While it might not feel that way to many of you, we’re rounding the bend on summer up here in Vermont, and the first hints of autumn are beginning to nudge their way into view. Temperatures at night are dropping into the 50s, and the daily highs are settling back down to an easily manageable 72° or 73°.
And so to put a bow on what has been a most interesting and educational summer, my little family’s first in New England, we caught up with Grammy and went on an overnight trip to Nantucket.
We took the slow boat, like you should, out of Hyannis…
“Bye, Hyannis!”
“Whoa!”
“Look how far down the water is!”
“Hey.. When’s the last time this thing was USCG inspected?”
And, after a couple meditative hours of bobbing on the Atlantic, we eventually arrived:
As an aside, there are few better moments in life than the one that’s captured here. The island, and all your precious time on it, stretches ahead as the ferry eases into the dock. The sweet smell of land returns after a couple hours spent crossing the sound and fragments of my childhood kaleidoscope together with the changes to the island throughout the years. Memories swirl and ebb like cat’s paws on the water, there for a moment and gone again.
Okay, that’s enough of that nonsense.
Once we disembarked we picked up our rented Jeep along with some coffee and cranberry muffins, dropped our overnight bags into a room at The Beachside hotel, and then beelined for Children’s Beach so Daphne could go swimming.
“Oh, hey! This is a pretty big pool! What’s it called? ‘The Atlantic?'”
“Hmm. Somebody might need to see to the chlorine… I’m just sayin’.”
“Bbbbbrrrr…”
“Hey, go tell somebody to turn the heat up, will ya?”
“Okay, this is not so bad…“
And here, just in case you’re interested, is a picture taken in the same spot, roughly 35 years earlier.
Yes, that’s Young BumbleDad there in the water, splashing around like an idiot. (Also featured is a BumbleUncle on the right, and a BumbleCousin there in the middle.)
Oh look. I’m still that idiot.
We spent about three hours hanging around Children’s Beach before the sun started to bake us a bit. At which point we had to drag a very reluctant Daphne out of the water.
Because we had to embark upon a mission.
You see, one of the most important artifacts that must be procured during any child’s trip to Nantucket is the Turk’s head knot bracelet.
That little braided guy, there.
As a kid, I used to wear these things nearly year round. Or at least until midwinter, when they got so disgusting that they were essentially rotting right off my wrist. At which point my mother would make me cut the stinking things off with a pair of craft scissors.
But!
Each time we went to Nantucket in the summer, we’d replace them.
And while Daphne is still working on being comfortable wearing this one (and honestly, on wearing jewelry in general), we’re slowly getting there.
Alas, after a Steamboat Pizza, a couple beers, a night’s sleep, and then a quick Jeep jaunt around the island the following afternoon…it was already time to leave Nantucket again.
But, as you may or may not know, there’s something you must do on your way off the island…
And this was Daphne’s first time:
Two pennies overboard ’round Brant Point light
Doing so ensures you’ll come back to the island someday. Or, as I told my wife, life goal #847 is to have to throw two pennies when leaving Hyannis, assuring I’ll come back to the mainland someday…
Posted: August 30, 2021 · Leave a Comment
Sunsetting a Summer
While it might not feel that way to many of you, we’re rounding the bend on summer up here in Vermont, and the first hints of autumn are beginning to nudge their way into view. Temperatures at night are dropping into the 50s, and the daily highs are settling back down to an easily manageable 72° or 73°.
And so to put a bow on what has been a most interesting and educational summer, my little family’s first in New England, we caught up with Grammy and went on an overnight trip to Nantucket.
We took the slow boat, like you should, out of Hyannis…
And, after a couple meditative hours of bobbing on the Atlantic, we eventually arrived:
As an aside, there are few better moments in life than the one that’s captured here. The island, and all your precious time on it, stretches ahead as the ferry eases into the dock. The sweet smell of land returns after a couple hours spent crossing the sound and fragments of my childhood kaleidoscope together with the changes to the island throughout the years. Memories swirl and ebb like cat’s paws on the water, there for a moment and gone again.
Okay, that’s enough of that nonsense.
Once we disembarked we picked up our rented Jeep along with some coffee and cranberry muffins, dropped our overnight bags into a room at The Beachside hotel, and then beelined for Children’s Beach so Daphne could go swimming.
And here, just in case you’re interested, is a picture taken in the same spot, roughly 35 years earlier.
We spent about three hours hanging around Children’s Beach before the sun started to bake us a bit. At which point we had to drag a very reluctant Daphne out of the water.
Because we had to embark upon a mission.
You see, one of the most important artifacts that must be procured during any child’s trip to Nantucket is the Turk’s head knot bracelet.
As a kid, I used to wear these things nearly year round. Or at least until midwinter, when they got so disgusting that they were essentially rotting right off my wrist. At which point my mother would make me cut the stinking things off with a pair of craft scissors.
But!
Each time we went to Nantucket in the summer, we’d replace them.
And while Daphne is still working on being comfortable wearing this one (and honestly, on wearing jewelry in general), we’re slowly getting there.
Alas, after a Steamboat Pizza, a couple beers, a night’s sleep, and then a quick Jeep jaunt around the island the following afternoon…it was already time to leave Nantucket again.
But, as you may or may not know, there’s something you must do on your way off the island…
And this was Daphne’s first time:
Doing so ensures you’ll come back to the island someday. Or, as I told my wife, life goal #847 is to have to throw two pennies when leaving Hyannis, assuring I’ll come back to the mainland someday…
Maybe.
See you next time.
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