"The Vineyard"

A couple of weeks ago some good friends, Ryan and Lynda, asked if we wanted to go to Martha's Vineyard with them because they had some friends who were willing to let us use their house for the weekend. It didn't take us long to say YES to that invite! So, after an extremely long drive in heavy traffic to Cape Cod and then a ferry ride over to the island, we arrived to a cute home in a small village called Vineyard Haven.

For many, Martha's Vineyard is a home away from home. They "summer" in "the Vineyard." I met one such couple and for some reason our encounter was very memorable. Our first day at the beach a couple, who were well into their 80's, plopped down on the beach next to us and then proceeded to enter the ocean, swim caps and all, hand in hand, crawling on their knees to get past the extremely rocky portion of the beach. They swam for a bit and then crawled back together onto the beach. I could tell they had been doing this for many years and I was touched by that. I wondered what Boyd and I would be doing together when we are 80! Anyway, I was informed by this sweet lady that they spent all their summers on the island and that the house they stayed at had been in her husband's family since the 1820's!

For us, it was our first time and it was marvelous. We were able to spend some time at the beach, where Gavin and his dad and eventually his mom made it out past the rocks and into the ocean. We watched fireworks on the 4th amongst beautiful old homes and a lighthouse. We rode our bikes in the rain along a bike path that took us along the ocean. We ate "peel and eat"shrimp with good friends. We rode our bikes to a light house. We returned to the beach for more sand fun.

We enjoyed great company and lots of great laughs. I am sad that I didn't get more pictures..

We won't dwell on some of major melt downs Gavin had as a result of little sleep.
It was a very memorable 4th of July Weekend. Hopefully, we can return some day!