We have been busy

It has been a couple of weeks and we have been really busy on this leg of our trip.  It is evident now that we did not allow enough time at some of our stops here.  When I left you last we were in Connecticut our first week.  We stayed for one additional week taking us to just after Memorial Day.  Activities during that last week included visiting Hartford, CT where we toured Mark Twain’s home.  This was where he was living when he wrote Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Another trip was to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts.  This is a living history museum.  It is a recreated village from the 1830’s with people recreating the lifestyle and tasks at the various buildings.  It was a beautiful day and a great stroll through this town.

After Memorial Day we left for Cape Cod arriving in Eastham, Massachusetts.  This is down the cape, as they say.  Since arriving we spent the first full day hanging around the trailer as it was cold and rainy, but then the storm passed and it has been sunny and very hot.  First stop was a trip to Nantucket.  This required a drive, 28 miles, to the ferry terminal and then a ride on the high speed ferry, 1 hour, over to the island.  Round trip for two adults and two bikes was $128.00!!  We had been told that it was best to bike around on Nantucket as it is a small island and really only has the one town.  The issue we found is that at times you have to ride on the roads which can be treacherous and it was a little hilly.  Riding in the downtown area is almost prohibitive because of the cobblestone streets and the requirement you must walk you bikes on all one way streets, which most are.  The island was nice and the town of Nantucket was quaint and fun to walk around but it was not what neither of us expected.

View of homes from the bike trail.  All homes have to be built with shingled siding and roofs, so all are grey and white.

A view of one of the streets in the town.

A close up view of the cobblestone.  These are boulders!

On Friday we drove 50 miles to the ferry terminal in Woods Hole to take the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.  This is a 45 minute ride on a slower ferry but only costs $16 round trip.  We did not take our bikes as this island is much larger with 6 towns so we decided a tour bus would be the better option. 

We arrived in Oak Bluffs (one of the towns), which is one of the tourist hot spots on the island.  This has a nice wharf with restaurants and bars, the famous gingerbread cottages in Camp City and the circle of homes around Ocean Park.

Here are some of the gingerbread cottages in Camp City.  This was originally a tent city for a religious group that became these small ornate cottages. 

Hopefully you can make this out but this is the circle of homes that have Ocean Park in front of them.  They all face the ocean.  The prominent home in the circle is owned by Peter Norton (Norton Anti-Virus creator).

One of the most beautiful stops on the bus tour was the town of Aquinnah which is on a cliff with a great view.

The Cliffs of Aquinnah

As Jaws was filmed on this island the tour guide pointed out all the places that were used in the filming.  The town of Edgartown was the setting for the town of Amity. We did not get to spend much time in Edgartown but we both agreed that if we come back this is one town we want to see more of.  We also did not get to spend any time in the other tourist area, Vineyard Haven. 

After the 3 hour tour, lunch and walking around Oak Bluffs there was no time left to go back to any of the spots we saw on the tour as we needed to catch the last ferry out of Oak Bluffs.  We definitely needed more time to enjoy this island.

Before we leave here we still plan on seeing the Cape Cod National Seashore, Provincetown, Plymouth Rock and possibly a whale watching boat tour.  On Tuesday we leave to Littleton, MA (just outside Boston).