Summer Blurb #4 - Salem and Martha's Vineyard, MA
19 August 2022 | Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard
Alison Gabel | Perfect Weather!

Martha's Vineyard
Taking up where we left off, we were successful at retrieving our wedding clothes on Martha's Vineyard. It was our first time landing at Edgartown's Katama Airfield, which has 3 lumpy grass and dirt runways stretching in all directions, and a very popular restaurant. There's a parking area for airplanes on the far end, and people fly over from the mainland to spend a day at the beach. A few biplanes stay very busy giving rides out over the island and the ocean, and we heard one of the biplane pilots spotted 3 sharks in the water, corroborating other reports, so the island on which the infamous "Jaws" movie was filmed had to close a beach for a little while.
The wedding in Salem, MA last Saturday was fabulous. We loved our teeny-tiny Hobbit house in Beverly and enjoyed seeing parts of Salem, although we avoided the witch museum and ghost tours out of a general lack of interest. The wedding took place in an historic church in Manchester-by-the-Sea, with a clarinet and piano duo playing rich, melodic sonatas by Felix Mendelssohn. The weather was perfect. The guests were delightful to look at, and to meet. The flowers, done by the mother-of-the-bride and helpers, were abundant and gorgeous. The reception, held in downtown Salem in the Old Town Hall was also wonderful with a vegetarian taco bar and all those flowers which were painstakingly transported by multiple volunteers to line the tables and the stage in the 2-story Town Hall. And other than the acoustics, which were challenging in the huge space, the reception was a lot of fun. My favorite part was the sweet, thoughtful, and hilarious toasts by the groomsmen and maids of honor, as well as parents and a few others. My other favorite part was spending time with long-lost friends from my childhood, some I hadn't seen for over 40 years.
The weekend capped off with a casual Sunday brunch at Rupert and Allison's home in Swampscott, MA (I love some of these east coast town names!) The newly wedded couple live in an old 3-story home with a rambling grassy yard strewn with big, moss-covered rocks and woods beyond. Chairs and Mexican blankets had been set out in the yard for people to sit and lie down, talk, relax, look up at the sky. A slack rope strewn between two trees drew the attention of a number of the little kids, who balanced admirably on the strap while a parent held their hands for support. A few of the younger adults gave it a try as well, while the rest of us watched, happily not tempted to try it ourselves.
Once we'd said farewell to the new couple and old friends, we headed for the airport and the short :45 flight back to The Vineyard. This was the 4th time we'd made the flight around Boston's busy airspace in the last few days all because of the wedding clothes debacle, which made the rounds at the wedding - "Oh! you're the pilots who had to fly to the Vineyard for your wedding clothes!"
We've been "on island" now for 4 days, having a great time with friends Jay and Terri, who have an old 1923 shingled home with a wild-ish back yard that fades into a small forest of trees. My favorite place to be is in a chair, gazing out at that backyard with the warm sun glowing through the bright green leaves while birds (and the occasional chipmunk) explore the offerings in the hanging feeder. The other day I sat transfixed as a tiny spider wove a complex web in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. I finally traced the fine support webs to trees on either side, with 20 feet between. A third line dropped to the grass below, and the spider climbed up and down that 15' height to reinforce the line at least 3 times. Finally, as dusk settled it, so did the little spider, right in the center of it's masterpiece, hoping optimistically for a nice meal. Another day I was treated to a playful squirrel who was animating clumps of loamy moss at the side of the yard, grabbing them, tossing them in the air, doing back flips and leaps as though the blob were truly alive. I'd never seen a squirrel play!
As I write there's a flurry of activity in the kitchen - Allan is making oatmeal, Terri is making smoothies, Jay made more coffee and is now reading silly stuff to us from a post online.
So far our time on island has been filled with great, healthy home-cooked meals, a walk into nearby Edgartown for lunch, wandering thorough small museums (the kind I can handle,) lots of sitting around over coffee or sundowners, catching up and wasting time, and for Terri and I, some yoga. She generously bought me 2 private yoga sessions in a local studio for my birthday, and it's been pretty inspiring. Tuesday night we celebrated Jay and Terri's 14th wedding anniversary with a fabulous meal we all pitched in on, and Friday we're going out to their favorite restaurant to celebrate again.
And, we went to the Agricultural Fair! That was truly delightful. As a girl who grew up near Los Angeles, I spent many a year at the LA County Fair, which is huge and sort of citified. Yes, they have pigs and goats and cows, and other fair-ish things, but it's all on a grand scale, with lots of buildings and asphalt. This Ag fair was small, and sweet, and so local. We went on the first day of the four-day event, so the crowds were low, and parking was a cinch. There were no lines. There were places to sit under trees, and long white country benches on the porch to enjoy the breeze while a horn trio serenaded with classic old-time songs. Allan, Terri and I rode the ferris wheel for a view of the whole thing from the air, but of course I was having too much fun and forgot to snap any pictures.
Then, just to make a fun day more fun, we went into Oak Bluffs by the sea and Terri and I rode the oldest operating carousel in the USA, to see if I could catch the brass ring! The carousel was over 100 years old, each horse was unique and carefully made with detailed leather saddles and real horse-hair manes and tails. And, guess what?! I caught the brass ring! Hard to top that one.
Yesterday afternoon we went for a sail in Jay and Terri's 22-foot Catboat, "Whiskers." A catboat is a type of sailing rig with a short mast located all the way on the bow of the boat, a huge boom that's actually longer than the mast is tall. A second short boom angles off near the top of the mast at an angle, making it a "gaff-rigged" boat. They're very popular around here, in all sizes. We'd waited all week for the winds to be just right, and lo, on the last day, they were just right. We sailed up the busy bay, past to the harbor, dodging the ferry that runs between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick. A fleet of tiny catboats was busily tacking back and forth in an afternoon regatta, looking like a row of leaf cutter ants.
The catboat is a handful to sail, literally - a hands-full of wheel and main sheet, both full of wind and water and both requiring constant awareness. It keeps you busy! I have great respect for Jay and Terri when I think of some of the distances they've covered all around this beautiful area since they bought the boat just a few months ago. It's truly a unique experience sailing on their boat in these waters.
And today, we say farewell again and head for Tennessee, where rain, friends and family await.
(FYI there's a new collection of photos in the photo gallery.)