| MARTHA'S VINEYARD:
REFUGE FROM CHAOTIC AMERICA |
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In 1602 when Bartholomew Gosnold sailed south of what we now call Cape Cod he found "many faire islands . one with an incredible store of Vines where they run upon every tree . that we could not goe for treading upon them." Martha's Vineyard has changed somewhat from those times but it's
still so different from the mainland that when its locals go "off
island" they say they're "going to America." Its residents are proud
of those differences especially of the simplicity of life on the
Vineyard where a highlight of the day might well be simply sipping
a soda at the Home Port Take Out in Menemsha as the sun goes down.
And enjoying a part of the United States where there is so little
crime locals seldom lock their houses or their cars. It's an island,
too, with no billboards, no neon signs and no traffic lights. |
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 Undoubtedly there is rivalry between nearby Nantucket and the Vineyard. It starts says Chris Brooks, a tour guide with VineyardGuides, with the schools and their athletic and football teams and extends into each island seeking its share of tourism. "Martha's Vineyard is a more realistic reflection of society at large, it has a broader range of people," Brooks says. It's also easier to get to; ferries from major ports on Cape Cod take as little as 45 minutes from Wood's Hole, and Cape Air flies from Boston, Hyannis, Nantucket, New Bedford and Providence with interline baggage handling for connections with most major airlines. The vineyard scenery is more varied than Nantucket's, it has more attractions like the Polly Hill Arboreteum and the Cape Poge marine refuge on Chappaquiddick and finally there are six towns on the Vineyard each with its own personality. |
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