I’ve been back home a few days since returning from our annual summer vacation in Rhode Island. Days there are so sweet, we tend to get in the rhythm of enjoying time simply spent at the house and the beach, and not venture out too much. But in recent years, I’ve been curious to explore other places in the area – we went to a few new towns several summers ago – and on our second day of this year’s trip, without much of a plan, H and I spontaneously decided to take a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.
We booked tickets for the 10:45 a.m. ferry from New Bedford, and it took 50 minutes to arrive in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard. The Vineyard has six towns, and you would need a car to explore most of the island, but staying around charming Oak Bluffs suited us.
We walked from the port to nearby Lookout Tavern for lunch, a restaurant I had chosen before arriving since they had numerous gluten-free options. H got a lobster roll with the most lobster he’d ever seen, and I opted for a tomato-and-watermelon salad.
We strolled through the shops and then the charming gingerbread cottages – a little neighborhood of whimsical, colorful homes. This was my favorite part.
After, we rented bikes from a shop near Lookout Tavern; we did not have a reservation, but they were very friendly and easily able to accommodate us. They drew us a map of where to go in the time that we had left in Martha’s Vineyard.
We rode several miles along the ocean – most of the time on a bike path – until we crossed into Edgartown at the Jaws Bridge, which appears in the movie, and there were tons of kids jumping off and swimming.
It was a lovely, mostly flat, relaxing bike ride. We got off and walked a bit along the beach, and the other side of the road by the pond. We would have liked to keep riding and explore Edgartown, but we needed to catch the 4:10 p.m. ferry back to New Bedford and didn’t want to risk missing it, so we rode back.
We headed back in the late afternoon sun. I loved sitting in the open-air top of the ferry for the views and sunshine, though it was quite windy.
It was a fun little adventure! Have you been to Martha’s Vineyard?
