Since we arrived in Boston late at night, once again the start of our morning was delayed (can you tell that I am NOT a morning person, haha). We didn’t get out of the hotel until about midmorning. The distance between Boston and the ferry dock for Martha’s Vineyard is about two and a half hours. After packing up the car, our journey took us slightly longer due to dreary weather and a much needed stop to get caffeinated. We were tempted to make scenic stops along the way, however the weather halted any of those thoughts.
It was around lunch when we reached the ferry dock. At this time, we ran into some complications. Travel tip: pre-book your passage if you plan on taking your vehicle over to the island. The websites said that you could book your passage at the facility. However at the time, we were only able to bring our vehicle to the island, but the day we needed to come back was already booked. Left with only one choice, we booked passage with the Steamship Authority. Be sure to book your passage with time to spare since the parking lots are about ten minutes away. We parked our rental at Palmer Ave; parking is about $15.00 a day. Passage fares can vary depending on the season. If you are leaving your car on the mainland double check to make sure you have the right parking lot, we were ill-informed about one of the lots that was actually closed. We were on a time crunch to make the ferry. Time travel from the ferry docks to Oak Bluffs was around forty minutes and was an enjoyable ride despite the chill and fog. Also, be warned that you have to carry your luggage up the stairs of the ferry- so pack light!
Traveling around the Island
Once our ferry docked, we exited before the cars. We walked up the gangplank to the welcome center to scout out transportation to get around the island. If you didn’t bring your personal vehicle, you can hire a taxi. However, their version of a taxi is a shared van. Ubers can also be found scattered across the island, but they are scarce. We took this route and had one within minutes. The driver told us getting an Uber can take a bit of time. Last option is bike rentals, but I’d only suggest this for sunny days, lol.
Pequot Hotel
After much web surfing, I ran across a quaint inn called Pequot Hotel. It is clean and well kept. The lobby is welcoming and they even had a little bar where you could make hot tea or hot chocolate (we took advantage of this later). They also served fresh, home-made cookies. The hotel clerk was exceptionally friendly and told us about the island and what there was to do. After checking in, we dropped our luggage off at our room and freshened up for dinner.
Walking about Town
Thankfully, the little town of Oak Bluffs was within walking distance. When we left our room, we simply took a right and walked around ten minutes to town. We were both craving Thai, however we still had a few minutes before it was open for business The local candy store turned out to be the perfect place to kill time. Sadly, we visited this store twice within thirty minutes, haha.
Time had passed and the Bangkok Thai restaurant was finally open. One reason why I love Thai is because I can eat most options on the menu. Also, I love how peaceful the restaurants are- you can actually hear yourself think as you eat, lol.
After dinner, we merely walked about town and shopped at some cute boutiques. However by this time, the shops were starting to close for the evening. So our shopping splurge was cut a little short. We simply continued to walk about town and headed down to the wharf. This is where I captured some beautiful photographs of the sunset reflecting off the water.
By now the sun had gone down and it started to get quite chilly. We went back to our room and grabbed our wind breakers. I was not yet ready to call it an evening. With our hands stuffed deeply into our pockets, we made our way toward the beach. It was a stunning sight to behold. White sand met overlapping waves of glistening water. The entire beach empty, spare two other souls. The sky reflected of soft pinks and purples as the sun kissed the horizon goodbye. Smooth pebbles and speckled shells lined the shore. Each one hard to resist from picking up to feel in-between my fingers. By far this was one of my absolute favorite moment from spent on Martha’s Vineyard- though it was short visit indeed. One could easily spend a whole week exploring this beautiful island. It saddens my heart that we weren’t able to spend more time, but I am also grateful for the short time that we had.
After walking along the beach, we decided it was time to call it a day. Though our morning started off hectic and full of complications, I say that our day ended on an extremely sweet note.
Hope y’all enjoyed this blog post and found it helpful and inspirational!
Xo,
Hannah
