Sunday we left Tallahassee for a trip north. It had 4 objectives - to visit Martha's Vineyard and Newport - to stay with Drew and Robin in Syracuse - to visit folks back home in Tamaqua PA - and finally to attend a conference in Providence RI.
We have already experienced different weather. When the plane landed in Charlotte NC - it was cold, wet, rainy, foggy. On the next leg - our plane landed in a sunny 70 degree Providence on a Sunday afternoon. We stopped in our hotel and then drove to the seaport town of Newport. We visited the docks and the beautiful summer mansions there.
On Monday morning we caught the fast ferry to Martha's Vineyard. It was the last ferry of the year from Newport. The locals said it was the nicest day of the year - sunny - 75 - breezy - and mild. The ferry took 1.5 hours to get there - and cost $70 a person round trip. When we got off the ferry in Oak Bluffs - we rented a Yamaha Zuma scooter and used it to circle the island. We stopped in Edgartown and a few other towns.
Martha's Vineyard has about 15,000 year round residents. During the summer this swells to about 75,000 residents usually with another 25,000 day trippers. Even though it was the last day of the season and the fast ferry - the place seemed crowded to me. There were lots of pretty cottages - but a visit to the local realty office showed the most sky high prices that I have ever seen. Quite frankly - I left Martha's Vineyard with the feeling that it was Key West - without the good weather, palm trees, and tropical flavor - but it did have a healthy dose of pretentiousness. Probably it is me and my attitude. I am sure it has some strong historic aura - and I am more aware of the history of Florida and the Keys.
It seems the main attraction is to visit Chappaquiddick and the place where Kennedy's car went off the bridge killing Mary Jo Kopechne. The ferry over to that island is less than 100 yards - and it can take about 3 cars at a time. The people on "Chappy" like to refer to Martha's Vineyard as "the mainland" and they call the real mainland - "America."
At 5:00PM - the last ferry was departing. We boarded quickly and slept most of the 1.5 hours back. Even though it tossed and turned a bit - Nancy slept will and did not review her lunch with me.
We departed the boat - got in our car and drove to Albany NY. We spent the night there at a Marriot that Nancy booked from the car using the addresses and phone numbers in our GPS. Our room was very nice - free internet - and we both zonked out at about 10PM. In the middle of the night - I heard a bonk - and a bunch of cranky words from the bathroom. Nancy slipped in the bathroom and bonked her forehead on the door knob. It raised a goose egg.
We got up about 9 AM - and drove to Drew and Robin's home in Syracuse. We are here now looking forward to our visit when they get home form work.
The rest of the trip will include a visit to Tamaqua and then back to Providence where Nancy will attend that conference.
We will return home Monday. Our house is being watched over by our neighbor Lee - head of the neighborhood watch.
Pictures - Nancy waiting for the ferry boat on Martha's Vineyard to take her back to the mainland - Nancy in front of America's first lending library in Newport.
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