Martha’s Vineyard

Just a ferry ride away, I took a day trip to Martha’s Vineyard. A short walk to the Steamship parking lot in Falmouth and then a shuttle bus to Wood’s Hole brought me to the port. Forty-five minutes later, on the good ship Nantucket (named for the other popular island off Cape Cod), across Vineyard Sound, I was in Oak Bluffs, the picturesque town where the ferry lands. The town and beach front Nantucket Sound to the east.   Sister ship   Nobska lighthouse, Falmouth                                 Martha herself is a bit of a mystery. The original inhabitants, the Wampanoag tribe, descendants of which still live there, called the island Noepe, “land between the streams.” It’s believed to have been renamed by British explorer Bartholomew Gosnold for his daughter or mother-in-law. Inhabitants call it the Vineyard.   The original Methodist settlement was a camp in tents surrounding a meeting building. The Meeting Hall is in the center of the preserved Camp Ground. Over three hundred Victorian houses surround the park. Most were built in the 1880s and 90s, similar to the time frame of the development of my little mountain town in Colorado. We do have many Victorian homes, but not as ornate and colorful as these. Wandering the green space and old buildings felt like a walk into the past.   Camp Ground   Meeting hall               The Flying Horses carousel is reputedly the oldest platform carousel in the United States. It was moved to Oak Bluffs from Coney Island in 1884. The twenty two carved wooden horses, with real horse hair manes and tails, seem almost lifelike.           Around town           The bandstand (not called a gazebo!)                                             And of course, a walk along the beach                   A Frayed Knot       Cape Cod July 2023:Falmouth bike path to beach, Martha’s Vineyard, Hydrangea festival   An earlier Cape Cod trip (Fall 2021):Yarmouth and Hyannis, Chatham, National Seashore, Provincetown, Yarmouth, Chapin sunset, Cape Cod Canal, Sandwich, Nor’easter, Falmouth, Woods Hole   Please do not download or reproduce images from this site. ©   Your comments are welcome!   Popular posts/stats/categories   Email me at: Ruth@RuthRosenfeld.com   Follow me on: Facebook Instagram Twitter Blog