Martha's Vineyard

Jonah and Daddy on the boat at the start of the trip.

On the second day of our vacation, we took the high speed boat from Hyannis to Martha's Vineyard with Grandpa Sweetser, Linda, Uncle Russ, and Aunt Shannon.  It was a beautiful day for a trip, marking Jonah's first time on a boat, and the first time that most of us had been to the Vineyard.

After arriving and taking some time to develop our plans for the day - and grabbing some refreshment in the form of coffee and doughnuts - we headed out to check out Oak Bluffs.  We began by walking around Ocean Park, which is surrounded by homes in the Queen Anne and Gothic Revival style.  There were also great views of the water on our walk, including the one below.

View of the beach at Ocean Park.

After finishing our navigation around Ocean Park, we stopped back at the Flying Horses Carousel so that Jonah could get a ride on the oldest operating platform carousel in the United States. He'd been on a carousel once before, at the zoo here in Milwaukee, and he hadn't been a huge fan of it. As Ben had accompanied him on his previous ride, we decided I would take him on this ride. He definitely was uncertain about the ride and from the first moment I put him on the horse's back, he was wriggling to get off. When the movement and motion started, it helped somewhat, in part because he enjoys music and "danced" in rhythm to the music a bit.

Sign outside the carousel building.

Jonah and Mommy riding the carousel.

After leaving the carousel, we headed toward the gingerbread cottages that surround the Methodist Tabernacle. These were really charming little homes and I should learn more about what led to their construction there. I can't quite imagine residing in them, though, with all of the tourists taking photos all of the time.  That didn't stop me from taking a few photos myself!  These are a couple of my favorites:

Front porches of several cottages, featuring patriotic decorations.

"The Greenup." Love the decorative railing above. So many details in these houses!

Windmill in a garden next to one of the cottages.

Shortly after this, we took the bus to Edgartown, where we grabbed lunch. Most of our activities for the day were pretty grown-up-focused, but Jonah handled the stroller and bus rides pretty well.  Of course it also helped to have reading material for him: he has entered a phase of being extremely interested in books and we read the same board books over and over at least five or six times a day sometimes.

Jonah "reads" his book.

We walked out to the Edgartown Lighthouse, where we shot a family photo or two.

The Sweetser Family.  Too bad Linda and Aunt Shannon aren't included!

Edgartown Lighthouse.

We headed back and got on the bus, planning to get off at an alpaca farm, but changed plans and got off in Vineyard Haven instead. We got some yummy ice cream at Mad Martha's and browsed in  a couple of shops.  The Black Dog ship was in the harbor, featuring a flag with the eponymous dog.

The Black Dog ship was in the harbor.

With bellies filled, we boarded the bus back to Oak Bluffs and returned to Ocean Park to kill time until the ferry. There were some kite flying festivities going on by this point and Jonah enjoyed watching people go by.

A woman entertained those gathered in Ocean Park.

Three generations of Sweetsers watch the kites.

After a busy day, we boarded the boat back to Hyannis just in time for Jonah to crash and take a nap, which meant that Mommy and Daddy snuck one in too!  What a great day!  Loads more photos are on the Phanfare site.