The day broke sunny and bright and we were ecstatic!  It also happens to be our 54th weeding anniversary. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since that day in 1963 we marched down the aisle in Gary, Indiana and began that wonderful adventure called marriage. I am grateful I have Yvonne along for that journey.

How did Martha’s Vineyard gets it name?  The general feeling is that British explorer, Bartholomew Gosnold, named it after his daughter, Martha. There were wild grapes on the island whichever gave rise to the rest of the name. Now you k ow the rest of the story.

This is the second day in a row with nice weather! The tour offered today was a sightseeing bus tour of part of the island with a stop in the largest village on the island, Edgartown.

The first surprise was our bus. It was surplussed from an army base in Kentucky, God knows how many years ago. It ran smoothly so we had no complaints. Our driver and guide, Karen, was simply a “hoot”. She is a native so, obviously she regaled us with local stories and humor. She dropped us off in the small village of Edgartown for local shopping and sightseeing. She said she was going home to hang out her laundry (no dryers in these parts) and would be back for us in 1.5 hours.

Edgartown  was lovely: not very large (population 4,067); one main street with many small shops; surrounding streets with very old, the colonial houses with white picket fences, some of which were B&Bs and others occupied by families. It was truly a Norman Rockwell kind of place. We shopped a little; admired the old homes, including the one owned by the sea captain of the whaling vessel Acushnet, the ship Herman Melville sailed on and was the inspiration of Moby Dick. I would have loved to have spent more time wandering those back streets and taking it all in.

On the way back to the ship we drove through the small village of Oak Bluffs, where there was an Methodist summer camp which consisted of dozens of beautiful 19th century gingerbread homes. Many still exist and they are lovely.

After lunch we both went to listen to a lecture by a local writer, Cynthia Riggs, who at the age of 68 went back to school to study writing and published her first murder mystery at the age of 70. She was also a “hoot” telling us tales of her life as a sea captain; finding and getting reunited (and married) to a work colleague who she had not seen in 50 some years. She told us how she incorporates people (anonymously) she knows on the island in her novels and conveniently murders off those she dislikes. People are always trying to figure out who she is portraying in her stories!

After today I think Martha’s Vineyard makes my favorite places list.