Sailing ship Shenandoah heads out of Vineyard Haven harbor

Happy on the beach, happy in the shops, happy dining out and even happy in an island museum. Getting through the museum first is important so that a cultural stop can be ticked off the list for certain. Located in the more la-di-da Edgartown where I am more than happy to visit.

Oak Bluffs, which I have written about before, is a busy harbor even on summer weekdays. We arrived around 11am and found a good ball in the big boat section. The first order of business was laundry! Oak Bluffs has a large public Laundromat near the docks with large front-loaders that almost make you feel like the $6 (please insert 24 quarters) isn’t too pricey.
The second order of business was not business, but doughnuts from Back Door Donuts. The bake shop on Circuit Ave bakes their doughnuts, fritters and fried dough at night and from 7pm until 1am just go around to… their back door, stand in line and get served up fresh, hot out of the fryer doughnuts, fritters, fried dough and whatever else they’ve got.

The line gets longer as the night wears on

Can’t seem to get these elsewhere- chocolate and coconut- yummy!

Wednesday topped out at 77 F with enough breeze to keep sailors and landlubbers happy. Hopped on a MVTA bus bound for Edgartown and as we passed by the long stretch of beach that lies partially in Oak Bluffs and part in Edgartown, one of the two small bridges turned out to be the “Jaws Bridge”, officially known as the American Legion Memorial Bridge. This was quite obvious as several youngsters stood on the wood railing, and jumped into the water that leads to a substantial inland pond (another beach breaching in two spots I guess), perfect for the scene where the shark swims into the “safe” inlet and Brody’s son is traumatized by the attack. Back in 1975 the bridge was all wood which gave it more character than the concrete version we drove over today.
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum is located several small blocks off Main Street which means you want to go there, not simply stumble upon it as you stroll around downtown Edgartown.
Comprised of several structures, including a house, barn, top part of a lighthouse and a climate-controlled exhibit building, the museum was easy, educational and fun to explore. In many places you could use your cell phone or a remote to listen to stories of old and explanations of such contemplations such as, “why are the rooms painted in these colors?”

Pulley power: heavy lifting made easy with a double

Hands on tea sniff and feel. Just break off a small piece for your morning cup

This next item would have stumped us completely if not for the group of kids who received an explanation of how this gadget was used.

A Jagging Wheel from the mid-1800s

Pie crimpers or jagging wheels are among the most common scrimshaw items carved by American 19th century whalemen. They were useful, as well as decorative kitchen implements. The fluted wheel was used to cut dough or seal the top of a pie crust to the sides before baking. The fork was used to decorate the edge and/or poke holes in the upper pie crust to vent the steam created by baking.

A substantial display was devoted to Vineyard life in the era of love and peace. I loved these groovy outfits.  Anyone own something similar?

Famished after all that heavy lifting-lunch at the Atlantic

Our lunch spot was the Atlantic which sat perched not quite right on the harbor but with a partial view of it and the always interesting dinghy dock.

I opted for Katama Bay oysters; fresh from the bay right here in Edgartown, and the rarely seen sautéed baby artichokes.

We sucked down those six oysters so fast that I never got a photo of the fabulous presentation that included artfully placed fresh kelp, teeny bottles of Tabasco and lemon wedges. We think these are the best tasting, plumpest oysters ever to slide down our gullets. Better than Kumamoto or Watch Hill.

My three oysters plus a side order of artichokes made this one of the best lunches I’ve ever had. I love, love artichokes and to see them on the menu, never mind that the preparation was perfect, I was Blissed Out!!

The always on time ferry crosses over to Chappaquiddick by the entrance into the harbor

A narrow entrance but we’ve had worse in the Bahamas

When is a lake no longer a lake? When the skinny sandy beach along Vineyard Sound is breached during a hurricane a lake quickly transforms into a quiet salt pond with room for a boatload of moorings. Surrounded by wooded hills with cedar shingle homes peeking out and many pretty moored boats, Lake Tashmoo offers plenty of anchoring room with excellent holding. As if that wasn’t enough, Downtown Vineyard Haven is an easy one mile walk from the dinghy dock.
We were completely unfamiliar with Tashmoo but our cruising buddy ActiveCaptain provided all we needed to know about this not very well-known gem. Sunday’s weather was cloudy with showers and a high temp of 71 F; not exactly a get off the boat and walk around town sort of day. Rather than spend $40 to sit aboard in Oak Bluffs, we could spend two nights in Tashmoo and Monday walk in to Vineyard Haven. Tuesday we’d head to Oak Bluffs, six miles around the corner.
A couple of miles out we heard a distressing call from the captain of the 21ft cat boat s/v Julia Lee; she’d been dis-masted just outside of Lake Tashmoo entrance. Today was not a windy day; 8-12kts.

