Island in the Sun

Picture yourself sitting on a soft sand beach in the late summer sun, cold beer in hand, kids playing in the sand, dog sleeping in the shade behind your beach chair. The water is clear and crisp, and the breeze is constant. On a clear day you can see Fall River from one side of the island, Martha's Vineyard from the other. Yet you are a world away from all of it. No hotels, no restaurants, no shopping, no nightlife. The preferred mode of transportation is your own two feet (or if you're lazy like my children, a golf cart). You spend your days at the beach reading and relaxing. At twilight you might dip your fishing pole in the surf. When the sun sets, you light spectacular bonfires on the beach and settle in to watch the moon rise and the stars twinkle. You are in Cuttyhunk.

The ferry ride from New Bedford takes all of an hour. If it is foggy, you can quickly lose your bearings but on a clear day you are able to watch the progression of the Elizabeth Islands as you travel south. Naushon, Pasque, and Nashawena are largely undeveloped, and privately owned. Sometimes you can see the herd of cows grazing on Nashawena. As you get closer to Cuttyhunk, there are gray seals splashing and sunning themselves on a rocky shoal. You see tiny Penikese Island, once a leper colony and now the site of a bad boys school. Entering the channel to Cuttyhunk Harbor, a few dozen houses are visible on the small hillside.

Disembarking from the ferry, you take a deep breath and count your blesssings to have access to such a rare, magical place. Unpacking a weeks worth of provisions goes much smoother since this is year #2, and within an hour or so of arriving, you are on the beach with a book and a cocktail and the promise of a full week of peace and solitude.

And then your two sister-in-laws arrive with six children in tow, and your kids make a friend on the ferry and before you know it there are 9 children under the age of 12 crammed into the golf cart, chugging along to the beach.

This is where the big shovel come in. If you ever find yourself trying to amuse a group of kids at the beach, I have three words of advice. Dig a hole. (By which, of course, I mean you watch as your husband digs a hole).

Cuttyhunk is a good place to be a kid, and a great place to be a kid with a bunch of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and rowdy cousins to play with. Favorite activities include...

Bunny chasing. (Note: pants optional).

Playing catch with random dogs on the beach.

Feasting on lobsters courtesy of the Cuttyhunk Shellfish Company. (Happy 65, Dad!!)

Like all good things, your stay on Cuttyhunk will eventually come to an end (unless you are one of the 20-odd people who live here year-round).

As the ferry pulls away, you experience the Cuttyhunk Farewell.

Then you start counting the days till next year's visit.