A Trip to The Cape & Martha's Vineyard
a few highlights & what I learned.
It’s been a full week over here. Days after moving into our new home, Levi & I took a short trip, just the two of us, to visit Cape Cod & ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard. Our airport offers a direct flight from Destin to Boston in the months of May to September, so we had to take advantage!
Here are a few highlights & a little bit about what I learned.
Scroll to the bottom for a quick list of fun details I’d share with you if we were in person!
Plymouth Rock —
Plymouth Rock. Tradition tells us it’s a symbol or landmark for where the Pilgrims first stepped foot on land in America. We also know that 102 passengers set sail on the Mayflower, a small cargo ship. Let me tell you, this replica was not that big.
I learned there was an ongoing debate about where the pilgrims actually landed & set foot. I love how this 95 year-old gentleman tried to set people straight:
It is in fact that they landed — and remained — that matters, not where they landed. Yet is no bad thing for a nation to be founded on a rock.
Rose T. Briggs; Plymouth Rock: History and Significance, 1968
On this particular day, it was encouraging to be reminded of where a group of people started. To learn more about their hopes & way of life. To consider their challenges. To remember Thanksgiving.
Around the park were smaller statues, monuments, pink flowers, & garden paths. There was a school field trip that day. It was sweet to see circles of friends eating their packed lunches. I enjoyed walking along the waterfront. One hand in his & the other sipping an iced vanilla latte.
Forefathers monument —
A Christian monument. The largest granite statue in the US. Built in 1889 to honor the passengers of the Mayflower. It’s considered to be “A recipe for a Christian Nation”. The Pilgrim society wanted to communicate their vision, Gospel foundations, & virtues they brought with them: faith, morality, law, education, & religious liberty.
Fun fact: The monument is 81 feet tall. It was originally designed to be 150 feet tall, just one inch under the height of the Statue of Liberty. For reference, the heads on Mount Rushmore are 60 feet tall & the seated Abraham Lincoln Statue is just under 30 feet high.
I personally loved how the monument begins with a statue depicting faith. The finger of faith is pointed to Heaven to represent there is one mediator between God & man, Jesus Christ. & With faith, they landed on the rock.
Faith’s left foot is taking a stand on Plymouth Rock. A nod to the belief that God governs & directs the steps of men.
Martha’s Vineyard —
A short, 45 minute ferry ride from Woods Hole through the Vineyard sound & you arrive at either Vineyard Haven or Oaks Bluff. The ferry is super consistent & runs just about every hour in season. Food, shopping, art, Main Streets, crowds, & bustle await. We took the city bus from town to town. Each of the towns have their own character: Vinyard Haven is the depot & shipping port. In Oaks bluff you’ll find BNBs & street shopping. Edgartown has a New England yacht club feel with old theaters, colored gingerbread cottages, dining, & church street. Our favorite was Edgartown. In our travels across and around the island, we learned there are no vineyards on this island. And that Martha was in fact the daughter of a ship captain. (& If you like the movie Jaws, there are plenty of tourist sites.)
Over the decades it has become a haven for the wealthy with large coastal homes, golf courses & clubs; however, for the casual traveler it didn't live up to the hype. We ate good food, had fun poking around, but saw & did all that we needed to in a day. Perhaps our experience would have been different if we had stayed on the island.
how was your trip?!
We saw lighthouses, the New England coast, & boating culture. We definitely got the weather experience of misty mornings, but we also got perfect sunshine too.
Yes, the lobster rolls really are SO good. Did you know there are two types? The Connecticut roll is buttery & savory while the Maine roll is more like a lobster salad.
We stayed at Woods Hole Inn. The hosts were so kind & offered great insight for our little adventure. We were near two port cities with direct ferries to Martha’s Vineyard & Nantucket.
I love the Great British Bake Off show. The pastry episodes are always my favorite. We visited Maison Villatte to try a French patisserie. The owner, a French chef, comes during the summer months to personally work in his “American bakery”. It was fun to learn the story & see him at work. I got a puff pastry with a cream & raspberry filling. It made me so happy.
I enjoyed my history review on Plymouth.
The colored gingerbread cottages were fun to walk through. I liked reading their names. The Purple Lady. Summer Lovin. Mellow Yellow. Alice’s Wonderland.
Province Town is not worth the drive. If you know, you know. We did not know until we got there.
Honestly, I’m spoiled. I’d seen the hype & photos of Martha’s Vineyard (& Nantucket) from bloggers & various accounts on Instagram. There are certainly homes, shops, or views that are charming & photo worthy, but the majority of what I saw was different than what I expected. Martha’s Vineyard was quite remote & more rural than I thought. It was fun to see other coastal towns, but I love our sandy white beaches. I favor our Destin harbor & the scenes we have nearby in Watercolor, Alys, or on 30A. I’m grateful to live where I do & also grateful to be able to travel too.