Monday, July 7, 2014
[If you missed the earlier parts of my vacation with Kris, check out Part 1 and Part 2]
I had to set the alarm for 6 am so we’d be sure to make the ferry. We dressed, packed, ate a quick breakfast then went to the parking lot to unhook the boat. We headed out about 7:20 am. The drive is supposed to take just over an hour, and we’re supposed to be in line by 9 am in Woods Hole. We rolled along to Falmouth, and pulled into the Steamship Authority parking lot at 8:40 am. He sent me into the terminal to get a cup of coffee and something for myself. I picked bottle of water and a blueberry muffin and shared it with him. The prices were reasonable! Only $2.15 for a large coffee.
We helped train a bomb-sniffing dog! While I was in the terminal, a steamship authority guy asked Kris if he’d let him put a “can of scent” under his truck as part of training a new dog. Just as I returned, he was walking the dog up and down the rows of cars. The dog stopped at the truck, and sat down right next to where the canister was hidden! Kris chatted him up, found out how training works – basic food rewards for increasing distance and shorter time finds. The dog is a 2 year old yellow lab named Riley. It helped pass the time!
The ferry rolled up about 9 am with an ambulance the first to roll off. That was a sobering sight. Imagine needing a 45-minute ferry ride to get you to the hospital. Eek.
He drove the truck on and we took the stairs up to the top desk. We sat outside in the front. It was a windy, gray morning. I was sleepy so I mostly leaned on Kris and got up to take a photo now and then. We rolled off onto the streets of Oak Bluffs at 10:15 am just as the sun came out! We stopped along Lake Street to look at the map and make a plan.
I took photos of the big old Victorian homes along the harbor.
We decided to walk around a bit, eat breakfast, then take off driving around the island. We parked on Circuit Ave. and strolled up looking at the shops. He asked the ladies at the Black Dog boutique where “a local carpenter would eat breakfast.” They sent us to Linda Jean’s. There was a “20 minute wait” that turned into 45. I was miserable waiting in the heat, so I strolled out to the gazebo in the park by the water where there was more of a breeze, checked out a bakery “the home of back door donuts” and bought a fridge magnet in the store across the street.
We finally got a nice wooden booth at the back in air-conditioned splendor. I had the “double play” – 3 eggs over easy, 2 slices of french toast, 2 strips of bacon and 2 sausages with fresh-squeezed OJ. Yum. He had the strawberry banana french toast.
I gave him one of my eggs. We got out of there about 12:30 pm. We’d forgotten about the 1-hour parking limit, so there was a $20 ticket! Ah well, not bad to pay for parking. We headed down Beach Road. Everything is so close together! In no time we were at the Stop & Shop in Edgartown, stocking up on fruit and snacks. I found the bathroom in the stockroom.
He decided he wanted to see Chappaquiddick, so we took the 3-car ferry for $16 across the 100 yards of water from Edgartown. It was nice to learn more about the island.
It’s a very quiet place – no commercial businesses! Most of the roads are dirt.
We drove down to Wasque Reserve, then back to Dike Road to “the bridge” and the Cape Poge Wildlife Reserve. He talked to a local about the “Ted Kennedy incident.”
We took the ferry back then headed south down Katama Road to South Beach. It was a beautiful place, but the wind was fierce and the waves huge!
He had talked about setting up a tent and hanging out there but the weather made it impossible and we were running out of time. I used the porta-potties. No toilet paper – argh.
We drove across the center of the island through West Tisbury and Chilmark to Aquinnah on the western tip. I am surprised how undeveloped it is! He went to the bathroom and I strolled through the Wampanoag shops. There were some very pretty items there. We meandered up the Clay Cliffs at Gay Head. WOW! Such stupendous scenery! I can’t believe I’ve lived in Massachusetts all this time and never made it out here! I took the “money shot” of the cliffs and the lighthouse in the late afternoon sun. I think it is the best photo I’ve taken all year.
There were about a dozen people up there enjoying the view. He broke one of the main rules of cheating and asked a woman to take a photo of the two of us with my phone camera. He put his arm around me and beamed! It was a fantastic photo of the two of us with the cliffs and lighthouse in the background with the sun shining… so for one sterling moment on that cliff… there was an “us” for everyone to see. It reminded me a bit of “American Gothic” with the broad-faced woman and the skinny balding man. That made me giggle!
We left there about 6 pm and went north to Vineyard Haven on the north-center tip. I was surprised how rural it is! I had no phone signal for a long time but was finally able to yelp to find somewhere for dinner. We found the Net Result, a seafood shack along the harbor where you order inside at a deli counter, then pick up at outside window and sit at picnic tables with other diners.
I got a stuffed clam, lobster bisque and a hot buttered lobster roll! He got a grilled swordfish sandwich.
We ate al fresco, looking at the huge boats and yachts across the street, and watching a local couple share a 6-pound lobster next to us! Kris chatted them up about what life was like in the winter, how the schools are set up (5 elementary schools, one high school). We strolled along the waterfront ogling the yachts, then got gas ($4.69 a gallon!) and drove over to the steamship authority. We put the truck in the line for the ferry, then got out and sat on the harbor front.
If you’d like to see the 54 photos I took today, pop over to Google + to look at that album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/101174762249697322833/albums/6033651197604315073
They loaded us onto the ferry about 9:15 pm. We took the elevator up to the enclosed middle deck. Kris got a coffee and we snacked on the grapes, crackers and cheese and rasinettes. The trip went very fast – we docked in 30 minutes! We dashed to the truck and rolled out into the Falmouth night at 10:15 pm. There was no traffic this time, thank goodness. We were back at the Red Roof Inn in Mansfield at 11:15 pm. We had planned to drive back to my place but changed our minds as we drove to hotel. They were glad to have us stay another night. I was not ready to end our idyll!
Kris fell asleep in his clothes! I undressed him and tucked him in. He woke and we had a long, silly discussion about whether to have sex. He took matters into his own hands, literally, making me cum with his talented fingers on my clit, then going to his favorite position, going inside me under me. He fell back to sleep. I got up to set the alarm for 8 am and get organized so I don’t have to do much in the morning. I fell asleep about 12:30 am with a big smile on my face.