Days 23-25 Falmouth, Massachusetts

[Kalon]  After arriving at our home for the next three days, I finally unpacked and assembled my bicycle that had been stowed in the back of our hatchback.  I then biked through Falmouth and along part of the "Sea to Shining Sea" bikeway to Woods Hole and back.  Sure was nice to be back on the bike.

"Sea to Shining Sea" bike path

Falmouth in distance from bike path - Atlantic on right

Day 2.  Karen and I drove 1/2 mile to the Falmouth Ferry landing, parked our car, and boarded the ferry with my bike in tow.

The Island Queen - our ferry to Martha's Vineyard
 

After arriving I said goodbye to Karen (who was staying in Oaks Bluff for the day) and did a bike tour of the Island.  For a good part of the island there were Class 1 bike trails

while for the rest of the trip there were marginal shoulders and modest traffic.  I visited Vineyard Haven, West Tisbury, Chilmark (but not Aquinnah), and then Edgartown.  As I had some time, I decided to take the short ferry ride to Chappaquiddick to see if I could find the site of the infamous Senator Ed Kennedy accident with Mary Jo.



Harbor at Chappaquiddick

 

 

Chappaquiddick ferry coming in.

The ferry (holds 3 vehicles) takes about 1 minute to make the passageway (which Kennedy swam after the accident).  But I couldn't orient myself and so just drove around the small island and then returned to Edgartown and then Oaks Bluff.   My first stop was to order a strawberry frappe (for those who don't speak New Englandese, that's a strawberry milkshake).   But I couldn't find Karen and she didn't show up as she was actually waiting for me one block away at a 2nd ferry terminal (the correct one) for our company.  Eventually I discovered the error of my ways and joyfully reunited with her before returning to Falmouth.  A tiring but very satisfying day.

Entrance to the harbor at Falmouth.

[Karen] It was an interesting day spent in a total tourist oriented environment. There may be a few places on Martha's Vineyard which are true vacation - homes for wealthy people but the whole area mostly resembles a New England Solvang. T-shirt shops, ice cream shops, junky tourist places selling anything imprinted with "Martha's Vineyard" including shot glasses, hats, etc. In addition there are millions of bicycle, scooter, flashy car (mainly Jeeps, Hummers, and Corvairs) rental places... as well as Taxis, buses and tour vehicles all vying for the tourist trade. They are willing to drive you North, South, East and West. I saw one man arrange to rent a flashy yellow sports car for $400 for 24 hours. He must have arranged for a different price for I saw him turning it in about 5 hrs later. Bathrooms were harder to come by.

 It was a beautiful day but to tell the truth I was happy when Kalon and I finally were reunited and were able to take the return ferry to our motel here in Falmouth. We both had become mixed up as to which wharf we has landed at and both had sat waiting for the other at the wrong wharf for several hours. To be honest, I did manage to consume my share of ice cream and to buy a pin for my hat which has a lobster on it as well as "Martha's Vineyard".  Total dollars left in Martha's Vineyard by Karen - $12 lunch, $4 pin for hat.

Day 3. [Kalon] Uninspired  day.  Kalon  had the car washed and got a haircut while Karen did the laundry.  Then a bit of planning for the days ahead.  Dinner at a nice Indian restaurant in Falmouth.  Nice to have an unplanned/unscheduled day.

 

[Karen] After doing the laundry, I shopped. Was looking for shirts as I have stains on most of my t-shirts. Actually any city in the U.S. is interchangeable with any other. Merchandise is pretty much the same whether in Mass or Calif or Texas except the T-shirts will have the relevant scene and name on them.... sailboats, or cats, or dogs with 'Santa Barbara',  'Cape Cod', or 'Dallas' on them and all of them made in China!