TMC

Just off the coast of Cape Cod, there are two islands Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. I have connections to both islands but have spent significant time on Martha's Vineyard. The Vineyard has a special place in my heart. It is my second home; It simply means the world to me. My parents honeymooned on the Vineyard; maybe I was conceived there... I am not doing the math here…. I will say that that is when our streak of going to the Vineyard started. It lasted two decades, something I was very proud of, and hope to start anew soon. We've always rented when we've gone down, so I have gotten familiar with all of the island and developed quite a good sense of direction. Put me in a car anywhere on the island, and I know where I am at. The Vineyard is my prime place to relax. It's honestly where I want to retire; it's a little expensive, but one can dream. It's a goal of mine to own property there one day in the nearish future; hopefully, before rising sea levels do any significant harm.

You should go to the Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce website to read an extensive history of the island. I will share a BRIEF history of the Shearer Cottage and my family history. I hope to share a whole post when I get more pictures of the renovated cottage. In the meantime, I would visit The Shearer Cottage website and check out their socials; Instagram, and Facebook if you are interested in learning more.

I guess this is the perfect time to talk about it, MV being an actual island and all (RI you have been @'d). The "it" being my love for, passion about, and necessity of close proximity to… the water. Oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, and even fjords (despite never seeing one). I don't know what it is, but I am drawn to the water. I began to notice this pattern in my self-reflection many years ago; all the places that have deep meaning to me or great significance in my life are near the water. You may read this and think I'm hyperbolizing coincidence, that I was born in New England and just had ample access to water. That truthfully is probably part of the case, but it is only a minute part. Most of it, I feel, is much deeper than that, however.

For example: there are a great many sleep-away camps in New Hampshire. About half have direct water access, maybe a handful on Squam. There are even less than that of which have a quarter-mile of waterfront. And there is precisely one that on Squam Lake with a 1/4mile of west-facing waterfront. Camp Hale. Whoo Yah!

Example 2: RI.. once again, we will talk about next week.

The Vineyard is in my blood; it is ancestral for me. There is an extensive written history on The Inn At Shearer Cottage website. I will share an extremely abbreviated history here. As I said, I hope to write more about the cottage soon enough.

My great-great-great-grandfather, Charles Shearer, met his wife, Henrietta, while studying as a freeman after The Civil War at The Hampton Institute (now Hampton University). After getting married, they moved from Virgina to a suburb of Boston in 1891. He joined a church and quickly learned about trips to the Islands. Ten years of island visits led him to purchase the Shearer Cottage in 1903, a beautiful structure with land and room for opportunities. My ancestors started many businesses. In 1912, the 12 room Inn was added to service black visitors and vacationers. It was the only such establishment on the island.

I digress. This was all to say that for generations, my family has called the Vineyard home. The inn still stands today and is currently under renovation. That probably also has a tad to do with my affection for the water. My 20 years (so far) of summers on the island have been packed with stories, memories, adventures, and fun times. I honestly don't have very many pictures because I usually try to unplug while I'm down there. But you know me, always catch a few good ones.

Ocean Park is the very first thing you see when you step off of the ferry in Oaks Bluff; it is the central green space in OB. There are bustling flower beds, benches, a fountain, plenty of room for you to have a picnic. There is even a gazebo where music events are traditionally hosted on humid summer nights. The park is juxtaposed quite ideally; it runs parallel to Circuit St, the main street of OB, while also looking over the water and docks. The road around the park is lined with historic and vibrant carousel houses. It's a genuinely centralized location on the island as well. In either direction, you can get on a bus that will take you to either side of the island, depending on which way you would like to go. One of my favorite way to end a trip is to grab a meal from my favorite local restaurant that year, and head to Ocean Park to people watch while we wait for our ferry.

Eastchop is one of the many lighthouses on the island. This place holds significance because my ancestor Charles Shearer often visited on his initial trips to the island.

"A staunch Baptist, Charles often visited Oak Bluffs, then called Cottage City, to attend religious services in Baptist Temple Park in historic East Chop," (www.shearercottage.com/history).

The shearer cottage is actually not too far away from the lighthouse stands today. This was a shot I just happened to stumble upon while looking for more pictures. You can see one of the ferry's on the bottom right and how small it is compared to the absurd immensity of the sun.

Menemsha Beach is a small-ish beach on the southwest edge of the island. I am not sure how often regular tourists make the trek. Most years, I don't even make it down. But when I get to, I always appreciate it. I leave every time in awe. It was the first place I saw the sky turn green during a sunset. Menemsha holds significance because it's one of the furthest west beaches in the state. You camp and wait patiently for the giant ball of fire to fall behind the curve of the planet. Utterly spectacular. Simply magnificent.

The dew-covered purple flower honestly holds no significance. It's not a cool spot or anywhere particularly interesting. Just a pic I took one morning. The uniqueness of this dew caught me, though.  On this specific day, the sky was overcast, which in fact makes for the best pictures because there isn't any oversaturation from the sun. So, with this flower, you can see the true glow of the purple and blue hue. I am not sure what else to describe the shape of the dew as, other than a dino chicken nug, one of my fave snacks. I suspect pretty rare. Something I thought was just so cool and coincidental. Nature man.

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It is a tough call. MV is definitely a top-three place to watch a sunset, but New Hampshire still ranks number one, and Rhode Island a close number two (next week). I can say, however, that you probably won't catch a better sunset in Massachusetts. I haven't been down in some time, but I sincerely do plan on getting back soon enough. I always thoroughly enjoy getting down there unplugging and watching the days turn.