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Visiting Nantucket Island

November 15, 2018 By Rhoda 27 Comments

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Hey there friends!  I’m back today sharing our second stop on our Cape Cod adventure.  Are you still hanging with me?  I don’t want to wear out my welcome and feel like the family you visit who pulls out the family photo album and all their vacation pics that they are so excited about, but you all have spurred me on in sharing more, so here I am!

We really only spent 24 hours in Nantucket, but as you’ll see, we packed in a lot of pictures during that time. I was snapping left and right.  We took the high speed ferry over to Nantucket from Hyannis and used the Steamboat Authority, booked through our bed and breakfast.  It was a drizzly day that day, but the sun came out later.  Most of our time there was chilly and a little windy, but we made the most of it.

View from the ferry coming into the docks in Nantucket.  It was such a charming view!  If you’ve heard that Nantucket is a charming and quaint island, you heard right.  When we were deciding where to go, I really wanted to go to either Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard and since Nantucket is the smaller of the two and we weren’t taking a car over, it made more sense to just do one night in Nantucket, so that’s what we did.

Our bed and breakfast was just a couple of blocks from the harbor and an easy stroll.  We packed just an overnight bag for both of us and left our luggage in our rental car in Hyannis and that worked out fine.  Our B&B is called The Brass Lantern, a former whaling captain’s house.  Lots of whaling captains in the area!  It’s a big stately gray shingled beauty and we enjoyed our stay way up on the top floor, one of the attic rooms.

Here’s a peek at the room, up on the 3rd floor, we loved the slanted ceilings and it had lots of windows and light. We had a view of the water from our room.

The bathroom was updated with beautiful marble tile.

Downstairs, the living room was cozy and comfortable.  We didn’t spend a lot of time inside, we had limited time to look around.

The breakfast room.

Breakfast was continental, but plenty filling and tasty. We enjoyed this one too. The Brass Lantern is very comfortable and nice place to stay and you can’t beat the location so close to the ferry.

The first thing we did after checking in was head down to town to catch a bus tour right here on this beautiful street.  It was a local guy who ran the tour and drove us around the island, narrating along the way and telling us lots of local lore.

The tour is called Barrett’s and our guide was Christian, a native of Nantucket, born and raised there and I think he said he was 5th generation or so.  We enjoyed his tour very much, very informative and the cost was $25 per person.  We were happy we did the tour so we could see the island and not just downtown.

This is a local landmark, a huge windmill.  He said it still grinds corn to this day.

Our guide pointed out celebrity homes along the way and now I can’t remember who they were, but I am sure that there are plenty living there.

These photos are mostly behind glass so bear with me, but we saw some pretty scenery.  We decided that summer is definitely the best time to be in Nantucket.  It wasn’t real busy when we were there and we didn’t have a car, so walking around the downtown area was all we really did other than the bus tour.  I’m glad we took the bus tour, to see the island. It’s only 3-5 miles wide by almost 15 miles long, so not really big at all.

We saw some pretty areas around the island and I imagine this place is hopping during summer months. We heard that it is teeming with summer visitors, taking advantage of the sun and sand.

Even the Post Office stations are cute!

What a pretty lighthouse on Nantucket.

So as you can see, Nantucket is just as charming as you could imagine.  I just know the summer months would be so pleasant.

We walked the sidewalks and cobblestones streets of Nantucket, taking it all in.

The downtown isn’t huge, so we walked a few blocks in all directions to see the shops and also take in the neighborhood around downtown.

We were fascinated by the cobblestone and brick streets, so pretty.

Nantucket has a beautiful public library.

The Atheneum, the town library, started as a private organization and became the pubic library in 1900.  I had to go in here, since I love libraries and books.  Little known fact: my first job at 15 was in our local library near my house and I used to walk to work.  I’ve always loved reading and books.

They didn’t allow pics inside, so we walked through and went upstairs to see what was up there and I saw this view from the window.  Such a pretty library, so if you go to Nantucket, definitely go in there.

I have no idea what’s behind this statue, but it looks very interesting.  A man with a little man in his hand.

Nantucket looks like a Hallmark movie or a Dicken’s Christmas village.

I think this is a church, such a stately building.

And then there are the charming houses of Nantucket.  We had breakfast after our night’s stay and since we didn’t have too much longer in the town, we headed out on a walking tour that morning, walking up and down the streets, me taking pics all along the way of all the quaint houses.

They were everywhere as you can imagine.  How many times can I say charming and quaint?  That’s all I can think of to describe the beauty.

Loved this church too!

Cute side yards and sidewalks everywhere.

Even though we missed the big hydrangea show of summer, we got the Fall version and it was pretty amazing. Someone told me some of these are Snowball bushes, but I don’t know how to tell the difference. They all had this pretty amber color.