Julia Lee receives help from the Harbormaster

If a boat dragged into us this is what it would look like

In the process of getting Julia Lee off the hip tow and on to a mooring, she found her way right into our bows, slowly,  as cats will do to check out another cat. We’d anchored in a perfect spot to watch this all unfold. The mast snapped off about eight inches above the boom and the wood looked fresh- no ugly wood rot discoloration. Never did find out the cause.

Now Russ had to really push. No damage. No wind, just all in slow mo.

After the neighbors finished helping out one approaches our stern and asks if this is a Maine Cat. Maybe we should have taken that Maine Cat brochure from Cuttyhunk! He accepts our invitation to come aboard, but later and brings a friend. So the friend steps aboard and says to me, “where’s your Cuttyhunk tee-shirt?” Today was not my very bright day so I stumbled and sputtered out words that indicated that I’d recently bought one. But what he was really saying was that we’d met in Exuma Market, George Town, Bahamas because I was wearing a Cuttyhunk t-shirt (I realize I have more of these than any other place) and he being from (I think) Falmouth area, how could you not comment? Paul, yes I did remember the entire event but didn’t recognize him; been seven months you know. Our shrinking world has become so small.
Monday managed to be slightly warmer with a high of 75F once the sun chased away most of the morning’s clouds. July has been very pleasant with precious few hot days and a bit cooler on the islands than inland I imagine.

This shop was a stroll down memory lane with items I hadn’t seen in years

I got a substantial shopping fix and we partook of lunch at the popular Black Dog Tavern. A pleasant surprise to discover that Vineyard Haven is no longer dry; not dripping wet like Oak Bluffs or Edgartown, but let’s call it moist. Restaurants can serve beer or wine (or drinks made from such) with a meal; an excellent compromise.

Proseco for me and Blueberry Ale for Russ

I added a LS Black Dog tee to my collection for the first time in many years because they’ve not been as well made as in earlier years. This one caught my eye and then when I read the tag’s description, “LS Black Tashmoo Tee” that clinched it. I mean we’d never heard of Tashmoo before and now it’s all over the place!

The Black Dog has it all: old wooden boat room on left and the store with those Tashmoo Tees on right

The real Black Dog lived in Vineyard Haven as a companion to Captain Robert S. Douglas. In the early 1960s, Douglas retired from his career as a fighter pilot and returned to MV where he’d sailed in his youth. He designed and commissioned a 108-foot schooner and had her built in Maine. He sailed the black-hulled Shenandoah to Vineyard Haven and began taking passengers for sails. His dog, a lab-boxer mix named “Black Dog” was always at his side.
Apparently Captain Douglas was dismayed that no year-round restaurants existed in Vineyard Haven and soon acquired beachfront property. In 1971 he opened the now-famous Black Dog Tavern and the rest is history. The Black Dog T-shirts which were created originally for restaurant staff, became such a cult item that you can’t turn around on the Vineyard without walking into a clothing store or bakery. We noticed several more locations even since our visit last year.

Below is one of our favorite photos. I can’t speak for our son though! All this reminiscing about the Vineyard got me thinking that maybe this photo was digital and it was.

Aug 2005: after lunch while I shop, Benj gets silly for the camera

The Big Belly with solar panel on top.

Vineyard Haven is home to the second largest fleet of wooden boats on the East Coast; only Rockland Maine has more (we’ll check out that claim next month).

Ice Cream at Mad Martha’s was an afternoon treat and as we sat savoring a small dish we noticed the solar trash compactors; how clever. They are scattered throughout Vineyard Haven. Deposit your garbage as if you were mailing a letter and the unit does the rest.

Blissed Out- Organic Juices and Smoothies. For Benj and Lily