3 Weeks, 4 Islands, 6 Harbors – Walking Around Edgartown

Among the Flowers, our favorite breakfast spot in Edgartown.

Our first full day in Edgartown was warm and humid with a threat of showers, so we donned our foul weather gear for our traditional breakfast at Among the Flowers, a little restaurant on Mayhew Lane. Way back in  2004 we watched a Season 3 episode of Rachel Ray’s “$40 a Day”  featuring restaurants on Martha’s Vineyard which included Among the Flowers. Ever since then, we always have breakfast there. It’s must-do on our Edgartown list.

Foul weather gear for our dinghy ride to shore.
Among the Flowers, outside dining with protection under the awning and porch.
A delicious breakfast once again. Can you believe that is a “side” of fruit with the quiche???         The bill is presented in a cute little glass jar.
Al spent a little time playing the ring on the tree game. He was successful!

After such a filling breakfast, a walk around Edgartown was in order. Edgartown is a classic and elegant whaling town from the 18th and 19th centuries, with beautiful homes and well-manicured gardens.

The lawns and gardens definitely meet the criteria for “well-manicured”.
Classic New England coastal homes.
There simply can’t be too many hydrangeas. My most favorite flowering shrub, anywhere.
August is a month when everything is in full bloom. Even on a gray day, there was color.
Lifting our eyes upwards we can find the church steeples. The Federated Church not he left and the Old Whaling Church on the right.

I have special memories of the Edgartown Library on North Water Street.The old brick building was opened in 1904 and served as the library for 112 years until 2016. We were unaware that a new library had been constructed and opened last year. Why do I have a special memory? Back in July 2006, I was offered a new position while I was off sailing for three weeks. I accepted the job over the phone, but needed to officially resign from my current position ASAP (Sidebar: My immediate supervisor knew about the potential change and had encouraged and supported me in the pursuit.) Although that seems like yesterday, wifi in harbors didn’t really exist and we certainly did not have that capability. Off to the public library where I composed and sent my resignation email. There was no other way to do it in writing quickly. At least we had cell phones “back” then.

The old Edgartown Library
Window shopping in downtown Edgartown.
“Pastoral Dreamer” is a 2x life size sculpture by David Phelps now residing (reclining?) at Vineyard Square. In the sculptor’s words, the piece is meant to convey a sense of “perseverance, optimism, and humor being embrace in the face of adversity.”  Guess we are not art connoisseurs. Just looks like a boy relaxing and enjoying some quiet contemplation time.
Bicycles as planters. Recycling the ‘cycles?
As we walked the streets close to the water, we turned an eye to the harbor. Sure enough we quickly spied our own Kindred Spirit in the mooring field. It’s like a built-in radar system.

We ended our morning stroll on the upper deck of Memorial Wharf overlooking the harbor. Even on a gray day, the views are worth it.

A nice view of those beautiful homes from the waterside.
Chappy ferries
Edgartown Lighthouse
The mooring field

Although not the sunniest of days, it also wasn’t a rainy day. For the afternoon we dinghied over to Edgartown Harbor Light. The first lighthouse, a two-story wooden structure that also served as the lightkeeper’s house, was constructed in 1828.This first Edgartown Light was destroyed in the Hurricane of 1938. In 1939, the United States Coast Guard demolished the existing buildings and installed this 1881 vintage cast-iron tower relocated from Ipswich.

Edgartown Harbor Light marks the entrance to Edgartown Harbor and Katama Bay. I love the way the children are running around the base of the lighthouse.
1828 and 1939

We climbed the stairs to the top for a look. It’s only 45 feet tall, but still gives a nice view of the water and land. It is surrounded by a sandy beach with a stone causeway connecting it to the mainland.

The cloudy skies did become very rainy skies that night.

The dinghy filled with water after a night of heavy rain.

But the sun did come out to shine and play with us!

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2 Responses

  1. WD-70 Edgartown – Kindred Spirit

    […] on our honeymoon and then by boat for 3 weeks of the summer, for 20 years. I already wrote about walking around Edgartown in 2017, and another visit in 2019. I never tire of these familiar Edgartown sights. We have our […]

  2. Susie Marshall

    Thanks for sharing…I love Martha’s Vineyard. Your pictures brought back great memories. I look forward to returning to the same places again one summer.

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