Loving Life: New England Road Trip - Martha's Vineyard (Day4-6)

Every time we take a road trip, we always look back and ask ourselves what our favorite part was and what we would want to see and do again in the future. On this trip, the answer to that question is Martha’s Vineyard. We had such a lovely time visiting the Vineyard. We would love to go back again sometime and stay at least two or three full days. Even though our schedule said that MV was on days 4-6 of our trip, we really only had one full day to spend on MV.

After catching an evening ferry ride to MV on Wednesday, we checked into Menemsha Inn for a relaxing evening together. Menemsha is a more secluded part of the island and was about a twenty minute drive from the ferry. We were actually able to catch an earlier ferry than what we had planned, so that gave us a little more time to relax once we checked into our room. Menemsha Inn was the least romantic, but most reasonably priced place we stayed on this trip. It was certainly nicer than a Comfort Inn, but I would describe it as more practical than romantic. I found the room to feel a little dated, but it was nice overall. And of course, all of the buildings on the grounds had the classic MV look to them. Our room had a standard sleeping area, bathroom, living area and balcony with a beautiful view of the sunset over the water. Breakfast was buffet style and was pretty good. The inn was a fifteen minute walk from the beach if you followed the trails, or less than a five minute drive. The main reason why I would stay at Menemsha Inn again is because guests get a pass to Lucy Vincent Beach. This beach is maybe a ten minute drive from the inn. It is a private beach and one of the most beautiful places on the island. We were the only ones on the beach the morning that we were there. It was my favorite place that we went to on this part of our trip, and if we would have not stayed at Menemsha Inn, we probably would have missed out on seeing such a beautiful place.

We ate lunch in Edgartown, a quaint well-kept town with cute shops and places to eat. We then spent the afternoon basking in the sun on South Beach. South Beach is a public beach, but it is such a long beach that it felt very quiet and secluded to us. Unlike the rocks and boulders found along the cliffs of Lucy Vincent Beach, South Beach was a flat sandy beach surrounded by tall grasses. The water was too cold for us to go swimming. There were people getting in the water, but I thought it was way too cold for that. We took this trip in the middle of June, and it was perfect weather for relaxing on the beach with a good book or taking a nap with the waves crashing and ocean breeze blowing, but it was still a little too chilly for swimming.

And because the beach is one of my favorite places to be, when we arrived back to our room, we cleaned up and drove down to Menemasha Beach to watch the sunset over the ocean. It is the best place to watch the sunset on the island. The beach quickly fills up with onlookers who have packed a picnic dinner, brought their grills for a beach cookout or grabbed takeout from The Bite, all with the intent of enjoying good company, eating great food and watching a beautiful view as the sun slowly slips away over the horizon. We chose to watch the sunset from our beach shared as we shared a bowl of clam chowder, an order of fried clams and a fish sandwich from The Bite. The Bite is a little shack by the beach and is highly recommended as one of the best places to grab fresh beach-shack food on the island. It was pretty good food, but the view and the company made it taste even better.

After breakfast on Friday morning, we checked out of the inn, took a ferry ride back to Woods Hole, and said good bye to the island that made me feel happy and relaxed with all of its beauty. We were on the road by noon and we spent the next sixteen hours driving back towards home. Martha’s Vineyard was the perfect way to end our final road trip as a family of two. I will always look back on this trip with fond memories and see it as one of the last adventures we were able to take together before we had kids. Looking back, this trip is even more special to me now than it was then.

Below are is our MV itenerary and a few pictures from this part of our trip.

Summer Vacation

New England Road Trip

Day 4 Part 2

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Stop at Four Seas Ice Cream, Cape Cod around 7:00 p.m. (40 min)

360 S. Maine Street, Centerville, Ma

508-7775-1394

Arrive at Steamship Authority – Woods Hill by 8:30 p.m. (43 min)

1 Railroad Ave, Woods Hill, MA 02543

Parking $24 for two days

Ferry Ride to Martha’s Vineyard ($32 for two)