WD-70 Oak Bluffs

Morning came and it was time to leave Lagoon Pond. But first, before we had to tackle that bridge again, Don and Cindy made a dinghy run into Vineyard Haven for morning treats. 

Is that Aldo, all the way over here from Block Island? No! It’s Don and Cindy, “Dahl’s Delivery” bringing freshly baked croissants from the French Café Bakery.

By 10 am it was time to face the music. Make that face the bridge. The bridge will open between 10:15 am and 11:00 am. Don and Al felt confident that this would be the time to depart Lagoon Pond with favorable current and little risk. We did not want to repeat Saturday’s mistake. I called the bridge tender (such a nice guy!) to let him know our plans. He immediately responded that it would be an easy pass through the bridge at this time. That confirmation boosted our confidence levels and we prepared to move over to the day marker to wait.

The ride to Oak Bluffs from Vineyard Haven was a 3 mile trip, barely a hop, skip and a jump. More like just a skip. We all agreed that this morning’s weather was the best we had seen yet. It was perfect. (Especially now that the bridge was behind us. 😉)

Oak Bluffs is a tight harbor. We only stop in here mid-week because the weekenders from the coast pack into this harbor making it far too crowded. The policy is that you can raft up to FOUR boats on a mooring, and these moorings are close to each other.

It was such a nice afternoon; the sun was shining and the water was calm. After mentally debating with myself, I decided a dip in the water would be a welcome treat for my legs.

The town of Oak Bluffs has a different vibe than Vineyard Vineyard, more of a party and touristy, but fun. We walked around a bit and stopped at Ben & Bill’s for ……… yessireee! ICE CREAM! I wrote about this shop in a 2019 blog. I also wrote about their unusual flavor, lobster, and how disgusting that sounded. 2022 is time to take the next step and taste it!

Quirky photo for Oak Bluffs – “This” was laid out at the edge of the parking lot near the docks. Art? Organized trash? I asked the guy standing nearby who had wandered over when he witnessed my perplexity. “This” is a 3-D display of his cycling club’s route for the day. He explained that people do better with a 3-D version than they do with a paper map.

After dinner, we took an evening walk around the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association. This is absolutely the most special part of Oak Bluffs and we wanted to share it with Don and Cindy. Although the evening hours were not suitable for photography with my amateur camera and skills, it was a quiet and peaceful time for the walk. I have better photos from previous visits here in 2017 for Illumination Night, the most special of all events here, and in 2019.

On that evening we found ourselves having delightful conversations with people sitting on their front porches. Al and Don inspected the construction of the charming gingerbread houses, marveling at the intricate woodworking designs and the required maintenance of 160 year old wooden homes. It must take a lot of love and devotion to own one of these.

This enclave of cottages began in the 19th century as a religious “camp meeting.” By 1860 there were 500 tents and 12,000 people attending, reaching 30,000 in 1869. Between 1859 and 1864 tents were replaced with the unique “Martha’s Vineyard” cottage with a Victorian gingerbread style. By 1880 there were 500 cottages laid out in a circle with smaller circles radiating out from the main Trinity Circle. Today there are about 315 cottages remaining.

Most of the cottages are given names, just like boats. It would be fascinating to hear how each name was chosen. Most of the names give you a sense of the meaning or intention behind it, but some are mysterious.

As we walked along Trinity Circle, a man said hello and introduced himself as the lay minister for the United Methodist Church. He invited us into the church and shared the history and information about the church and the camp association. What a special treat that was.

The next day brought us back to the more commercial side of Oak Bluffs. Circuit Avenue is the main street lined with shops. One of our favorites is Craftworks.