My Unforgettable Trip of Summer
Why I return to these islands every year.
I’ve traveled quite a bit on book tour since my novel came out in June. I even settled into my crooked little beach cottage in eastern Long Island for a couple of weeks in July. But it never feels like summer until we go to Martha’s Vineyard, and this year we made a quick stop in Nantucket, too.
You should see our car as we drive off the Steamship Authority’s hulking ferry in busy Vineyard Haven, bikes on the back, a roof rack packed with beach chairs and boogie boards, the trunk crammed with a badminton net and rackets, our duffles and beach bag. It’s sort of ridiculous how much stuff we cart with us, and yet, we look forward to this trip all year long. Why shouldn’t we bring everything we need to maximize our fun?
We rented two different houses this summer on two different parts of the island. There are six small towns in Martha’s Vineyard, and each one has a different feel. During the first week, we were in a neighborhood near the ocean called Katama, where you often wake up to a little fog blowing in off the water. Don't worry. It burns off quick. We love Katama because there are great bike paths that lead to the charming village of Edgartown, which is where most of JAWS was filmed back in the seventies. It’s also the chicest town on the island, so there’s great shopping AND a fabulous bookstore called Edgartown Books.
We spent the first few days of our vacation beaching it because the weather was so nice. Our favorite swimming spot is called State Beach, a 2-mile eclipse of white sand situated between Edgartown and Oak Bluffs, a lively town with colorful gingerbread houses and a sprawling green. State Beach is super laid back. You park along the road and walk one of several small sandy paths to find a spot on the beach. You can also watch dare devils jump off JAWS bridge. (Shark’s in the pond!)
A few days into our trip, I met up with my author buddy Lynda Cohen Loigman (whose new novel is coming out this October!) for an event with Edgartown Books. She interviewed me at the Carnegie, a stunning building erected by Andrew Carnegie at the turn of the century that served as the library until 2016. It was a small crowd, but we had a blast anyway. After our talk we walked over to Behind the Bookstore Cafe, which is literally behind the bookstore, and sat at the Hemingway Bar with my friend Leslie Chang and had a drink. We had a good laugh about island gossip, and it occurred to me that I’d never been out on the island with girlfriends. It’s such a family spot for us!
One of my favorite things to do on the island is bike along the network of paved trails to Morning Glory Farm. Morning Glory always has rows of fresh flowers in aluminum cans for sale out front — my mom taught me to always buy bouquets on vacation and put them around the hotel room or house where you’re staying. So I grabbed one with zinnias and wildflowers packed together. We also bought fresh corn and berries, baked goods and coffee. There are some farmstands that make you feel happy just eating blackberries at a picnic table, and Morning Glory is one of them.
The first week flew by, and my kids couldn’t wait for Saturday because their cousins would be arriving from Maryland. Every summer my brother-in-law, Joe, and his wife, Lucy, travel up with their three kids and we pile into a house. There’s mayhem and sandy floors and lots and lots of laughs. This year we rented a simple pair of cottages on a bluff overlooking Vineyard Sound and the Elizabeth Islands. The real estate agent had said to me, “If you can overlook the fact that the kitchen is from the seventies and doesn’t have marble countertops, it’s an incredible spot.”
I could certainly overlook that. The houses turned out to be situated down a long bumpy dirt road that opened up to a clearing with a large yard, the two houses and a private path to our very own beach. It was like summer camp. My son and his boy cousins shared bunkbeds in one house and my girl and her girl cousin shared a bedroom in the other house. In the mornings, everyone would walk along the beach and explore. We’d sip coffee on the deck overlooking the water. I did lots of reading.
It was such a special place the we immediately rented the house for next summer, and just thinking about that makes me so happy.
We had to leave super early. Our ferry to the mainland was at six-thirty on a dreary, windy morning. When we arrived in Cape Cod, we drove our cars to thirty minutes to Hyannis, where we caught another ferry. A high speed boat to Nantucket. We sometimes sneak over to the island after we leave Martha’s Vineyard. For one, I’ve had a couple of book events there over the last couple of years, and two, Nantucket is one of those places you need to step foot on at least once a summer. I was meeting up with author Nancy Thayer to do a book signing at Mitchell’s Books in town but we spent the day before in Sconset.
Sconset reminds me a bit of the Cotswolds in England but it’s on a bluff overlooking the ocean and the houses are cedar-shingled. There’s a Bluff Walk you can do along the houses situated along the cliffs and dunes, and you pass a series of lovely homes with breathtaking views of the wild, wild sea. The beaches were closed for swimming the day we were there but we still walked down and chilled on the soft white sand.
The morning before my book signing, we got up early and went to Surfside Beach for breakfast. There’s this adorable beach shack at the head of the trail down to the ocean where you can get breakfast sandwiches, açaí bowls, coffee and smoothies. As we ate, we watched as two dozen Nantucket lifeguards gathered in the parking lot in their bright red swimsuits and large, fully equipped backpacks.
There’s never enough time in Nantucket for us since we don’t dig in there like we do the Vineyard, but we still felt so lucky to visit. We shopped in the town — some of the shops are outrageously expensive — but people watching was great fun, too. Unlike the Vineyard, women in Nantucket dress up to go shopping and it seemed like tourists were sporting lines of resort wear as they paraded up and down the cobblestone streets. I kept thinking of how often Elin Hilderbrand has one of her characters break a high heel on one of those uneven sidewalks.
Here’s the funny thing: My next book, OUR LAST VINEYARD SUMMER, which comes out next June/July is set in Martha’s Vineyard AND Nantucket. Since I started traveling to both islands, I sent my characters to both of the islands as well. I’ll tell you more about this book in coming months, but isn’t it interesting how much our travels influence our imaginations? I get so many of my ideas in beach towns just listening and looking at everything unfolding around me.
And while I was on the Vineyard, I had an idea for my sixth book. Yes, I’m getting ready to sit down and write another novel. Can you ever believe it?
We are staying in Katama and sitting on state beach right now!! Also CANNOT WAIT for your vineyard book! I checked at edgartown books and spotted yours there yesterday.