Swim, Sun, Snooze/Lather, Rinse, Repeat. And Again with the Vineyard: August 2018

In which the vacationing Laskins visit their favorite place, take an unconscionable number of naps, and some of us eat a lot of clams.  Plus hockey jokes.  

WE MISSED A YEAR.  There is some vague trepidation accompanying my Vineyard planning this year because we DID NOT GO LAST SUMMER.  What if it has changed?  What if the house (a new rental for us) is terrible?  What if the beach is bad, there are no more lobster rolls at Grace Church, god forbid the Up-Island Cronig’s has stopped carrying exactly three of everything?  What if Chilmark Chocolates is OPEN when we are there?  What if they don’t sing The Swiss Na-vee at the Sing-a-Long? Despite my obsessive monitoring of the Vineyard Gazette and approximately 50 MV-related Facebook pages and Instagram accounts, there are so many sources of potential disaster.  I make lists of Things To Do, and Places To Eat, and Things To Bring, and as we close in on departure day, monitor the weather, of course.  I even order things from Vineyard Vines.[1]  Can you tell that my kids are away at camp for most of the summer, so I need something to worry about for godssake? 

Also, just that weird thing about writing a journal for a trip that you’ve already taken a half-dozen times.  The fine line between clever and, uh, stupid becomes ever harder to see.  Of course that could also just be because I need reading glasses to see anything these days. 

But back to Martha’s Vineyard, here’s one thing that sort of hasn’t changed:  the Obamas are on the island!  At least, they were a few days before we arrived.  The motorcade doesn’t snarl traffic any more, and there aren’t any Coast Guard cutters patrolling offshore, but we still bask in the memory of intelligent leadership.  Don’t get me started. 

(Follow along on the sidebar for the next installment!)

---

[1] This horrifies my children, who think Vineyard Vines and its whole preppy vibe are just the worst.  They’re maybe not wrong but sometimes I can’t deny my heritage.   

And Again with the Vineyard, 2018: Arrival

A week of unrelenting heat and humidity gave way to drenching rains over the weekend before we leave . . . but as we wait for the magical ferry, the skies clear and steamy sunlight washes over our crossing to the island. 

We have a new house this year, in the same general area up Longview, in fact, just across the street from a former rental.  But this is possibly the buggiest location ever, which may be a product of the truly oppressive humidity.  The house is also a compound – the master bedroom is in a separate building over the garage, and you have to walk down some stairs and across a little deck next to a nice garden to get to the kitchen etc.  It is all very clean (aromatically so) but the ACs are running to beat the band so also kind of cold.  Also, it’s a property that is new to the rental market so the owners are just figuring it out.  It has all the pre-requisites:  Martha’s Vineyard pillows in massive comfy chairs, requisite blue-green color scheme, and a randomly-stocked bookshelf including something by Suze Orman.  Clearly someone said you’d better have a puzzle and some games because there is a tiny pile in the corner, but it is enough for us because we also come prepared with two puzzles, Yahtzee, a deck of cards, and DICK.  The house is awash in clean sheets and towels although oddly lacking in storage.  And the windows and doors either stick (because new metal frames) or are permanently swollen open or shut.   Well you know, summer rental. 

It was odd, I won’t deny it, arriving on the island with just Izzy.[1]  While I’m so excited even just arriving at the ferry to wait half an hour, and am out of the car as soon as we drive on board, she’s sitting and reading a book.  (Of course, I’m delighted she’s reading but still . . . it’s the FERRY!)  Upon arrival we lumber over to the Net Result for our ritual lunch where I am trying to figure out what growth hormones they’ve been feeding the clams, or maybe it is just a lot of beer because those bivalves were FAT.  Almost too much, too creamy, and, truth be told, a bit soggy on the bottom of the box whence they’d been stuffed upon being fried.  Still, a big belly beats a strip any old day.  It’s a little quieter being just us two rather than our usual foursome.  Not bad, just different.

Still, we do our best to provision up (hello Cronig’s) and then spend a sweaty hour unloading the car (did I mention the humidity).  The West Tisbury Rec hut is its usual bustling self (not) but at last, beach pass on car, we head down to Lambert’s Cove for a pre-dinner dip.  And we are happy again.   

---

[1] Peter wasn’t sprung from WLC until today, so Bill went up to get him, while Izzy and I went to claim our island idyll.

And Again with the Vineyard, 2018: Day 2

Judging by the number of signs around the island, there are a couple of hotly-contested election races going on – for very important positions like Clerk of Courts and Register of Probate.  One candidate notes that he is “Experienced in Island Justice.”  What is that, we wonder, like frontier justice?  Rough justice?  Hawaii 5-0?  Another just touts her “experience.”  In what, we ponder, registering the probates?  Local (Cambridge) hero Jimmy Tingle is running for Lieutenant Governor so he gets a few signs, and inexplicably so does Ayanna Pressley, who does not represent this district.  Whatever experience or Island justice means, we’re pretty sure that the Vineyard remains staunchly blue.[1] 

Izzy and I made a cloudy provision run down to Menemsha before we picked up the boys.  There will be fish tacos tonight (mahi mahi) but more importantly there were two lovely littlenecks for my zweite frühstuck. 

There’s a café in Vineyard Haven, called the Waterside Market, that is fairly upscale – you know, $12 BLTs and fancy sandos, all the kombucha and something called  “Detox Water” which is, apparently, “Bioactive Aloe Water” and you can get it in flavors like Cucumber and Kiwi or Lychee and White Grape.  At $4 a pop, we opt instead for some cheaper sodas and split a pretty good chicken sandwich that takes forever to arrive on this rainy day when the place is packed.  Why do we care about the Waterside Market?  Because while waiting, Izzy spots what is truly exciting about this establishment:  that Guy Fieri was here with Diners, Dives, and Drive-Ins!  WE ARE EATING IN A TRIPLE-D ESTABLISHMENT!  We immediately text Peter and Bill with the news and then set to wondering, why on earth would Guy Fieri come here?  It’s not a dive or drive-in, and does any self-respecting diner sell Detox Water?  I sure hope not.

Fortunately, Mad Martha’s Ice Cream has Peach as the flavor of the week and it is terrific, so all gets back to normal while we await the arrival of the menfolk on the ferry. 

---

[1] Although you know, we didn’t get over to Edgartown this trip.  That has been the Republican enclave although it is hard to see how it could remain so.

And Again with the Vineyard, 2018: Day 3

Lambert’s Cove is pretty great, especially as the clouds clear up and you can just hang out all day swimming and sunning and reading and snoozing and then doing that all over again, with maybe a walk.  Of course, you have to be careful in all that sun.  “’SCUSE ME while I screen my thighs” quips Peter.  The kid is BACK. 

This morning my calendar alerted me that I had a meeting with my boss.  The calendar also told me that it would take two hours and 47minutes to get there.  Guess I’ll be late. 

Izzy is plowing through books like nobody’s business, I can’t even keep up with the titles.  When I ask what each one is about she starts by saying “Well, there’s this kid . . .” and then trails off.  Of course, we know from Peter that all stories are just variations on the Hero’s Journey anyway so I guess you can fill in the gaps. 

Who knew that the Up-Island Cronig’s carried prime beef?  They do, and with Mom’s marinade, it makes for a mighty fine dinner and subsequent sammies.