Martha's Vineyard: Day 2: Scenery and More Beach Time

Thursday morning dawned chilly and windy and with a rainy forecast for both Thursday and Friday (this was NOT the forecast when we left on Wednesday!). We decided to brave the chill that morning for one more trip to the beach.  Unfortunately, in my attempt to fit all four of our belongings in one suitcase I discarded the jackets that I had picked out for the kids.  This meant that we only had shorts and t-shirts to wear on the trip (with the exception of Sarah's long sleeved swim shirt, which became the one shirt that she wore for the rest of our stay!).

This time I took my big camera along with us and so I was able to capture some of the beautiful New England feel of the island.

(I love this picture!)

When we got to the beach, we tried to stake our claim back on the ocean side.  Brian planned to use the beach umbrellas as wind breaks, but that didn't quite work out!

Thankfully the harbor side of the beach was more sheltered from the wind, and after snacking on some ham and cheese croissants that I snagged from the hotel continental breakfast on our way out the door (yum-yum!!), we got to work in the sand.  Brian had set up the umbrellas behind us, but it was still a little windy, so he began digging Sarah a large hole where she could play and be even more protected from the wind. 

Nathan was eager to help Daddy with his project, and even with his unconventional choice of digging tools (the green aquarium net) was able to move sand with the best of them!

Here's the wind break in action!

As Sarah's hair has gotten longer, its starting to curl more and more.  And the sea air this particular morning really got it going!

After a while, the wind and the cold was just too much for us.  The picture basically sums up how we all felt..

Everyone perked up after we went back to the hotel to change for lunch.  Here are Brian and the kids in front of our hotel...

...and of the kids with the statue.  I tried to Google the statue to find out something about it, but alas don't even know its name.  Sarah only was interested in showing us the man's toes...

...but surprisingly Nathan was eager to pose for a photo!

We had lunch (fish and chips for the kids, cod cakes me, a salad for Brian and a big bowl of clam chowder to share) and strolled around the town, then went back to the hotel and the whole family took long naps.  With overcast conditions but still no rain that afternoon, we headed back out to browse the stores and grab some dinner. We stopped at a fried fish stand right near the docks and took our food home to eat on our porch, where we were able to enjoy the live music performance curtsy of the art gallery downstairs.  We got hot dogs for Daddy and the kids, and I ordered fried clams (which turned out to be Sarah's favorite).  Then it was time for a very bubbly bath!  Daddy used the whole bottle of complimentary bath gel to give the kids the craziest bath they've ever had!

After the kiddos were in bed that night, I snuck out for a little Mommy fun - I stopped in a few of the art galleries around our hotel (they were ALL OVER Edgartown) and then bought some fudge for me and Brian to try - chocolate walnut and penuche, which is a New England caramel-ly fudge with walnuts (the taste reminded me of pralines).  And since we're still keeping Sarah from nuts, Brian and I were forced to finish all the fudge that night!

The next morning we woke up to pouring rain!!  Brian and I debated spending some extra money to take a cab to the ferry so we all wouldn't get soaked, but thankfully the weather cleared just in time for us to walk to catch our bus.  When we got to the dock, it was so cold with the wind blowing off the ocean!  I had towels wrapped around the kids in the stroller and another around me and the three of us were huddling behind a wall to block the gale.  Brian, on the other hand, was finding the COOLEST ROCKS EVER on the beach below and was reluctantly pulled away from that fascinating diversion by the arrival of the ferry.  And although we made some good memories on our two night excursion to Martha's Vineyard, I was so ready to get on that boat and get back home!