New England - Day 11

What a difference a day makes! Today was sunny, balmy and beautiful. We drove from Hyannis to Woods Hole where we boarded a large ferry (four buses and lots of cars were on the lowest deck with many, many foot passengers) for Martha's Vineyard. The 45-minute ride was smooth with views of harbors and lots of boats in the water. We had a step-on guide with us all day. Our first stop was in Oak Bluffs, which began as a religious retreat for Methodists. They originally lived in tents for their camp meetings, but then built small carpenter Gothic cottages. These 300 colorful cottages are full of gingerbread trim and surround the tabernacle where meetings and services are still held. From there we drove along a state beach to the old whaling town of Edgartown where we had free time for shopping and lunch. Many of us got food to go from a
walk-up stand and then ate sitting down by the waterfront, watching all the activity. There were gulls and boats and lighthouses and fishermen to watch, and it was such a beautiful day. We heard stories of Kennedy's, the Clinton's, and of the recent visit of the Obamas. We saw where scenes from the movie "Jaws" were filmed and bought a healthy amount of T-shirts, postcards, ice cream and souvenirs. We then drove along a wooded narrow road through the interior of the island back to Oak Bluffs for one last spurt of shopping. Some of us went into the Flying Horses Carousel where the two Obama daughters had ridden when they were on their vacation. The
ferry brought us back to Cape Cod, and on the drive back to Hyannis, the guide showed us an excellent video about Martha's Vineyard. We're looking forward to seeing more of Cape Cod tomorrow.-Laurel Johnson, Tour Director