Today we are going to explore Edgartown but have the long trip in the dinghy to contend with first. The wind has not died down to the 5 knots it was supposed to and I am unhappy about travelling more than a mile over a slightly rough sea surface. For one, my nice clothes will get splashed (one has to wear nice clothes when one is hopefully going clothes shopping) and two, my hair will be a mess when I get there (and one has to have nice hair when going clothes shopping as clothes shopping involves looking in a mirror and I don’t want to have that dead poodle look that normally follows a journey in the dinghy.
Still I can’t go shopping without getting in the dinghy so I clamber in and over we go, me grumbling all the way. Mike is very good, avoiding all the worst splashy bits and going at a speed that delivers as little destruction to my hair as possible. I arrive looking slightly windswept though and there’s a definite kink in my previously straightened short locks. Oh well.
Getting a space on the town’s only dinghy dock is not easy. Mike drops Victoria and I off and goes to fill up with fuel hoping to find a space when he returns.
Victoria and I check out the shops in the immediate vicinity and wander over to the ferry that crosses over to Chappaquiddick Island. It’s two landing ferries that cross each other midway. As we watch, a yacht passes through – it must be disarming to see a ferry thing aiming for you on both sides!
Edgartown is very pretty and very changed from the days of ‘Jaws’. Although there still seems to be a tiny fishing industry, it’s feels totally a tourist destination, just like in the film but much more so. There are t-shirt shops, galleries, ice cream parlours, up-market clothes shops (in which I do more than a little investigation) and restaurants. Both Mike and Victoria manage to find something but I just can’t find that elusive something that I want.
We walk through the backstreets and residential area. At last I see houses that have picket fences and hedges – they like their demarcation lines here – something I definitely approve of. Eventually we make our way down to the beach and the lighthouse where Victoria is the only one to dip her toes in. Mind you, she does this in the pond rather than the sea which I have to say is so churned up that it looks remarkably murky and uninviting.
The lighthouse has a cobble surround and inscribed in the bricks are names of children who have died young. It’s a moving sight.
The walk back to town takes us past many beautiful houses. Apparently 19th century retired sea captains retired here and many of the houses bear the names of these captains and the years that they were built.
All the walking has made us hungry and we look for a place to eat. We find a nice little cafe that serves lobster rolls, and since Victoria hasn’t tried one yet, we order those. Good, but half the amount of lobster that we had in them in Maine.
We spend the afternoon trudging around the shops still looking for something for me that will remind me of this place but try as I might, I just can’t find something that’s just right although a very expensive, long, pink, cashmere cardigan takes my eye, along with a matching linen shirt and I keep it in mind, just in case. Mike is really patient and just finds a bench to sit on every time Victoria and I disappear into a shop and even feigns disappointment when I emerge bag-less some time later. I suppose if my lifestyle were different, I would have found it a whole lot easier buying clothes but the stuff they sell here just isn’t suited to life on a boat (as opposed to posing on a boat) and the alternative is unappealing - I don’t do holiday destination t-shirts.
In some ways, Edgartown still resembles Amity. Ferries constantly arrive disgorging passengers and cars onto the small island and the town certainly relies on the tourists for it’s income. The season here is short and fast, although the arrival of a rogue shark probably wouldn’t put anyone off any more as most of them stay in the town rather that on the beaches. The car congestion is terrible, with little one way streets and huge cars, as is the American way. Or you hire a bike – it seems to be from one extreme to another.
On the whole though, I think it’s a lovely place, perfect for a holiday retreat, I can’t imagine living there full time although I suppose some people must. I’d certainly need to shoot all the tourists who tramp everywhere taking photos of private property (mmm who does that sound like?) It’s a bit of a Disney world for grown ups or people who just want to get away from it all for a while in pretty surroundings, and whilst there’s nothing wrong with that, it just doesn’t seem very real.
A fit of tiredness overcomes us but huge ice cream revives us for a while. By 4 pm however, we’ve had enough and head for the dinghy dock, which apparently will be removed on Wednesday, signalling the end of the holiday season I suppose.
Back on the boat we rest up a little. Mike spends ages trying to plot a course for us that will allow us to visit Rhode Island on the way to New York, but given the allowances that you have to make for the currents, the distance involved and the fact that Victoria wants to make sure she gets a good few days in the Big Apple, he eventually concludes that with the time we have left it just won’t be possible. We will now start off for New York tomorrow when the current helps us out of the Vineyard, and will go non stop.
And I keep thinking, I should have bought that long, pink cashmere cardigan I saw. I could have worn it in New York. Dammit!
Position: 41 deg 22 min N, 70 deg 30 min W
Distance so far: 2056 miles
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