The Vineyard - Part I

We made it to Cape Cod and settled into our campground at Peter's Pond in Sandwich.  We had been to Peter's Pond once before in 1993.  It was still pretty much the same ... overpriced and overrated.  But, this IS Cape Cod, tourist Mecca.  Nevertheless, we eagerly anticipated the next day's journey to Martha's Vineyard.

When first planning this trip, we always figured that if we made it as far as Maine, we would go over to the Vineyard for a day on our way back south.  The Vineyard holds sweet childhood memories for Linda.  For several years, her parents owned a "cottage" in the Oak Bluffs Campground and she spent a couple of months there every summer.

Then, through Facebook, Linda recently rekindled a childhood friendship with Julie, who is now a permanent Vineyard resident.  Julie's parents and Linda's parents were good friends.  Both of their dads were Methodist ministers in Ohio, and both families spent their summers on the Vineyard.  The families visited each other often in Ohio, as well. The details are complicated, feminine, and murky, but suffice it to say the two of them were thrilled to have found each other again.    And just like that ... our original plan of just an afternoon on the Vineyard blossomed into a more leisurely 2-day stay.

So, we took the 9:30 AM ferry from Woods Hole to Oak Bluffs.  Julie met us at the terminal, and the grand Vineyard adventure was off and running.  Julie and her husband Goeff gave us a wonderful tour of the entire island.  We visited all the places Linda remembered from childhood.  There were a lot of "remember when ..." moments during the day.  

We ate fried haddock at an outside picnic table in Vineyard Haven, and pub sandwiches that night in Edgartown.  We spent the night at Julie and Geoff's gorgeous home and sat up late swapping stories.   After all these years, these two women picked up as if they had only been apart for a month or so.  Frank and Goeff got along as old friends also.  We never imagined our trip to the Vineyard would be so nice.

 Come back for Part II.  It gets even better.