Visit to Beautiful Martha’s Vineyard

I shared last week that we stayed in Falmouth, MA on our recent trip up north to New England. We had been on the Cape five years earlier and this time when we went back, we didn’t have as much time on the Cape as last time, so we knew would have to really choose what we wanted to see and do this time around. When we checked into our B&B in Falmouth, I saw the signs about parking nearby for the shuttle to the ferry service in Woods Hole that went to Martha’s Vineyard. The shuttle was literally a couple of blocks from our B&B and dropped us right at the docks to catch an early ferry the next morning. We had not planned to go to Martha’s Vineyard initially, but when I realized how close we were to the ferry, I expressed my desire to go spend the day on the island. Mark wasn’t convinced at first, but quickly changed his mind (OK, I might have whined a little bit, but he was glad we did it too!) and we made plans to get up and have breakfast at the inn and then walk to the shuttle to catch a ride to the ferry and we were able to grab a ferry pretty early to spend a few hours on the island. It worked out great and we are both so glad we did it!

On the ferry heading over, it was a 45 minute trip over and back.

Getting closer to the docks to exit the ferry, this is the scene of Martha’s Vineyard we saw. We had a gorgeous day, not too cool at all, with blue skies.

We were hoping we could find a tour of the island when we got off and sure enough, this bus was sitting there and we found ourselves as passengers of Tom, a native of Martha’s Vineyard, who drives this bus, the Martha’s Vineyard Sightseeing bus. I can’t imagine finding a better tour guide than Tom. He had the thick Boston accent of a native of the area and he knew everything about the island. We were so pleased with our 3 hour tour with Tom and the tour cost $60 per person, money well spent for 1 day on the island. We were interested in an overall tour of the island and that’s what we got.

Many of these shots were taken from the bus window, but you can see how picturesque it is. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of Martha’s Vineyard, but somewhere in there I thought it might be a bit more glitzy with larger homes and mansions everywhere, but after visiting Nantucket last time, this island has that laid back island charm with so many style homes all over the island. It’s not all homes of the rich and famous. I’m sure those are all there, hidden away, but we didn’t see those private areas.

We saw the real Martha’s Vineyard, I think, from Tom’s point of view. He was born and raised here and raised his family here so he really knows all the ins and outs.

There are definitely pretty and quaint homes and cottages all over the island.

This area was really fascinating, the Oak Bluff Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association. They have these so cute adorable gingerbread cottages that are used in the summer months still for camp meetings on the island, dating back to the 1800’s. I love that!

Weekly rentals are available June through September. Tom said that the cottages are not heated, so they are closed up for winter months. I can imagine how much fun this is during the summer months.

These were so delightful to see.

I think this is my favorite one!

Moving on from Oak Bluffs, we continued along the coastline. He mentioned Chappaquiddick Island and it’s a smaller island off Edgartown, but we didn’t visit that area.

Tom told us that when he was a teenager, he was an extra in the movie, Jaws, and showed us what is left of the props from Jaws. That was very interesting, I didn’t realize that a lot of the movie was filmed here.

This is a lifeguard stand from the movie.

Homes in Edgartown. We stopped in the well known town of Edgartown for a 30 minute walk about and shopping time.

I enjoyed strolling some of the residential streets. There are lots of shops and restaurants there too.

Street in Edgartown. Tom told us that the shops were mostly closed down, but a few of them were selling all their shirts for 1/2 off, so we picked up some t-shirts of Martha’s Vineyard to bring home.

It was a pretty area and we enjoyed this stop very much. Tom was a wealth of knowledge on everything we asked.

I think Tom told us he got married in this church. He was slightly younger than we were.

Such a pretty church.

The streets were deserted, but it was fun to walk around. I can imagine how busy this place is in the summer months.

The waterfront and docks were really charming too.

We continued on around the island and got a great tour of the island.

Again, it’s not all glitz and glam, it’s very earthy too, like these stone walls that are all over the place in New England.

So many pretty scenic spots on our drive around the island.

The Gay Head Cliffs and Lighthouse was a really wonderful way to end our day on the island. We loved this stop as well and it was gorgeous. The lighthouse was built in 1856.

Light on!

There were a few shops open up here too in the town of Aquinnah.

We didn’t walk all the way to the lighthouse, but got a good look at the cliffs.

They really are stunning, but look at this link for even more color showing on the cliffs. Such natural beauty!

This was a wonderful stop.

Of course, we had to take a picture at this spot!

Last look at the lighthouse.

We continued around the coastline back to the ferry.

Police station

More rock walls, we loved those!

And a random old gas pump that Tom said has been there for years.

This beautiful old tree caught my eye.

So that was our 3 hour tour of Martha’s Vineyard. We didn’t see the rich and famous, but we sure saw the down to earth side of the island and that is fine with me.

Taking the ferry back to Woods Hole, we caught the Nobska Lighthouse in the distance, a beautiful sight.

I hope you enjoyed going along with us to Martha’s Vineyard. I know we were both happy we jumped at the last minute and took the ferry over and back. It was a new destination for us and now we can check both Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard off our bucket list! That wraps up our 2023 trip to New England and it was a complete success and so enjoyable.

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