Here’s an example of new cedar shakes.  As it starts to weather, it gets grayer an grayer.

And then it looks like this as it ages. I sort of knew this, but really hadn’t seen it in action, but these cedar shingled homes were just so cute. I’d love a mix of cedar shakes, stone and siding. What a great combo that would be. There aren’t a shortage of cute white picket fences either.

This red brick stood out from the rest.

And occasionally another color would be there, like this yellow.

Many houses have siding too. I loved this Sweet Autumn Clematis vine still growing strong. I’ve heard these are hardy growing vines for years now and may have to try one in our backyard. We want to make our backyard charming and quaint too!

Here’s one with a lot of age, with a deeper gray, but I still love this. It was fascinating to see how they all use the gray and white and mix in shutter colors and front doors to make their homes stand out from the other gray shingled homes.

We loved this brick driveway with cobblestones inside.  Isn’t that a great idea for a drive?

More of those fading hydrangeas or Snowball plants. Anyone know for sure which this is? I just assumed they were hydrangeas but maybe I’m wrong.

This deep teal sure looks nice with the gray, doesn’t it?

Oh, and this blue house with red door really stood out, so cute!

There was plenty of Fall leaf color while we were on Nantucket.

I just loved the door overhang on this door.  Those corbels were something!

Steamship Authority, ready to catch the ferry back to Hyannis after being on Nantucket for 24 hours.  We did eat out there that night, but didn’t really love the restaurant that much, so I’m not going to share it. It was just a block or so from our bed and breakfast. I’m sure there are fabulous restaurants on Nantucket, but we weren’t sure what we wanted and so took a chance on one nearby.  Luckily, that was the only disappointing meal of the whole trip.

After getting back to Hyannis and getting our car, we headed out to the Cape Cod potato chip factory.  This colorful tree was in their parking lot.  Gorgeous!

We took a really quick tour through the Cape Cod potato chip factory. Actually, many of the machines weren’t running when we were there, so we only got to see a little bit of the process. I love Cape Cod potato chips and it was fun to see where they come from.  We bought a bag of Russett potato chips from their shop on the way out and enjoyed them as a snack the rest of the trip.

After leaving Hyannis, we headed on to Falmouth, MA, another great stop.  We’ll pick up there next time! Thanks for hanging in there with me with this trip. I warned you I took a lot of pics and I sure did, but I’m so glad to document it all. I’ll be glad I did!

 

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Filed Under: Travel 27 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stacey @ Poofing the Pillows says

    November 15, 2018 at 7:29 am

    Rhoda, this trip is on my bucket list. I sure have been enjoying your pictures. 🙂

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 15, 2018 at 9:04 am

      Thank you, Stacey, I’m so glad! You must go one day!

  2. Nancy Cox says

    November 15, 2018 at 7:59 am

    Absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed every picture. Your description was perfect when you said out of a Hallmark movie. Thank you so much for sharing these delightful pictures. I have only been with you for about 5 yeats., but I love your blog. I read about 10 blogs daily and follow many more on instagram , but your blog is one of my favorites.

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 15, 2018 at 9:04 am

      Thank you, Nancy, I appreciate that!

  3. Norma says

    November 15, 2018 at 8:36 am

    I love this post!! Nantucket is one of my favorite places to visit. So glad y’all had such a fun time!! Thanks for sharing your trip.

    Reply
  4. Sandy says

    November 15, 2018 at 9:21 am

    thanks so much for showing and sharing your photos – it was a nice break in my morning to visit your outings with you which is what you make it feel like 🙂 so happy for you that life is treating you well soak it in!!!

    Reply
  5. Terri says

    November 15, 2018 at 9:31 am

    WOW…. I am in awe… Your pictures are just beautiful !!! I have always wanted to tour that area of the country….. LOVE the shingled homes … and those cobblestone streets….. So glad you are sharing your New England travel adventures with us !!!

    Reply
  6. Becky in 'Bama says

    November 15, 2018 at 10:11 am

    I continue to ooo and ahhh over these photos. Probably some of my favorite architecture for the Northern part of the US. I did a quick run through this a.m. and plan to re-look later in the day and study the different structures. Lovely.

    Reply
  7. Janice Feaster says

    November 15, 2018 at 11:51 am

    As much as you enjoyed Nantucket, you need to read author Elin Hilderbrand, especially her Winter series of which Winter Solstice is the 4th and last of the series – just in time for Christmas!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 15, 2018 at 3:29 pm

      HI, Janice, I have one of her books here at my house, so I will definitely read it eventually. I love to read, but don’t read as much as I used too since I’ve been blogging.

