Two Glorious Weeks in Martha's Vineyard

A travelogue of my favorite summer island.

“What draws you back to the island every summer?”

It’s a question that I’m asked all of the time by neighbors, friends, even strangers I meet when visiting Martha’s Vineyard. The answer is simple: The island is special.

Walking down to my favorite beach: Aquinnah.

We all have places in the world that stand out to us, that make us feel more in tune with the natural world, that somehow capture the spirit of our truest voice. For me, it’s this 87-square island that sits 3 nautical miles off the coast of Cape Cod. Maybe it’s the island’s long undeveloped stretches of beach or the way the light bursts out from the horizon. Maybe it’s the towns that don’t seem to change architecturally, even if the shops often do. Maybe it’s the long bike paths that connect the towns, oceans and farms. This island is my happy place. It’s why I set my first novel Summer Darlings here.

Since my fourth book is also set on the Vineyard, I paid even more attention to the island’s rhythms, colors, weather patterns and natural spoils this time around. With a notebook on my lap on the beach, I scribbled down lines of dialogue that popped into my head. A description of fish jumping. The way the teenage lifeguards leaned into each other when they flirted atop the crisp white stands. How you could be made wobbly when your heel caught in the cobblestone sidewalks in Edgartown on the way to dinner.

I also thought it would be fun to give you insight into my Martha’s Vineyard. So here it is, a small window into my favorite spots on the island.

Bookshops
The island has a strong sense of literary history with many authors visiting or summering on the island. Writer William Styron and his wife, poet Rose Styron, are among some of the most famous in recent memory, and Rose’s new memoir Beyond This Harbor was a feature at every bookshop. I picked up a copy since it promised the vibrant story of their lives in the summer house in postcard-perfect Vineyard Haven, featuring visits by Presidents and luminaries, notable figures like publisher Katherine Graham, Jacqueline Kennedy, Carly Simon and Phillip Roth.

There are two bookstores on the island: The first is just down the street from Rose Styron’s front porch. Bunch of Grapes is one of the most well-curated bookshops I’ve ever been to, and I was thrilled to find copies of both of my novels as well as new books by so many friends, like Jimin Han’s The Apology, Annabel Monaghan’s Same Time Next Summer, Fiona Davis’s The Spectacular, Katherine Sherbrooke’s The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly, and Kristy Woodson Harvey’s Summer of Songbirds.

There is also a bookstore cat named Bookmark who sleeps in a tight ball at the front of the store and welcomes petting.

The second bookstore is in Edgartown and called Edgartown Books. With a front porch of its own, Edgartown Books is the perfect spot to browse and sit with a coffee afterward people watching as the parade of tourists makes its way along the sidewalks. The shop also has a fantastic selection of books — they have an entire wall devoted to summer reads and romance — and I had a chance to sign books here while I was visiting. Of course, I forgot to snap a pic! (The talented Lynda Loigman, author of The Matchmaker’s Gift, is signing books here on Sunday, September 3 at 2pm!)

The Farms!
Morning Glory Farm is the star of Edgartown since a bike path leads you to the farm’s barn where they sell locally grown produce, banana and zucchini breads, fresh cheeses and the most beautiful wall of hand-cut flowers you’ll ever find. I bought two bouquets and tucked them in my bike basket and rode home all the way to the ocean feeling like the happiest person in the world. What is it about summer flowers that brings everyone so much joy?

It’s also worth driving up island to North Tisbury Farm Market, a quaint roadside stand that stocks perfect peaches (in August) and specialty items. We go for one reason and it’s not very wholesome. They bake the best chocolate chip cookies on the entire island. I called to make sure they hadn’t sold out one day last week — they had!! — and they let me know you can order them ahead and they’ll put them aside for you. I ordered EIGHT and picked them up the next morning. If you haven’t already heard, I’m a bit of a chocolate chip cookie fiend and I indulge on them quite often when I’m writing. North Tisbury is a must-visit for me!

Best Walk
The island has miles and miles of mowed grassy walking paths that wind through meadows, forests and pastures. We’ve explored many but my absolute favorite is the walk down to the orange cliffs of Aquinnah. The trail winds from a dirt parking lot through a lush field of wild beach plums and dunes, and while it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to get down to the beach, it’s the most spectacular walk. I make excuses to walk back to the car just to be able to do it more than once.

As a beach, Aquinnah features the softest sand on the island, dramatic cliffs that meet the shoreline and crystalline ocean water. There are thousands of rocks up by the dunes, too, where everyone gets all zen and makes stacks of rock cairns to leave their mark on the beach. That’s mine with my trusty moleskin notebook.

Favorite Beach is…
State Beach! This long sandy eclipse isn’t wide depth-wise and it’s not even as sandy as Katama (another undeveloped beach on the island), but it’s always where we spend the most time. Sengie Pond lies adjacent to it — otherwise known as “Shark’s in the pond! Shark’s in the pond” from Jaws — and the two bodies of water side-by-side makes for a dramatic view. Also, the water at State Beach is aquamarine blue — it actually often looks like Caribbean-like clear here. I can’t explain why except maybe the water is so darn cold that it’s so clear and changes the hue.

The water in Martha’s Vineyard is brrrr. Not going to lie. But we always jump in and swim around anyway. We just love the crisp water.

One last thing: Biking
One of the other perks of the island is the bike ride that connects the town of Edgartown (think: manicured and upscale) and the town of Oak Bluffs (think: old timey with an antique carousel). After leaving either town, the six mile bike trail hugs State Beach nearly the entire way so the view is absolutely breathtaking with plenty of opportunities to stop and get great photos.

Isn't there more?

Yes, there is! There’s so much more. I could talk about the restaurants and the sunsets, the sail boats and the lighthouses. The puffer fish the kids catch with their hands. Instead, I’ll leave it at that. Because this is the side of the Vineyard that I love most, that makes me feel the most inspired as a writer.

Does anyone have any plans for Labor Day weekend? We are heading out to our beach cottage for one last bit of beach before we are fully entrenched in soccer and lacrosse, dance and voice — and me, buried back in the writing of my novel. Whee! That I cannot wait for. xo