DE S T INAT IONS
In some ways Martha’s Vineyard
is like the mainland part of the Cape in microcosm, with three distinct towns. Vineyard Haven in the main port is home to chi-chi shops and restaurants, but no bars. The Puritan influence can still be felt in some parts of the Cape, and in Vineyard Haven alcohol can only be served with food. For this reason, nearby Oak Bluffs has tended to attract a younger crowd as it permits bars. Oak Bluffs is considerably less
buttoned-up now than it was in the 1830s, when it started out as a campground for week-long Christian gatherings, whose members would participate in religious meetings lasting several hours a day. Those early campgrounds were teetotal, and men and women slept in large tents provided by Methodist church sponsors, the genders divided by a curtain for modesty. As the years went by, visiting
families expected more comfort; the last tent was unpegged in 1914 but, by that time, more than 300 wooden cottages had been built, corralled around a central tabernacle. These “gingerbread cottages” are well preserved, whimsically decorated and brightly coloured; the connection to the church remains, but the ban on drinking is now relaxed, as an evening stroll down the adjacent main street, Circuit Avenue, will confirm.
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
While the visitors to the mainland
of Cape Cod are predominantly Boston WASPs or of white European descent, the diversity of Oak Bluffs is noticeable; generations of African- American churchgoers have visited the town, and the beach still known as the “Inkwell” became a destination for black holidaymakers. In more recent times, the Obamas holidayed nearby. Further around the coast of Martha’s
Vineyard, Edgartown is worth a visit for its splendid architecture; it was once a whaling port, so the owners and sea captains could afford good homes. The 17th-century Cape Cod look was aged grey cedar shingles, but clapboard became popular later on. “Saltboxes” were more cottage-like, while the Georgian homes were grander and more elaborate. The Cape’s signature wild roses, day lilies and blue hydrangeas still garland many such homes.
A WHALE OF A TIME For the most impressive historical buildings, take the day ferry to the neighbouring island of Nantucket. Smaller than Martha’s Vineyard, it has lately become one of the “it” islands of the super-rich; the tiny airport is second only to Boston Logan in Massachusetts for the number of daily flights hosted, but here it’s private jets and charters bringing visitors to their
US$15 million homes and private pools. The island’s economy is largely kept afloat by these part-time residents, many of them based in Washington DC or New York. The grandest town there, the
eponymous Nantucket, has always been affluent, its wealth accrued while it was the whaling capital of the world. The indigenous Wampanoag people taught the white settlers how to hunt whales, which was the genesis of the industry that eventually saw Herman Melville set the opening of Moby-Dick in the town. Back on shore, huge mansions went
up – some with the “widow’s walk” atop the roof, a railed platform that afforded a view of the ocean and returning vessels. Nantucket’s streets are still cobbled, and they traverse a remarkably well-preserved town. To see the most pristine of
THIS PAGE FROM LEFT : A boardwalk at Chatham, Cape Cod; one of Nantucket’s cobbled streets
Nantucket’s early European settlements, take a tour bus to the village of Siasconset (pronounced “Scone-set”), where the 17th-century houses are built close together, and more modestly. Time and tide has now washed away the details of these early settlers, just as the drag queens of Provincetown or the preppy students nervously buying their first (legal) beers will one day be forgotten as the restless sea reclaims this temporary land. BT
DE CEMB E R 2 0 18
37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76