  8. Sandy says

    November 15, 2018 at 11:54 am

    I loved this post because I love Nantucket! It is truly charming and quaint as you’ve described. Living in MA, it is a fairly easy destination in the summer and I have visited too many times to count but yet not enough because I never tire of going there!! Sometimes for a day trip, which is easy to do with the quickness of the fast ferry, and sometimes for a few days. Many fond memories of taking in the Boston Pops on Jetties Beach and eating the best ever donuts from the Downey Flake … to seeing first hand the sculpture and sandcastle building day, also on Jetties Beach (usually in July), … and so many more!! Thanks for bringing me back there for a few minutes.

    Reply
  9. Teresa says

    November 15, 2018 at 12:05 pm

    Loved seeing Nantucket in all its Fall beauty! We visited Nantucket about 6 years ago in the early Summer and believe me its much more crowded so seeing it off-season less crowded is nice. Did you guys go to the Whaling museum? It was a great learning museum and how much impact the industry had on the island. BTW…I love Cape Cod potato chips…they are the best!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 15, 2018 at 3:27 pm

      Hi, Teresa, we didn’t go into the museum, but went in the gift shop. I’m sure it’s a nice piece of history.

  10. Becca P says

    November 15, 2018 at 1:13 pm

    Thank you for the beautiful pictures! You mentioned possibly planting sweet autumn clematis in your yard. It can be really aggressive in the south (where it doesn’t get enough severe cold to kill it back) so you may want to ask the nursery about an alternative that is similar but won’t turn into an invasive weed. 🙂

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 15, 2018 at 3:27 pm

      Thank you, I have heard that it is aggressive. I’ve also had experience with planting Confederate Jasmine and it’s a great vine too, so maybe that would be one to add to our backyard.

  11. Sue says

    November 15, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    Hi Rhoda, Nantucket is on my bucket list and your pictures are terrific. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  12. Patricia Dowd says

    November 15, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    When I was a kid, I was told those gorgeous bushes were snowball bushes, which made sense since most in our neighborhood were white. But they are all hydrangeas! Perhaps the white can be called snowballs and all the others hydrangeas! Still enjoying your very personal tour – thank you so much!

    Reply
  13. Tammy says

    November 15, 2018 at 8:29 pm

    I think up north what they call snowball bushes are a kind of viburnum. Some of them have the most heavenly fragrance!

    Nantucket really is charming and quaint. Love seeing the pictures, thank you!

    Reply
  14. diane in northern wis says

    November 15, 2018 at 10:06 pm

    Wow….loved this one too Rhoda. Such beautiful homes and shops. I loved seeing it all. Thanks for taking us along. Do you have more to share from your trip? Hope so.

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 16, 2018 at 9:01 am

      HI, Diane, yes 2 more stops and 2 more houses. I took so many photos!

  15. Annette says

    November 15, 2018 at 10:27 pm

    I love everything about your blog. Enticing photos of your trip; keep them coming.

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 16, 2018 at 8:59 am

      Thank you, Annette, I will do that!

  16. Pam says

    November 16, 2018 at 4:22 am

    Hi Rhoda!!

    What a fabulous trip!! Thank you for taking so many great photos!! I live back East during the Fall. The colours of the leaves are so bright.

    When we came back home from our trip to California, we came up the coast and going through Oregon we saw a lot of grey cedar shakes. My favourite along with the weather worn navy blue ones.

    You described it to a T, charming and quaint. That one picture of the beautiful driveway where they used cobblestones in the middle and brick for the rest of it was such a beautiful finish to go along with the beauty of the property.

    Thank you again Rhoda, I really enjoy your trip!!

    Have a great weekend!!

    Pam
    xoxo

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 16, 2018 at 8:59 am

      HI, Pam, so glad you enjoyed it all! I’ve got 2 more stops to share. I’m so glad I can document this trip and keep it forever on my blog and for you all to enjoy too. I loved that driveway detail, so charming.

  17. Karen says

    November 16, 2018 at 8:53 am

    Hi Rhoda,
    I had a snowball bush in my yard of my former home and tried Hydrangea but couldn’t grow those. Snowballs like more drained soil and Hydrangea like moist. I found my snowball had smaller blooms than a Hydrangea and were always white. Here’s a nice article in telling the difference:

    https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/viburnum/telling-snowball-bushes-apart.htm

    Karen

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      November 16, 2018 at 9:02 am

      Thank you, Karen, I’m still not sure what those fading ones were on Nantucket, but either way, they were gorgeous!

  18. MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA!) says

    November 17, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    Such beautiful pictures, Rhoda! These pictures are bringing back so many wonderful memories of our time spent here. Hopefully, we can go back and visit this wonderful area one of these years! So happy that you and Mark enjoyed your wonderful holiday!

    Reply

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Thanks for stopping by! I’m Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn’t have to cost a fortune and I’ve spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yard sales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I’m here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won’t you join me?

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