8-5-2011 Nantucket

Very early day. We were at the parking lot for the Nantucket ferry at 6:30. The ferry boarded at about 7 and we ate the yogurt, muffins, bananas we had brought. There were maybe 150 to 200 people on board. The ferry we were on was the slow one and the fast ferry passed it on the way over. I got pictures of lighthouses as we left the harbor. There was one right in the harbor but it was not clear if it was just part of the house next to it, like a decoration, or an old out-of-service light. I'll look it up when I get home. Saw a huge three legged mast or pole in the open water, far off in the distance. Read my book some. Wish I had brought the laptop since there was free Wi-Fi. The trip took 2 1/2 hours.

The Brandt Point lighthouse was on the way into Nantucket Harbor. When we got off the boat we rented bikes right away, being worried that they might be gone later - not a concern, it turns out. We rode off - both of us had baskets on the front - and stopped at the post office so Sue could mail a card to the boys. Getting out of Nantucket was very sporty - dangerous even. While the bike paths between towns on the island are very nice, they do not extend into town or the little communities. And the roads are very narrow. It was scary.

We rode the trail to Sconset. No water - we had forgotten to get a bottle before we left. It was hot and sunny but there was a nice breeze. We made it fine (though Sue's bike was in bad shape - very bad brakes and the gear shift didn't work in third so she had to pedal like mad). I got a cup of water from a nice waitress in a cafe in Sconset and we found a place to buy water also. Rode around the little community, very quiet, very much a beach town. The beaches here were also narrow - we didn't walk on them. Sue spotted a little yellow songbird - found out later it was a male Bullfinch.

It took us a awhile to find the next bike trail - we had a map but it didn't quite square with the real world and there were no directions. Stopped to take a picture of the Sankaty Head Light - couldn't get close without doubling back on a road so I took pictures from the bike path, across a golf course. We stopped next at the LifeSaving Museum - to make a potty stop we paid the $10 admission. It was worth it! The museum was very small - all about the US Life Saving Service that rescued people (and dogs) from shipwrecks in the Nantucket shoals. Found the story of how the Lightship Nantucket (#117) (the replica ship that we had seen in Newport harbor - you can see the small model below the lifesaver) had been sliced in half in the fog by one of the Titanic class ships - the Olympic. The lightship had many close calls - its job was to anchor in the fog bank and warn off these huge ships. 7 people died in the wreck.

We rode back into town and walked our bikes in the final 6 blocks. By this time it was 2:00 so we stopped and had lunch - Sue had a hamburger, I had a grilled bass sandwich and a local brew. We next walked up the Main Street, with all the little high-end shops. Then up into the local houses - most very old and large. The streets were tree lined and it was most pleasant. We noticed that many of these houses had slats on the front and shake shingles on the other sides of the house. Some houses were all shingle sided. There were many houses with widow's walks on the roofs - turns out they were up there to allow chimney fires to be put out by pouring water down the chimney - I'll bet that was a mess.

We walked out to the Brandt Point lighthouse in the harbor and took pics. Then walked back to town - it was really hot now. Stopped for ice cream and then went over to the ferry pier to wait for the 6:00 fast boat back to Hyannis. The ride back was very fast, seemed like less than an hour. - We really liked Nantucket - it was quaint, had a really nice downtown (but pretty touristy), pretty streets, wide open spaces outside of town.

After getting off the ferry we walked to the parking lot, drove to the hotel to make sure we got a new room for the extra night and then went in search of dinner. We both felt full and vowed we would only eat lightly. We had done so last night and then wound up pigging out. We went to Skippy's Pier 1 which was a fairly nice place. We both had Clam Chowder and salad. Sue had a big bowl and I had a bread bowl. Sue pointed out the soup was really rich - just can't win. The salad was just iceberg lettuce, with two baby tomatoes and two zucchini strips. Jeez. While we didn't pig out, we both had indigestion later. Best of intentions.