Our Big New England Adventure - Part III

Ahh, Martha's Vineyard. Every year we head to the Cape, we always say we're going to go and for some reason or another it never happens. But this year, we finally did it! Gram and Gramp J stayed at the house with Emerson while JD and I escaped for a nice day just the two of us.

Here we are on the ferry ride over to the island. When we first got to the dock, it looked like it was going to be a cloudy day. But, then the sun came out and it turned into a gorgeous day.

Wanting to take full advantage of our day, we decided not to waste any time biking around. While I'm sure it would be nice to take a leisurely ride around the island exploring, we thought it would be more fun and more efficient if we went with a scooter to zip around. Besides, who wants to get to their destination all sweaty? Ew. I have to admit the scooter scared me a little. Just the fact that you're out there zooming around, not buckled in to anything, and the only thing keeping you from flying off is your death grip on the driver. The speed limit is 35mph, but even only going 30 it felt too fast. Bear hugging JD, I was constantly screaming, "Aaack! Too fast! Too fast!!" He kept trying to assure me that he was only going 25mph, but I think he forgot that I could easily see the speedometer over his shoulder and knew when he was fibbing! It was fun -- just like a roller coaster -- except with the added fear of becoming road kill. I tried to take pictures of ourselves on the scooter, but it proved to be difficult. Stretching my one arm out to take the picture was petrifying and also trying to keep the camera steady while you're zipping down the road was challenging. So here's my lame attempt at capturing some scooter magic.

Our first stop was in Edgartown. We sat ourselves on the patio of a little cafe on Main Street for an afternoon cocktail. We ended up chatting with our server for quite a bit because he was just so nice. He was a local and knew just about every other person that walked by.

After our delicious drink we walked down Main Street and peeked inside several stores. Here I am channeling my inner country club dame.

Earlier, we had stopped a woman walking down the street because she looked like a local. It turned out we were right and asked her for a good place to have lunch. She told us to head to The Atlantic. What a recommendation. Great view of the water from the patio. I ordered the lobster roll because when in Rome.... right? After we'd ordered, we saw a server walk by with the most amazing looking caprese salad. So when our server came back around, we told him we absolutely needed one too. I mean, look at these plates. Deliciously sweet lobster overflowing from the bun. Perfectly ripe tomato slices the size of my face topped with pesto and creamy mozzarella on the side. All paired with a crisp, refreshing glass of sauvignon blanc. Oh man, I must've died because I was in heaven.

Bellies full, we hopped back on the scooter to see what the rest of the island had in store for us. We checked out the Edgartown Lighthouse. And an historic building with beautiful greens -- but unfortunately, couldn't tell you the name! I'm an awful tour guide, I know.

We drove by the little Victorian houses in Oak Bluffs known as the "gingerbread cottages" because of their diminutive size and colorful exteriors. No two are alike!

We ended our day with a ride on the famous Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs. It's been around since 1884 and is the oldest platform carousel still in operation. (Thank you Wikipedia!)  There are arms on the inside and outside of the carousel that pop out little metal rings that you can swipe when you swing by. It's fun to collect the rings and if you happen to get a brass one, you get to stay on for a free ride.

We caught an amazing sunset on the ferry ride home. Post card perfect. At last our magical day had come to an end. I think the last picture sums it all up. Pure bliss.