off about half the bottle of wine by that time!

UNfortunately - I neglected to ask John that evening if it was OK for me to use his picture on my blog. I was finally able to get in touch with him today to ask, and wouldn't ya know - he remembered us! He said it was OK. (I will not put someone's photo on my blog without their permission, and especially the owner of such a highly rated restaurant!) Brother, when you get around to reading this, he said to thank you again for buying him the cup of coffee :)

John and Brother

I will post one more blog this afternoon with Sunday's adventures. You get a "two-fer" today!

Thursday, October 12

Martha's Vineyard, Day 2 - Saturday, October 7

Good evening, my friends. Another treat today; I have a TON of pictures to share from Saturday's trip! A lighthouse was involved (did the happy dance!) :). A very long post - well, it was a full day :)

Saturday dawned bright, clear and warm! Yay! We headed out early-ish toward the day's destination: Aquinnah. Early-ish on the Island is around 9:30; for some reason time moves slower there. People do not get up quite as early, and places do not open as early as they do on the Mainland. Because of the slow speed limits on the Island, it was about a half-hour drive to Aquinnah, which is on the western coast.

We took our time on the drive and did some sightseeing; it is so beautiful there. In all the years I have been going to the Vineyard, I have only been to Aquinnah twice. First time was rather rushed, and the second time my friend Jana and I spent some time. Back at that time one was able to walk out farther on the cliffs than is allowed today.

Lots of walking Saturday! Up a small bluff - there were the clay cliffs! Absolutely gorgeous. Here are a few pix. I took so many pix that day! I will put a few here, and a few more at the end of the post.

Aquinnah cliffs

Aquinnah cliffs

Aquinnah cliffs

Barriers (and signs) prevent people from being able to walk out onto the cliffs now. They are well protected, with stern signs & some hefty fines for even removing a bit of clay. They are a designated National Historic Landmark.

From the website:  THE AQUINNAH CLIFFS are composed of one hundred and fifty feet of sediment from six glaciers - including red and white clays, green sands, white quartz, black organic soil, and lignite. They tell the story of the past hundred million years one colorful layer at a time. The streaks of red in the Cliff are from the blood of whales that Moshup would drag onto the Cliffs to cook. The discarded remains from his table are now fossilized deep in the clay. To the Wampanoag, the Aquinnah Cliffs are a sacred spot for the very reason that Moshup chose this special place as his home - they are a watchful place of great bounties.

The legend of Moshup is quite something; if interested Google it or I can provide you with the website.

Aquinnah is a Native American center of the Wampanoag culture steeped in the traditions of the Wampanoag Tribe (part of the Algonquin Tribe). They are one of two federally recognized tribes of Wampanoag in Massachusetts. It is also one of the earliest sites of whaling in America.

The Wampanoag hunted whales from small boats, using harpoons, long before the 19th-century industry of whaling became the major maritime industry of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and New Bedford. Since 1987 the Wampanoags control the sovereign Tribal lands within the town of Aquinnah's boundaries.

Your history and science lessons for the day!

Here are some pix of the ocean - it was such a gorgeous day! As you can see :)

Aquinnah ocean cliffs

Aquinnah ocean cliffs

Aquinnah ocean cliffs

There is a small marketplace of shops in a semi-circle on the side of the cliffs. They are all Native American owned and operated. Did a bit of shopping and browsing, of course! Brother and I were both a bit hungry, so we got hot dogs and cold ice tea and ate outside at a picnic table. It was just an ordinary hot dog, but for some reason it tasted really good that afternoon!

Headed down the road a bit to see - of course! - the Aquinnah lighthouse. It was a bit of a hike up a steep-ish hill to the lighthouse. So well worth it however!


From 1956 to 1985, the light was sparingly maintained by the United States Coast Guard due to funding cuts. It is the oldest lighthouse on the Vineyard. Its first-order Fresnel lens was replaced by a high-intensity electric beacon in 1956. In 2015 it was moved 135 feet back from the ever-ravaging Atlantic Ocean. The Aquinnah lighthouse remains fully operational to this day.

Another mini-history lesson! I could go on & on, but information is available online, and I realize not everyone is as fascinated with lighthouses as I :)

Here are some pix of the lighthouse. Of course I went overboard with the pix and will post a few more at the bottom.

