this photo wasn’t taken until nearly the end of the week, but it just has to come first
For many years, we vacationed with our children for one week each summer on Martha’s Vineyard. But then they all got older, got married, had children, and there was no house big enough, nor did they all have the time or the inclination, amidst conflicting demands, to come. Also, of course, we had purchased our apartment in Collioure, France, and that pretty much took us out of the U.S. picture in summer-time. So our last time on the Vineyard was 2005. Although only three of our six children could come this year, we were still hoping for a glorious week. We would miss the others, but we understood why they weren’t here.
our Cape Air plane
From Portland, we drove to Boston’s Logan airport and caught a tiny Cape Air flight to the Vineyard – the kind of flight where they ask how much you and your carry-on luggage weigh before you get on the plane. The pilot looked as if he might be celebrating his Bar Mitzvah that night. But he flew a perfect flight. We just missed seeing Fareed Zakaria who we were told landed on the plane just before us.
Two of Pat’s group had arrived earlier and they met us at the airport. By that time, the cleaners were finished and we could occupy our rental house. Later that afternoon, my son and his family arrived. They had rented another house, less than a half mile away. On the first night, Kevin & Dawn and Kerry & Susan were all exhausted from their long overnight drive to Wood’s Hole. So Pat and I took some of the food we had just purchased and went to the other house to see Jon, Stacie, Evan & Natalia. Jon cooked the hamburgers and we enjoyed our first visit with them in several months.
Pat at Edgartown harbor
The next morning (Sunday) Pat and I rode into Edgartown on Kerry and Susan’s bikes (about 20 minutes). It looked very much the same as we remembered. We had lunch at Flowers, bought a NYT at the Paper Store, and biked back. That night, dinner was at our house, with Kerry & Susan cooking. This continued the long-standing tradition of one couple taking each dinner – preparation and cleanup – that had evolved over the many years of MV visits. Jon and Stacie brought the kids, and we happily gave up the idea of a quiet repose. Pasta and shrimp. Lots of conversation. Lots of laughs. Later in the week, Dawn & Kevin cooked twice and Jon & I shared a night.
This was a wonderful house. Plenty of space, indoors and out, everything you would need. And a bonus. After we rented, the owner put in a/c. How delightful in a week that was often 90 degrees.
The week went much quicker than we knew. Everybody was busy. 30 mile bike rides. 3 mile runs. Trips to the beach. Pat and I took the grandkids one night and the next morning to give their parents a “sleep-in.” We went for a great walk, met a lady who had lived on island for almost 90 years, saw chickens and horses. We also played catch, soccer and kickball (where are the photos for that?). Jon and I had time for a quiet lunch. Pat, Kerry and Kevin for a rigorous run. There was so much physical activity that Dawn said she felt like she was at a “fat camp.”
***
One night we watched Jaws, in preparation for a Jaws walking tour in Edgartown the next day. (Check out Mike at Amity Tours. He did a great job, showing scenes from the movie on his iPad as we stood at the locations.) We learned many fascinating details. MV got the film, instead of Nantucket, due to a foggy morning when the site-selection person’s ferry to Nantucket was cancelled. Speilberg was such a perfectionist he took 4 days to shoot the opening scene planned for 4 hours. The mechanical shark got fouled up in the salt water. The film crew was supposed to be gone by July 4, but didn’t finish until September. One scene was shot outside the Old Victorian Inn where Pat and I spent our honeymoon in 1984.
Pat took the opportunity to teach the grandkids important new skills …
***
Did you notice all the shirts with the black dogs on them? This is a continuation of a family tradition started many years ago. The shirts are from the Black Dog, first a restaurant in Vineyard Haven and now a nationwide mail-order retail merchant. The shirts have the years on the back, and we have, among us, quite a collection.
***
Here are photos from 2005. We’re all 8 years younger, and some of us are just a tad thinner. Also, Josh, Steph and Blake are with us. This year, Blake was too busy helping his team win one baseball tournament after another …
the Weinstein group in 2005
***
the Lenny group (and me) in 2013
***
some things never change
***
Finally, our week was over, and as dusk settled in, it was time to pack up and move on. Next stop, Falmouth with our Key West friends.
***
TRAVEL with pat and lew 