Bit by the Travel Butterfly..again

I went away....again. This time to Martha's Vineyard. I have a group of friends who go every year and every year without fail they invite me, I'm down, then something comes up and I can't go. Well except for this year. Time, opportunity, and the finances all lined up to allow this butterfly to spread her wings and take a journey up to New England.

Like the other trips I've taken this year, this was a first. While I've heard of the Vineyard, my experience with it came from watching the movie, Inkwell. Although I'm a private school prodigy, I wasn't a Jack and Jill kid. My parents didn't use the word summer as a verb as in "We summer every year in the Cape". I had no clue what to expect. All I know is that I was going with my houghmies (that's what we call each other....or hough for short) and that I had actually confined all that I needed to take with me into my new Cole Haan brown leather weekend duffle bag and my Coach brown suede carry on tote. That, exclusively, deserves a round of applause because damn if I don't try to pack the kitchen and the bathroom sink whenever I go away.

I arrived Thursday. It was a nasty rainy mess all day until we got to the ferry. I swear on every pair of shoes I love, the clouds seem to part and the sun made her debut about 15-20 minutes before I arrived at the ferry. Upon boarding the ferry and finding seats on the sunny top deck, I was in awe of the amount of Black folks I saw. Call me ignant (yes, ignant) if you want, but I had nooooooo idea this many black folks escaped to the Vineyard for the 4th.

During the 45 minute ride, I took in all of the natural beauty around me: the water, the scenic tree covered cliffs, the pretty boys sitting on the opposite of the deck from me. Hmmmmm, this might be more fun that I thought, and I silently cursed that I didn’t pack more outfits. But whatev, in terms of my wardrobe I was going to have to “make it do what it do”. And I did.

On the 4th, we attended a beach party in South Beach (not Miami’s South Beach….I’m not that much of a jetsetter….yet! there’s a South Beach in the Vineyard also). Upon arriving at the pre-determined location, I squealed (yes squealed) at the sight of all these beautiful black folks. A sea of folks, lounging, sipping, dancing, eating, flirting, frolicking. It was as if my whole black college experience had been uprooted and replanted on the shores of Martha’s Vineyard. My houghmies and I sipped on a concoction alllllllllll day. It was so yummy and delish. I wish someone was sober enough to have written it down. hahahaaaa (Sidebar: Does anyone else wonder how you can drink like a fish on vacation and still function but have 2 glasses of wine at home and feel a lil tipsy?? hahahaha)

If I had to sum up the entire trip in one word, I guess I would say it was idyllic. The gingerbread houses, as they are called, were cozy. The walks to The Circuit were peppered with friendly hellos as you walked past people sitting in huge rocking chairs on their porches. The rocky beaches werethe landscape of children collecting seashells and running into the not so warm water with absolute glee, couples at different stages of the age continuum canoodling. Everyone was just as easy as the breeze. I could have stayed there forever.

So like all of my trips so far this year, I plan on returning to the vineyard. Note to self: May need to rethink teaching. I need an abundance of annual vacation time. LOL

Oh yeah this was dinner! :)