Aquinnah lighthouse

Aquinnah lighthouse

Aquinnah lighthouse

There was also a plaque at the top of the hill near the lighthouse commemorating it as a National Landmark, of which I got a pretty good picture.

Plaque

Aquinnah was originally called Gay Head until 1997. It was named after the colors on the cliffs. The Wampanoags voted to change the town's name back officially in 1997; Aquinnah means "land under the hill".

Thoroughly satisfied with the day, we headed back to Oak Bluffs. On the drive back, there was a cemetary. On the drive out we passed it, & my Brother said it came up on a website as a "Must See". I would have been leery, but saw a tour bus pulling out of said cemetary. So we decided to check it out.

I cannot remember what the name of it was, but here are a few pix.

Cemetary

Cemetary

Neither of us could figure out what made it a "Must See", but it was pretty and well kept.

Brother had made dinner reservations at Martha's Vineyard Chowder Co. and arranged for a taxi that evening. Back at the hotel I had a nice long hot shower. We had cocktails on the back porch before heading out. The meal is a story in itself, so I will put that in another blog.

It was such an awesome day!! Weather could not have been better had one been able to order it :) I leave you with some more of the ocean and lighthouse pix I took that day. Stay tuned for Sunday's adventure!

By the way - just so you know - yes, I do have a digital camera. No, I do not mess with the colors or run them through a "fixer". Crop, yeah. But the pix you see in my blog are how it really was that day. I could, I suppose (make the colors different), but I do not believe in that. My artist's soul will not allow it :)

Ocean at Aquinnah

Ocean at Aquinnah

Ocean at Aquinnah

Aquinnah cliffs

Aquinnah cliffs

Lighthouse

Aquinnah, random

And what a beautiful day it was!!!

Wednesday, October 11

Martha's Vineyard, Day 1 - Friday October 6

Left at the crack of dawn, literally! (I have always wanted to say that and now I can.) I packed most stuff the day before & had it ready to go Thursday night. Brother wanted to pack the car as much as he could the night before (he drove this year). Speed limits on the Island top out around 30 MPH, and he was not enamored of taking my 'Stang with her manual shift again. I do not blame him.

Left at 6:30 AM to catch the 9:30 AM ferry. Celebrated with a VERY early beer on the crossing. It was a beautiful day, and it was vacation! Here is a blurry picture driving across the Bourne Bridge.

Bourne Bridge

Arrived in Oak Bluffs around 10:30, and drove around a bit. Headed toward a small harbor area on the outskirts of town and wandered about. Here are a few random pix of the area. It is called Dockside - for obvious reasons.

Dockside

Dockside

My brother has an amazing way of schmoozing people. We found a cool little bar that was not open yet, but he talked them into serving us a beer :) It was called the Coop de Ville. Perfect!

I also had a great view of some fishermen returning with thier catch. It was an absolutely gorgeous day!

Incoming fishermen

Fishermen

Headed into downtown Oak Bluffs for lunch at the Offshore Ale Company. I had crab cakes, and they were to die for!!! Wish I had a pic to share. Wow! It was fresh crab, caught that morning, with a very light coating. I had a  very refreshing salad instead of fries.

Offshore Ale Company

Offshore Ale Company

Offshore Ale Company

Wow (again!). Offshore Ale Company was absolutely awesome. We got the early lunch, and an excellent waiter (Ian). It was a brewery company, as you can see, but quite small.


The interior was pretty cool with hand-hewed canoes and a few longboats for decor.

Brother and I opted not to do the brewery tour. The brewery was rather small, and both of us wanted to move on. The meal and our server were outstanding!!

Offshore Ale Company brewery

Headed into downtown and did a bit of shopping :) (Well, actually a lot!) Here are a few random pix of Oak Bluffs.

Oak Bluffs

Oak Bluffs

Oak Bluffs

Checked into our rooms, got settled, and met on the back porch a bit later. Discussed Saturday's trip, which was Aquinnah (opposite end of the Island). Tomorrow, my followers, you will get the details of that trip and the pictures.


It was a full moon that night, and it was right there. It is hard to get good pictures of the moon. I did manage to get a few sorta OK pix and will leave you with that tonight. Stay tuned. Much more to follow!

Full moon

Full moon

Full moon