Nantucket is one of those places that just fits me; it gives me a feeling of, "Yes. Here."
I first went to the island the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college, for a cousin's wedding that involved five days of clambakes, cocktail parties and bachelor/bachelorette shenanigans, and culminated in a spectacular celebration on a bluff overlooking the beach in 'Sconset. The next time I went was with Joe in 2003, over Easter weekend a couple of months before our wedding. It was cold and gray, but we biked from Town out to Madaket and had brunch in a deserted Arno's on Main Street and wrote our wedding vows in a low-ceilinged B&B room that looked like it had been hosed down with cabbage roses.
Summer there is my kind of summer -- misty mornings, warm days, sweatshirt nights. Usually, beaches and I have trouble getting along; I don't do well in hot, humid conditions and I get rashes from the sun (I am a delicate flower), but the New England beach climate is ideal for my sun-fearing Northern European constitution. I can sit out for hours (under an umbrella, of course) and not break out in hives or faint from heat stroke. The ocean is cold, yes, but after a few days you don't mind the chill; it feels invigorating and thrilling to feel the surf pound around you. And if you have a pool at your rental house, all the better -- you can take a dip without fear of ocean life (Joe saw a SEAL in the water one morning!) or hypothermia.
I also love the weathered-shingle aesthetic of the houses, and the explosions of color in gardens tucked around gray cottages, and the prevalence of red, white and blue flying in front of houses and draped in buntings on picket fences. Plus, I'm a sucker for the classic New England village skyline, punctuated by pristine white steeples.
Felicity loved Nantucket, too. She had so much space to putter around in at the house that she almost seemed confused by the wide-open floorplan and the sun streaming in every window. She adored the backyard, especially the back-door and porch steps that she wanted to climb and descend about 1000 times a day. She also explored the little secret garden path past the yard, flocked by daisies and honeysuckle and feathery stalks that my mom taught her to use to tickle people's noses.
She was initially skeptical about the beach; we would carry her toward the water to show her the waves and she would say, "All done!" She did enjoy sitting on a towel or on our laps and playing with her baby doll, though, and by the end of the week she actually ran down the sand to the edge of the surf. If we'd stayed longer, she would have gone plunging into the water on her own, I'm certain.
And, oh, she had so much fun with her Grammie and Granddad (and I had so much fun watching them together). She thrived on having so many people's full attention for a week, and she was absolutely mesmerized by my mom's repertoire of children's songs.
The second or third day we were there, she was walking in the backyard with my mom and said, "Hand!" and reached up for her.
She called my dad "Dada Dada", as distinct from Dada, and was content to jabber at him with the apparent assumption that he knew exactly what she was saying.
We also had some midweek visitors, who were generous enough to haul over on the ferry with the world's heaviest Pack-n-Play for an overnight stay with us. Sam, I should tell you, is child-star beautiful and so much fun. Felicity thought she was the coolest person in the world; she followed Sam around saying, "Sham! Sham!" and the next morning before Sam and Jonna came upstairs she wandered around looking for them, calling, "Sham! Sham!" The girls danced and played in the backyard and we had a morning trip to the beach that was somewhat abortive but still a hoot, and Jonna and I packed as much chatter into their visit as we could. As with my parents and several other far-flung friends, I will never know why they don't live next door to us, but I hope we can continue to steal time together whenever we happen to be in each other's neck of the woods.
We biked and beach-combed and swam and explored and shopped and grilled and drank and played, and by the end of the day all of us were worn out. We were up with the sun each morning and ready to crash by 9:30 each night. But it was a good kind of tired.
Admittedly, our arrival that first day was a little rough, with an absurdly long wait for our bags and a VERY tired toddler and bad Google Maps directions, but once we arrived at the house and Felicity was able to collapse in her rented crib for a few hours, everything fell into place. By Friday, I was desperately wishing we'd booked two weeks instead of one -- we were just hitting our stride, it seemed, and getting into our Vacation Routine, and then it was time to say goodbye.
But we have next year, and the year after that, and on and on into the future. Yes. Here.
It looks like so much fun! I'm even more jealous now that I've seen the pictures of the trip. I'm glad you had such a nice time! It's beautiful there.
Posted by: Anne | July 11, 2011 at 01:00 PM
Would you be willing to share how you found your rental house?
Posted by: CM | July 11, 2011 at 02:33 PM
I searched on a bunch of rental sites, and found ours on weneedavacation.com, which specializes in the Cape and the Islands!
Posted by: lawyerish | July 11, 2011 at 02:50 PM
"Somewhat abortive." HAAAA. Because my kid was all, "NO! NO! NO! NO WATER! NO!" The waves freaked her shit right OUT.
We love you. We loved seeing you. I'm coming to NY and stealing Felicity, JUST A HEADS UP. I love her (and you all) so.
Posted by: jonniker | July 11, 2011 at 03:12 PM
"Sham! Sham!" Love.
Posted by: lawyerish | July 11, 2011 at 03:15 PM
Love the pictures. It looks like you really had a Norman Rockwell vacation. Makes me want to head back to New England again. I loved Cape Cod but Chris not so much.
Glad you had a wonderful vacation!!!
Posted by: Julie | July 11, 2011 at 08:24 PM
We went to Nantucket over Memorial Day, and ever since I've been trying to figure out how to move there. I'm glad you had such a lovely time!
By the way, would you mind sharing where you got that navy striped dress? I love it.
Posted by: Gwen | July 11, 2011 at 09:43 PM
Gwen, that dress is from Land's End Canvas, and I love it! Super comfy and cute. It came with a rope belt, but I like it better sans belt.
Posted by: lawyerish | July 12, 2011 at 09:46 AM
I'm wondering why Joe is wearing a Nebraska hat... ;-) Looks like a marvelous vacation!! Next time, I'm sneaking into your suitcase.
Posted by: Dianna | July 12, 2011 at 10:03 AM
That sounds like the best vacation ever - beautiful and relaxing. I am DYING from the cuteness of the Sam / Felicity pics, especially the kissing and the blowing bubbles on the front porch.
Posted by: Laura @ the Diniwilks | July 12, 2011 at 04:12 PM
These pictures are absolutely wonderful. Felicity has such a range of facial expressions! I'm glad to hear it went well and was not, in fact, a vacation of doom and wasted time/money.
Posted by: ris | July 14, 2011 at 12:02 PM