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June 2000 MV - ROUTE 28 "NORTH?" TO PUWAL LANE visit to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard  The journey began very early Thursday morning as Tom, Dan, Julia, and Bill drove from Tom's house to Hyannisport. After parking the cars in an overnight parking lot (part of the Harbor Parking Systems, P.O. Box 121, Hyannis, MA 02691) we traveled about one hour on the High-speed Hy-Line catamaran from Hyannisport. We arrived at Nantucket around 10:15 am and walked to The Beachside at Nantucket. The hotel is advertised: Spring. Summer. Fall. It's all at The Beachside. From Nantucket's beautiful springtime to its colorful fall, it's all here to enjoy at The Beachside. Walk to Main Street and Jetties Beach. Ninety comfortably appointed, air-conditioned guest rooms. Outdoor heated pool. Suites, special packages and meeting facilities available. For reservations and information call 800.322.4433. The Beachside at Nantuacket is located at 30 North Beach Street, Nantucket, MA 02554, with website at http://www.thebeachside.com and email at info@thebeachside.com. Looking past a white picket fence the Nantucket Sound is seen as it edges up onto the 3.5 by 14 mile island. Calmly floating on the surface of the waters are several fishing and pleasure boats, and standing at the water's edge are some of the rustic buildings on the island. Nantucket Island is some 30 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Cod. Nantucket seems to be set apart from the rest of the country with its cobblestone streets, shingled, weathered 18th- and 19th- century sea captain's houses that reflect its glory days of whaling. Nantucket Island provided the inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby Dick and was popularized by the now-defunct television series Wings.
 Oran Mor, which means the "great song" in Gaelic has been on the island for four years. Chef Peter Wallace and his wife Kathleen met on the island in the early 1980s and fell in love with the island and with each other. After years of working at the Wauwinet, a large resort hotel on Nantucket, they opened their own place above an antique store near Steamship Wharf. It is located at 2 South Beach Street, 508.228.8655.
 Dan, Julia, and Tom walk along some small, quaint shops located to the south of Steamboat Wharf and east of Old North Wharf. People walk back to the ferry boats (located at the end of Broad Street) via "Easy Street".There are five major wharves and one pier protruding into Nantucket Harbor - from south to north. They are the Town Pier, Swain's Wharf, Old South Wharf, Straight Wharf, Old North Wharf, and Steamboat Wharf. You may be wondering if there is a difference between a wharf and a pier. A pier is a platform supported by pilings out over the water. A wharf is a place where boats may tie up and unload. So, a pier can actually be a wharf. Then there's a dock. A dock is, actually, the area of water between two piers.
 As we prepare to leave Nantucket on Friday morning Dan walks along the bricked walkways that lead to the ferry boats. As we prepare to enter the ferry that had just arrived we noticed that the popular things to bring on the island (at least today) were golf clubs and dogs.
 On board the High-Speed ferry back to Hyannisport, Massachusetts Julia watches the pilot and crew (off to the left in the background) as they navigate us back to the mainland.
 Dan reads the newspaper The Boston Globe as we swiftly glide across the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. As a bit of interest, when we passed a large mansion (on the right as we entered the bay outside Hyannisport) we asked a crew member if the house was part of the Kennedy Compound. The crewmember said it was.No, that's all of the story. Nothing else to report.
THE PLAN:Dan is bringing a car over to the Island. He is scheduled for the Woods Hole ferry on Friday, June 16 at 1:30 pm going to Oak Bluffs. Bill is also bringing a car over. He is scheduled for the Woods Hole ferry at 1:15 pm going to Vineyard Haven. REALITY: Well ..... we didn't quite make our reservation times at Woods Hole. When we came into Hyannisport we had about one hour and a half to make the road trip from Hyannis to Woods Hole. We asked the reservation representative about the drive time, and were told it would take us about 45 minutes. Well, with some help from the parking lot attendant and, later, an owner of a local retail store we made it to Route 28 via one of Massachusetts rotaries. With Bill in the lead car, Dan and Julia in the second car, and Tom bringing up the rear, we drove on Route 28 North. After about two blocks I thought to myself, "Hey, we're going "north" but Woods Hole is "south" of Hyannis, so we should be going "28 South". I pulled over, Dan agreed with me, and we turned around. Driving on Route 28, we spent the next 45 minutes making fairly good time. But in Chatham, while waiting for a long stop light, I noticed Chatham was no where to be found on the map between Hyannis and Woods Hole. Suddenly I saw Chatham at the elbow of Cape Cod. We were going "AWAY" from Woods Hole. YIKES! Upon more inspection of the map I could see where Route 28 suddenly turns NORTH toward Boston at Woods Hole. So going toward Woods Hole from Hyannis was going "north", even though we were traveling southward. So two hours later, we finally pull into the Woods Hole ferry site. We obviously missed our reservations, so were placed into the third row of "stand-by" in the Woods Hole Staging Area. Two ferries came and went without taking on any stand-by vehicles. About this time Tom P. and Ann called, wondering where we were. They were to meet us at the ferry at the appointed time of 1 o'clock, but we weren't there. Tom P said that they took the ferry and were currently sightseeing around Vineyard Haven. I told them the directions to the house, not knowing when we would be able to catch a ferry. The third ferry took on about one and one-half of the rows. Then, Tom C and Julia decided to walk onto this ferry rather than wait who-knows how long. Soon a freight ferry approached and dropped off a variety of semitrailer trucks, delivery trucks, and the sort. Other freight vehicles boarded the ferry. With extra space available, stand-by vehicles soon were allowed on. Dan and I just made it onboard and ..... we were on our way to Martha's Vineyard. Dan waits inside his rented Nissan SUV while the freight ferry MV Governor crosses the waters between Woods Hole and Martha's Vineyard.
