click
on the camera for photos
EDGARTOWN, MARTHA’S VINEYARD
“Edgah Town Harbah Mastah, Edgah Town Harbah Mastah!”
Yep, we are definitely in Massachusetts ‘cause they definitely are forgetting the “r’s”! We are so excited to be coming to Martha’s Vineyard. In our memories it’s one of our most favorite places. It’s where we learned to boat and yearned for the wonderful summers there during those hard harsh winters in Boston. Having moved from California to Boston for six years, those winters were a real adjustment for me but spending the summers on the boat in Martha’s Vineyard made it all worth while.
As
we approached the channel entrance we could see through the foggy mist two
monster yachts anchored out in Edgartown Harbor, too big to come inside
Katama Bay. We could see the beach to our left lined with beach changing
stations topped with bold blue and white stripped canvas awnings, all ready and
waiting, for the weather to change and the people to arrive.
Our ride today from Falmouth was not a nice one. Very wet, choppy and misty. We had 25 knot winds and water splashing over the pilot house window. Not what we had expected. We topped off the tanks at Mc Dougalls in Falmouth before we left. That was the yard where we used to winter our first boat and headed straight over.
We hailed Edgartown Harbor
Master and got our mooring assignment, “yellow 86, all the way to the
end”. Seems like every time we came here we’d get assigned a mooring way
inside the Bay, the farthest possible location from the town. We never minded
though because it was quiet and picturesque. Sometimes we’d be right across
from Walter Cronkite’s house and dock. His sailboat was always at the dock and
some days we could see them sitting on their lawn chairs. Today we were even
farther out but it still a good spot to take Ziggy in to shore for his daily
constitution. We were near my favorite house near the entrance to Caleb Pond.
It’s a typical Nantucket style home, nothing pretentious with a small boat
house. I say nothing pretentious but costs in the millions. It’s typically not
flashy and over stated. It fits into the landscape and feels of tradition and
time. They also have a view on the pond side, the best of both worlds.
We pulled up the mooring line easily, hook it, turned off the engine and settled in. It was so quiet and peaceful, I just lay down on the salon settee and went right to sleep. It was the most relaxed I’d been for days.
After my nap, we had some lunch and hailed the launch to come pick us up and take us to town. The launch promptly showed up and we got on. The fee was $3 per person each way, and Ziggy was free. That’s $12 round trip each time we want to go to town. We decided we’d get the dinghy down next time and take ourselves in. We have to get it down to take Zig to shore anyway. By the time we’d pay the launch for several trips a day plus the mooring fee, we could almost pay for the cost of a dock.
It was so great to get to the familiar wharf of Edgartown. The town was very crowded with cars, trucks and buses and they all together were making a lot of noise and fumes for a small quaint place like this. They now have traffic monitors, like in grade school. They summer hired kids, in uniform, directing traffic so people can walk across the small streets or stopping traffic so people can get out of their parked cars. I can’t imagine what it must be like on the fourth of July when it’s really crowded. The streets were filled with activity. Otherwise, not much has changed it’s still as charming and beautiful as ever. We walked the streets, checked the stores out, admired the beautiful old homes and buildings and eventually found a place for coffee. At the end of the day we went back to the boat and spent the rest of the evening on the boat just enjoying the serenity and beauty of our mooring. We took Zig to shore by the marsh land in our kayaks and were amazed at all the shells on the shore. Zig was having fun just romping in the shallow calms waters chasing little fish. We paddled way back into Caleb Pond, exploring the marsh land and getting glimpses of a few homes nestled into the woods.
We
ate in tonight on the back deck. It was beautiful. As we just enjoyed the
evening a few boats would cruise by. It was funny because we’d hear them say
“Friday Harbah, Friday Harbah, where is that?” I guess they were reading our
hailing port on the back. I love that New England accent.
Tomorrow we were going to have dinner at L’etoile in the Charlotte Inn. It’s a sentimental favorite of ours. We called a few weeks ahead to get reservations and decided it would be our wedding anniversary dinner.
We spent the second day, just enjoying the town, shopping and walking the streets ,admiring the old sea captains’ homes. In the afternoon we had to cut the sight seeing and shopping short to shuffle back to the boat to get showered and dressed for dinner. We called the launch to pick us up and off we went. The L’etoile is a personal favorite of ours because it’s so beautiful and elegant. It’s set in a wonderful old building and the grounds are groomed to perfection. Once inside you appreciate the well appointed furnishings and artwork.
Tonight we arrived at the town
dock and walked the few blocks up to Summer Street. The Inn was still as
beautiful as we remembered it. We stepped up the grand wooden steps to the
entry porch and opened the hefty brass handle of the stout wooden door. Inside,
we were immediately greeted by a very young lady wishing us a “good evening” and
asking if she could help us. We said we were here for dinner and gave our name
and time of our reservation. She immediately apologized and said that the dress
requirements for dinner require a coat and tie. We were shocked as we had
specifically asked about that when we made our reservation weeks ago. We told
her that when we made our reservations on the phone they specifically told us
that a jacket and tie were not required but just nice slacks and a dress
shirt were and please no jeans. She again apologized, ignoring what we were
telling her and said that a jacket and tie were necessary and that she would
check in the back to see if there was something that Larry could borrow. Before
we could even get over the shock, she was off to find a jacket and tie for
Larry. We both looked at each other in disbelief. What a stuffy place this has
become we thought. We felt insulted and humiliated by her snobby attitude.
Larry by no means looked sloppy having put on a nice dress shirt and pants and
leather shoes. This was ridiculous. Larry was getting mad. We were both
giving each other the glance like lets get the hell out of here. What kind of
place was this? Why were they treating customers like this, especially when we
specifically inquired about the dress before hand? We were wondering if we left,
where we could go now for dinner without a reservation. The town was busy and
all the restaurants booked. Larry, I knew, would not put up with a borrowed
jacket and tie and nor would it. This was really weird. Before we could make a
plan, a very nice man came out to greet us and grabbed both of our hands and
shook them, telling us apologetically that “you look just fine, sorry about
that”.
Stupidly,
I answered “we do?” By now, I felt completely inadequate and offended. He
assured us that we were dressed appropriately and then the same girl came back
to escort us to the dining room. We both looked at each other in shock. We
were quickly shuffled through the library and to the entrance to the dining room
and then greeted by another woman who escorted us to our table but made sure we
knew the rules of the restaurant before we sat down. She said that at no time
are cell phones permitted in the restaurant. We didn’t even have cell phones
with us nor would be want to use a cell phone at dinner! This was just
outrageous! We should’ve walked out I guess but we sat down at our table and
decided to forget these ridiculous people and try to enjoy the evening even
though it started out on a wrong foot. It did turn out to be a very nice
evening and the food and wine were excellent. I love the dining room surrounded
by French windows overlooking their beautiful gardens. The service was
excellent and we enjoyed our anniversary celebration. On our way out, the
original girl that greeted us coming in came up to us and apologized. A little
late I’d say. She said she was just two days on the job and didn’t know the
rules. We told her it was nice that she came and apologized and we left
thinking we would’ve enjoyed our evening better if she had apologized before we
sat down. By the way, we weren’t the only ones without a jacket and tie. In
fact, NO ONE had a tie and only two other men had jackets. Don’t think we’ll go
back again as they have become very stogy and stuffy with their silly outdated
rules.
Tomorrow we were heading to Nantucket to meet our very good friends, flying in from San Diego to join us for several days. So, we did a short walk around town and watched the people still shopping late into the evening and eating and drinking in the many restaurants. The ice cream shops were busy with lines and people standing outside eating ice cream. It was summer vacation and it was evident everywhere.