martha's vineyard 1

 The Excellent Wife (TEW) and I are just back from a week in Martha's Vineyard with a selection of FreeWheelers and spouses. I'm fairly sure these posts are going to run long, so I'm going to try to post them all at once so they read in the proper order, but I make no guarantees...

We arrived on Saturday June 12, and part of our number took a house on Samoset.

Pat VH hung the quilt on the porch; it was most helpful in finding the house for the first few days before I got my bearings!

This house was down the street. I remembered it from a previous trip, nine years ago. There's a Latin and a Greek motto on the house, but the owner apparently has a sense of humor: the Latin says, "Fancy Latin Saying". My Greek is pretty doggy, but I think the Greek motto is, "If you learn Greek, you learn this". (He's also got enough money to keep the house in excellent shape.)

Oak Bluffs was celebrating Gay Pride Month.

Those people were having FAR too much fun.

We all went out to dinner at a local place that night.

The next day, Sunday, rained early...

... and later, I led a ride to Menemsha, a less-resorty town.

Monday, Ira got bagels. Note: bagels in Martha's Vineyard are bagels for Protestants. It's not that they're bad... it's just that they're a different experience from bagels in the NY Metro area. 

Uhhh... there are a lot left over.

I've been trying to persuade TEW that bikes in the living room will make us feel like we're always on vacation. So far, she's not convinced, but I'll keep trying.

We took a ride to Edgartown, parts of which are far more upscale than our digs in Oak Bluffs*. Jaclyn P had heard that we were in town, and rode out to join us. Later, she and her husband joined us for dinner.

*Oak Bluffs had an inn where African-Americans could come and be safe and relaxed, starting at the end of the 19th Century. The beach around Oak Bluffs was derisively known as "Inkwell Beach", and many white visitors avoided it, preferring the southern and western areas of the island. There are still many African-American visitors at Oak Bluffs, and "Inkwell Beach" towels, sweatshirts, and the like are now sold and worn. I love it that the locals have taken this term of derision and made it their pride.

See the "earlier posts" below for the next post about the trip.