We phoned Tom C that we were right behind them, and to wait for us in Oak Bluffs. We didn't know what harbor we were approaching until we saw Vineyard Haven straight ahead of us. Getting off the ferry, we drove to Oak Bluffs and picked up Tom and Julia.Onward to the house. THE PLAN:From VINEYARD HAVEN, leave the ferry and take a left. Proceed to the right lane, where upon passing the A&P store, turn right at the stop sign. Move into the left lane and drive 0.2 miles. Take a left onto Edgartown - Vineyard Haven Road. Pass another A&P store about 6.2 miles down the road. About 0.2 miles past the store, bear right by Edgartown Seafood to Pease's Point Way (approximately two blocks). Take a right onto Pease's Point Way and follow the road about 1.3 mles. The road becomes Katama Road. Pass the intersections of Knoll road, Mercier Way, and then Martha's Way. Katama Way is the very next right after Martha's Way and before the private tennis court. From OAK BLUFFS, leave the ferry and take a left onto Beach Road. Follow this road for 5.1 miles, go past the A&P grocery store. About 0.2 miles past the store, bear right by Edgartown Seafood to Pease's Point Way (approximately two blocks). Take a right onto Pease's Point Way and follow the road about 1.3 mles. The road becomes Katama Road. Pass the intersections of Knoll road, Mercier Way, and then Martha's Way. Katama Way is the very next right after Martha's Way and before the private tennis court.REALITY:Well .... I missed the "Y" intersection past the A&P store, but Dan, Julia, and Tom realized my mistake and took the (correct) right turn and made it to the house. I reversed directions, and drove up a few minutes behind them. (My navigational skills not being at peak performance today.) And, we found out that Katama Way was not "the very next right after Martha's Way". It was actually the fourth right after Martha's Way, with one of the other three rights being a private residence and the other two rights being an entrance that simply turned around to an exit. We finally realized that Puwal Lane was the correct entrance to the "Robinson Vacation Compound". Off of Katama Road (the main road to South Beach) on 262B Katama Way, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, 508.627.9401. About 2 miles from Edgartown and 1 mile from South Beach, within walking distance of bus and trolley to-and-from Edgartown and South Beach
- - Really! That's what it is advertised as! - - is situated just off of Katama Road in a most desirable location of Edgartown. The one-story ranch house surrounded by 5 acres of land (along with four other houses) will provide you with comfortable and luxurious lodging on the magical island of Martha's Vineyard. "HERE" points the way on the map. Set in the retreat area of historic Edgartown, you will be able to take a dip in the heated inground pool, play tennis or volleyball on the private courts, play horseshoes and basketball, and enjoy the many beaches and towns only minutes away. A charming trolley is available to transport you to the village of Edgartown and South Beach. Our vacation home for this year's trip to Martha's Vineyard is a single-level ranch house (one of five within the compound) with:
 The Compound was guarded by the very friendly German Shepard dog with the name "Doobie". He pretty much lounged around during the heat of the day, but got frisky at night running up and down the compound. He used to sleep on the porch of the house across the parking lot from our house and in the shade of the vehicles. That is, until I fed him a leftover cooked hamburger patty. He started sleeping on our porch after that. I wonder why?Altough tired after a long day of traveling Dan, Tom C, Tom P, Ann, Laura, Julia, and Bill eat at the restaurant The Seafood Authority that is located about half a block north from the Edgartown A&P grocery store #170 (508.627.9522) on Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road. It was our first time there, and we had a wonderful meal on our first night on the Island. In fact, Tom C had clam chowder that was sooooo good we went back for about eight takeout servings to eat throughout the week.
 On Saturday the Oak Bluffs Harbor Festival was held from noon to sunset. Visitors were entertained with live entertainment, "Sidewalk Sam" chalk art contest, food, games, and dozens of vendors represesnting artisans, shops, and nonprofit organizations.crafts, games and fun. The "Wacky Boat Race" was also back by popular demand.While waiting at the stand-by line in Woods Hole, I discovered an antique car next to me. It turns out that a custom car display would be held at the Festival. Driven by visiting members of the Boston Area Roadsters club, a "Fleet of Custom Cars" formed a procession at the Wesley Hotel in Oak Bluffs around noon and drove to the circle at Aquinnah. The antique cars were on display for several hours before returning to the harbor festival.The purple-colored car is shown at Aquinnah with the Gay Head Light in the background.
 Michelle, Tom P and Tom watch as Laura splashes water up from the pool. At a note of possible interest, while on the Island a front-page article on Trudy Taylor appeared in the Vineyard Gazette, Friday, June 16, 2000. Trudy Tayler, of Chilmark, is a 77-year-old artist, writer, adventurer, and mother. She has sailed the Atlantic in a 50--foot ketch, and again in a barkentine tall ship. Taylor has learned many lessons in her rich and adventurous life. She has said, "I try not to be too sentimental because it hurts. If something hurts you in life, you have to detour around." Taylor has also said, "Life is full of things to learn. You have to do that all your life or there's no reason to be alive. And it's okay to fail." One of her sons, Livingston, said, "What do you have to lose? You just put yourself out there and if it doesn't work, do something else. The important thing is to put yourself out." A third statement from her is, "First of all, everything in life is changing constantly. All around us. All the time. You have to adapt, or you're just unhappy. And when it gets so crowed you can't stand it, you move. When it gets too impossible here, I'll just fold my tents and get out." Trudy Taylor is the mother of Alex, James, Kate, Hugh, and Livingston.Continue with more pictures of ROUTE 28 "NORTH?" TO PUWAL LANE visit: Page 2
INFORMATION William Atkins e-mail: waarc [@] grics [dot] net business URL: http://www.WilliamArthurAtkins.com/research.html home URL: http://www.WilliamArthurAtkins.com
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