Martha's Vineyard 6/29/97 - 7/6/97

Prologue

We had so much fun spending the 4th of July on Martha's Vineyard last year, that we jumped at the chance to go again when Tom and Kevin invited us. In addition to the crew from last year (Tom, Kevin, Steve H., and the two of us), Craig's brother Steve and Tom's girlfriend Margaret would be coming along this year as well. We would rent the same house in Oak Bluffs, but for a full week this time.

This year Steve H. arranged for us to be able to take the car to the island, which would make things much more convenient. We were renting the house from June 30 - July 6, but the ferry tickets were for June 29 - July 3. Nonetheless, we found it difficult to get around without a car last year. We would make the schedule work.

June 29, 1997

Craig and I took Craig's 4Runner on the car ferry the evening before the house was ready. We had brought a small tent and set up in a campground in Vineyard Haven for the night. The weather was nice and it worked out perfectly.

June 30, 1997

We met up with the rest of the gang, who had taken the ferry over to the island today: Kevin, Steve H., Steve S., Tom, and Margaret. We went to the house and met owners Steve and Liz, baby Marley, and Steve's mother. They handed over the keys and headed back to the mainland. We got settled in the cottage and played cards for a while, before taking a trip to South Beach.

July 1, 1997

During the day, we went to Gay Head, admiring the views of the light house and the cliffs.

We made dinner at the cottage: chicken, mashed potatoes, and peas.

After dinner, we went to the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown to see Richie Havens in concert. The Greek Revival / Gothic style Methodist church was built by the prosperous whaling captains of the community in 1843. It was an amazing intimate show which we enjoyed very much.

July 2, 1997

In the morning, we played dice in the cottage after breakfast.

Then we went to Katama Airfield and Margaret and Tom took a biplane ride in a red vintage biplane.

In the afternoon, Craig, Steve, and I went to the Field Gallery in West Tisbury. This is an art co-op conceived by Thomas Maley as a place to exhibit their work. We enjoyed frolicing with Maley's whimsical statues in the sculpture garden.

In the evening, we went out on the town. On a whim, we stopped in to an old time photo studio. With our large group, we thought it would be quite fun to dress up for a novelty photo. We all donned wild west gear. What did this have to do with Martha's Vineyard? Nothing...except that it was a fun tourist thing to do. We had a lot of laughs.

Next we went to the Lamp Post for drinks. There was an odd guy there wearing a latex glove. I played some pinball, and he hovered over me. saying something about a "faulty mechanism" in the machine.

July 3, 1997

Today was the day that our car needed to go back to the mainland on the ferry. We would take the car across, park it, and then take the ferry back to the island. Steve H. accompanied us, as he had to leave to attend his brother's wedding.

When we got back to the cottage after a round-trip ferry ride, we found that Kevin had some massive road rash from wiping out on his bicycle. His cousin Aisling from Ireland happened to be on the island, and she came over to the cottage for dinner.

July 4, 1997

Today we walked around Oak Bluffs, admiring the gingerbread cottages of the Methodist Campground. Steve H. returned after the wedding. Then we went to the beach at Oak Bluffs. We enjoyed drinks at the Ritz. There were parties out on the street to celebrate Independence Day.