Edgartown to Vineyard Haven, ball

After a couple of days in Edgartown it was time to see a little more of Martha's Vineyard. We headed up and around to Vineyard Haven, a small journey we made a little longer by slowing down to make water.

The trip was short, only about an hour. But the day was fantastic. Sunny, warm, calm winds. We're expecting rain and bad weather tomorrow, so we're enjoying it now.

Aquinnah is formerly Gay Head -- head being a point that juts out into
the water, and gay (think old school) meaning colorful. The striations
on the cliffs are very colorful. That is the Gay Head Lighthouse.

Out by 8 am we couldn't have asked for a 
better boating day.

While in Edgartown we took a personal 3 hour tour about the island. That was a great way to see all the things we wouldn't be able to other wise. Even with scooters, the island is sizeable. The tour was great. Our guide has lived on the island for over 40 years. It was named Martha's Vineyard by an early explorer (Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602), who named it after his daughter and for the wild grapes he found there. Of course the Wampanoag had been here longer than that -- some continue to live here today in the town of Aquinnah.

We also found out that in the last 40 years Martha's Vineyard went from being a middle-class destination (and secret) to the very well-to-do destination it is today. Firstly, the incident at Chappaquiddick put the place on folks' radar. But the movie Jaws was the real culprit. Filmed near Edgartown we saw a number of places that were film locations. While about the shark, the town and area around was admittedly adorable.

Edgartown, from our mooring.