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… or, no inn at the room !!!
In 1993 we decided to visit MV in the middle of March. We knew the Island would be quiet in March but didn’t realize just how quiet it would be !!
We chose to stay at the Harborside Inn in Edgartown. The Harborside is a complex of several buildings, in the winter they would keep only one building open. The building we were in is the middle of the three pictured. We were in the middle room of the top floor.
Edgartown in the winter is quiet and solitary… ok, it’s pretty much deserted. A few restaurants were open, one or two B&B’s, a few stores and not much else. Some of the shops still had displays in their darkened windows, an unfair look at their tempting wares.
We checked in and were told that after 5pm no one would be at the desk. That we could make outgoing calls but incoming calls would go to their answering machine and those messages would be delivered in the morning. Remember, this was before cell phones…the dark ages, pre-personal electronic communications devices. And we were also warned that if we lost our room keys we’d literally be out in the cold.
Settled in for our first night of quiet and solitude. It eventually occurred to me that there was just a little too much quiet. There were no other human noises in the building, no lights on but ours… there was only the creaking of the floors and the eerie screams of the wind against the windows. Were we the only ones at the inn, the only ones in the entire complex? Yes we were, and suddenly the quiet was deafening and the solitude was ominous. Daylight couldn’t come soon enough.
The first full day on MV I enjoyed exploring the beauty of the Island in winter with my camera. After dinner we headed back to the inn for the night.
The weather forecast was for a winter storm with wind gusts over 60mph.
I hoped that the power wouldn’t go out. .
And then I heard voices… muffled at first and then clearer. A creak. A door being closed. Water running. A laugh. Could it be, were there other people in the building ! I felt relief. That night despite the howling winds I slept well knowing that we were not alone. I almost felt a bond to these other guests. But in the morning there was no sign of them… no noises from their room next to ours, no creaks or voices, no nothing. Did I dream them, were they real or perhaps visitors from across time and space that previously inhabited this former whaling captain’s home ! The mind runs wild sometimes on a blustery and stormy winter night especially on an Island with a history of hauntings… especially to a person with a vivid imagination.
(All photos are from 1993).
- by Joan -
I had spent the morning walking along South Beach/Katama with my daughter, drawing in the sand and enjoying the solitude of the beach in May. The waves are higher and more intense on the southern side of the Vineyard…but this day the surf was quiet. We were enjoying the peacefulness when out of the corner of my eye I spotted something lying in the sand. As I approached I saw that it was a large stick, at least that was my first thought. Upon closer inspection I discovered that it was more like a walking stick… it was pretty solid and just the right height for one.
The top was rounded and well worn, the stick itself was dappled with knots. I wondered where it had come from ? Was it originally someone’s Christmas tree that had been brought to the beach to be recycled. Was it then discovered by a beachcomber and fashioned into a walking stick… if so then why was it lying alone in the sand. Had its owner washed out to sea, been abducted by aliens or perhaps the walking stick had magically walked away to seek adventures on its own.
Then again perhaps it had been fashioned for a pirate years ago and had just washed up on the sand after floating aimlessly in the ocean for a century or more. What tales could it tell of galleons filled with gold and jewels… of mutinies on the high seas… of long voyages to foreign shores.
I wonder what its story is, but alas inanimate objects are stubborn in giving up that information.
Below are my favorite posts from each month.
Click on posts to read them.
January - Mom’s and Mine
February - Forks and Friendship
March - Top of New Jersey
April - Vineyard Fences and Walls
May - The House
June - Horses Through The Window
July - It’s Chappy
August - Flying Horses
September - Martha’s Vineyard Map
October - Vineyard, Oct 2012
November - Giving Thanks
December - My Girls and My Grands
In 2008 I went to my first, and only, solstice party.
It was at a friends in NY and as you can see it was a lovely day…. not.
Her house was in the woods, the cold and snowy setting seemed appropriate for the first day of winter
Some our little band of happy revelers trudged out to the bonfire…
including my daughter Deb and her dog Chappy.
Everyone had a great time.
Happy solstice 2012.
Tiffany and Tyler 1989 ~ 1998
Tiffany and Tyler 2012
When I think of getting ready for Christmas there are a few favorite and special things that come to mind.
First thing out is our ‘family’ Santa. CLICK HERE to find out why he reminds me so much of my dad !!
Christmas music is always a good way to get into the spirit and one of my favorite CD’s was put together just for me two years ago by my daughter Deb. CLICK HEREto find out more about this special collection.
Memories of my one and only childhood Christmas spent on the Vineyard with my godparents can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Now it’s off to deck the halls and tra-la-la-la-la.
With Thanksgiving coming up I want to thank my mother (she’s on the right) for bringing Martha’s Vineyard into my life and the lives of my family. Little did she know when she set me down on this beach in Oak Bluffs for the first time what an important and life defining occasion it was. CLICK HERE for more about my mom.
Same beach Oct 2010.
My entire family has been to MV with me at one time or another but never all of us at the same time. That’s okay though as the Vineyard is a different experience depending on who I’m there with. Or if I’m with no one at all… and that’s nice too.
Passing the Vineyard to new generations is a tradition for lots of families and mine is no different. Here at State Beach in Oak Bluffs in the early evening one May is my daughter Deb and her dog Chappy.
My daughter Patty and son-in-law Mike at Aquinnah… actually on a beach in the summer.
In 1996 the next generation appears. My grandchildren Tiffany and Tyler at Edgartown lighthouse during their first trip to the Vineyard. It was the month of May, not swimming weather but good for collecting shells and rocks and seeing the ocean for the first time.
Thank you Mom.
November 10, 1962
With love & friendship always …
Happy 50th anniversary to dear friends Martie & Jerry
Here are a few more pictures from this months Vineyard trip.
The Tabernacle and Trinity Methodist church.
Two bikes waiting for their owners.
Alley’s bulletin board.
Dr Daniel Fisher house.
Morning Glory Farm pictures…
Breakfasts.
I think that’s it for awhile 
Lucky, lucky me, two trips to MV this year, May and October, both beautiful months to be on the Vineyard. Come along and join me, my daughter Deb, her dog Chappy and my granddaughter Tiffany on our adventure.
Welcome to Cape Cod… getting closer to Woods Hole and the ferry by the minute.
Arrived late afternoon on Saturday and mostly walked, browsed, stretched our legs and paws, enjoyed a good meal and then settled in for the night.
Sunday morning was stunning. After breakfast in the garden at Espresso Love we drove out to W Tisbury to the Artisan Fair at the Grange Hall.
We browsed, bought a few trinkets and then headed down the road to the whimsical and delightful Field Gallery. You can’t visit here and not smile.
A moment of relaxation and contemplation before moving on.
The afternoon culminated with a ride on the Flying Horses. You can never be too young or too old to not enjoy a spin and a chance to catch the brass ring.
After breakfast Monday morning at the Black Dog Cafe…
…we headed to pumpkin heaven at Morning Glory Farm.
Part of the afternoon was spent walking through the Campground.
This is the first cottage in the Campground…1864.
Tuesday’s breakfast was at Among The Flowers in Edgartown.
Then a drive Up-Island to the Beetlebung Cafe and to spend the day with a good friend.
The nexy day our time on the Vineyard came too quickly to an end.
Here comes the Martha’s Vineyard to take us back to America.
One final picture.
PS… Chappy waiting patiently as always.
