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Mytoi Gardens ~ Chappaquiddick
These beautiful stone sculptures were done by a Native American from Aquinnah, whose name unfortunately I’ve forgotten. I asked him how he knows what to sculpt and he told me that he has to get to know the stone first… let it speak to him and tell him what it is meant to be… and only then does he begin the process of letting the spirit emerge from the stone.
This particular stone is double-ended.
The face of a Native American.
The spirit of an eagle.
I particularly like this one. I like the way the face looks peaceful and wise.
Something I find interesting about these sculptures is that when you’re holding them they’re both cool and warm. Perhaps it’s the spirit from within.
This is the house I spent all my summers in with my parents and godparents when I was growing up. I’m very nostalgic and during every trip I take to MV I pass by this house and smile. I was writing in my journal one evening after driving by the house and these words spilled from my pen onto the paper.
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The House
The old house saw her walking down the road, the woman was grown up now but the house remembered her as a child. The woman wasn’t alone.. there was a man and a young girl with her, they were her family. As they neared the house the woman pointed at it and you could see glimpses of memories in her eyes. She knew this house well.. many happy hours of her childhood were spent here. Suddenly they were gone, so fleeting a moment after so many, many years. The house knew she did not look the same as she had all those years ago… her paint was faded and peeling and her rooms seemed small and dingy…it felt old and neglected.
A few years later a car slowly approached … could it be… yes, inside was the woman but she was alone this time. The car stopped and she stared at the house.. a smile appeared on her face… she was remembering the people who once lived there and for an instant they were there again. Then the woman was gone… the old house sighed.
Years passed and from time to time out of nowhere the woman would appear and stop in front of the house if only for an instant. It seemed as if something was left unfinished. The house stood there waiting year after year.
Then one day a car drove slowly past… it returned minutes later and stopped. The door opened and the woman got out… she approached the house with great anticipation. She was pleased to see that the house was freshly painted, it made her happy. She engaged in conversation with a woman on the porch and then suddenly she was entering the house after more then 50 years… it was quite a moment. The house wondered what the woman would think of her… time does take its toll and she was afraid she would not be as the woman remembered her!
The woman thought to herself “the rooms seem so much smaller.. or is it that I’m bigger. Many things have changed but I am seeing what was here not what is here now.” Once or twice however something did seem the same… a faint aroma… the slant of the bathroom ceiling… the curve of the staircase… the white iron beds… the secret room beneath the stairs… a creak.
It was but a moment in time, the reunion of the woman and the house but somehow their bond would never be broken and neither would forget the other.
The whaling industry was in its prime from about 1820 until the Civil War. Edgartown had its own fleet of whaling ships and thus its share of whaling captains.
Dr Daniel Fisher was not a whaling captain, but his home, built in 1840, is one of the loveliest in Edgartown. Besides being a doctor he was a successful and versatile businessman. He supplied whale oil to many US lighthouses, he owned a candle factory on the harbor, a hardtack bakery, a flour mill in N Tisbury, and he founded the Martha’s Vineyard National Bank. The Dr Daniel Fisher house in now owned by the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust.
The Harborside Inn on S Water Street is made up of seven buildings several of which are 19th century whaling captain’s homes.
These homes are also on S Water Street, the Victorian Inn is among them.
N Water Street has an abundance of captain’s homes also. This is one of the prettiest streets in Edgartown.
The Charlotte Inn on S Summer Street is a cluster of five 18th and 19th century homes.
These are but a few of the gorgeous, beautifully restored captain’s homes. When you’re on MV enjoy wandering through the streets of Edgartown and see them for yourself. I particularly like early Sunday mornings for my jaunts.
You can get here from there.
Illumination Night
Upcoming Illumination Night is Wed, Aug 18, 2010. It has always been my favorite event of the summer
Going to Illumination Night is a thrill for me no matter my age.
I think I was 2 and 1/2 the first time I went, I’m embarrassed to say that even with my annoyingly good memory, I don’t remember it. My first memory of Illumination Night involves wearing a particularly pretty dress so I’m thinking I was around three or four.
My dad, mom, god-mother and I would have an early supper and then walk to the Campground. My dad and I would stroll around looking at all the beautifully decorated gingerbread houses while my mother and god-mother would chat with friends and relatives.
At 8 o’clock the Vineyard Haven Band would begin playing and the always fun community sing would start. Patriotic songs like, America The Beautiful, Yankee Doodle, Battle Hymn of the Republic are always stirring and emotional. It took me a couple of years to learn the words to all the songs and I still get messed up on a couple of the rounds like John Brown’s Baby. The band playing the Star Spangled Banner and the rousing Stars and Stripes Forever are always crowd pleasers.
But as much fun as that was it was only a precursor to the main event. The Tabernacle and Campground go dark… the crowd cheers. The lighting of the first lantern and then all the gingerbread houses are simoutaneously aglow with Japanese lanterns. Everyone oohs and ahhs and stream out of the Tabernacle to walk through the magical fairyland the Campground has become. My dad would carry me on his shoulders so I could see everything… I felt like I could touch the stars.
After seeing all there was to see we’d head out onto Circuit Ave to either the Frosty Cottage for ice cream or Darling’s for popcorn. Always a tasty ending to a perfectly enchanting night.
Like I said, no matter your age, Illumination Night is fun for everyone. Just look at these faces from 1998…
Links.
Martha’s Vineyard Campmeeting Association
I missed the King Tut exhibit 30 years ago in NYC and when I learned it was returning this year I swore I would not miss it again.
My companions on this trip back in time were my granddaughter Tiffany and my son-in-law Mike.
The King Tut exhibit is at the Discovery Times Square Exposition located on W 44th St just off Broadway. King Tut will be there until around Feb 2, 2011. It’s mind boggling to me how well preserved some of the artifacts like jewelry, weapons, and games are. Just added to the exhibit is King Tut’s chariot, the one that possibly caused his death. So if you’re at all interested in learning more about the boy king I urge you to see this exhibit before goes back to Egypt forever.
Links you might be interested in.
Oh, and by the way, King Tut wasn’t the only king I saw in NYC.
