In earlier posts I referred to houses with more substantial architecture. I saw several in a row around the big central park. One looked in great shape, I later learned that the house belonged to Tom Clancy and it was rebuilt in 2004 after a fire. The houses on that row and the central gazebo probably reflect the air of Martha’s Vineyard as a summary statement. (Note: Today I found out that the house actually belongs to Peter Norton)

Another landmark people mentioned was the old carousel, apparently the oldest one still in operation in the country. “Flying Horses”, the sign on the building said as we approached it. It is a small one, but in very good shape. It had the old-fashion attraction of grabbing the rings from a side holder and accumulating them on the long pin on top of the horse’s head. I liked the movement of the horses and the kids on top of them against the stationary central part. One horse photograph will give you an idea about the quality of the maintenance and upkeep of this historic place.

Our trip to Martha’s Vineyard started at the Quonset ferry dock. The catamaran, which I first thought was a single-hull vessel, was smaller than I thought. The line of people waiting to board was formed when we arrived there. Behind us was a family with two children. The young boy had a lizard named Jack, and the girl had a parrot. They said Jack was the friendly one and the bird would bite. The kids interacted with their pets with care and affection. Jan braved to handle Jack and even petted him.

The boat ride was a bit rough, too rough for Jan for sure. At the end of the trip she asked for a plastic bag and I grabbed one of the special paper bags they provided for this purpose. Roland and Cathy picked us up, and after a brief tour of the town took us to the house where they were spending the last few days of their vacation. The house was on a street that seemed to be typical of Oak Bluffs, lined with houses in candy colors of pink, white, green and with their detail that appears intricate from a distance. Everyone greeted us at the verandah, enjoying an afternoon drink or the nice breeze.

Jan decided to lay down for a while to get her balance, I took a short walk to the end of the road where the beach was; then walked up a little to see the large park area that I called the central park of Oak Bluffs. Around the park were more of the same houses with fussy detail and several much larger houses with more substantial architectural presence. One of them, I had learned earlier, belonged to the author Tom Clancy Peter Norton (I have just found out today that my original source was apparently incorrect). You will see more of the architectural photographs in another post.

The central park area was very well kept and clean, the flower beds were full of plants in good shape, and people were enjoying the open air in that setting. There was a chocolate lab running after the ball his owner threw for him to fetch. As he made his trips after the ball, I took a few photographs. You will see him going in all directions in one of the photos below. Yes, it is the same dog that I decided to bring in from three photographs to make the one you see.

Skipping over about 20 hours, I will leave you with a photograph in the end that was taken as we left the island into a gorgeous sunset. You will see photographs of the sunset as well.