Peter and I went on a really good small-bus tour around Martha's Vineyard when we were there last July. I wish I could remember the name of the company that did it because I highly recommend it (whatever it is!).
The tour guide was an older man who'd been a school-teacher on the island for decades and had lived there even longer. He seemed to know everyone and everything about the Vineyard. He knew Jackie Kennedy Onassis when she lived there, and he had the inside scoop about the Obamas buying a house there (he was friends with their real estate agent). He pointed out the areas where certain celebrities lived and famous places like the house from Jaws.
But my favorite thing was how he talked about what it's like for people from different economic classes to live on the island, what the different towns are like, how it's changed over the years, and how it's stayed the same. It was such an informative and interesting tour and I really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the beautiful views.The powers that be on the Vineyard have worked hard not to fall victim to over-development and commercialization and it shows across the island.
Most of the tour was a driving tour so I didn't take a lot of pictures, but we did get out for the famous Gay Head cliffs in Aquinnah. These cliffs are truly beautiful. They're a registered natural landmark and people aren't allowed down there anymore because of erosion. But we still get to look at them and drink in their beauty.
Ready for their close-up:
Any time is a good time to see the cliffs (unless it's foggy out, which happens more often than not), but I think the best time is at sunset when they turn different colors from the setting sun. It's on my bucket list to get pictures of that one day.
A couple of pictures from around the island that I took from the bus:
This looked like Monet's flower-strewn pond.
This tour was one of my favorite things we did on the Vineyard!
