Martha's Vineyard

The Obama family's vacation in Martha's Vineyard triggered some memories for me. I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, about 10 miles over the ocean from Martha's Vineyard. I remember when that island was not the fashionable (read: expensive) place it is today.

When I was a kid, it was a whole lot of fun to pack a lunch basket and take the ferry to Oak Bluffs, one of the little towns on Martha's Vineyard. On the ferry, there would always be a Portuguese band blasting away marvelous tunes, in between slugs of Madiera wine. We would all sing and dance for the hour-long trip. When we got to Oak Bluffs we would find a spot on the beach to eat our lunch and then swim or ride the famous Merry-Go-Round until time to get back on the ferry.

Oak Bluffs is now a small African-American enclave on the island. Most of the homes are brightly colored small cottages which were built in the early 1900's, when camp meetings were the rage. People would come over on the ferry, rent one of the cottages for the week, and listen to the hell-fire preachers. I'm not sure if the preachers are still around, but the houses look as good today as they did on the day that they were built. It is well worth the trip just to see these cottages.

Once, I think it was in 1951, my girlfriend, Elaine, and I took the ferry to the island as a treat for my eleven-year-old future brother-in-law. When we got to Oak Bluffs, we rented a car for the day and drove all over the island, from Edgartown to the Gay Head cliffs. We stopped here and there and bought stuffed quahogs, fried chicken, and fried clams from vendors. We played on the beaches and jumped into the ocean. We had a ball! The eleven-year-old said that it was the most fun he ever had. (He still talks about the fun he had back then. It was a much gentler time, guys.)

During that 1951 trip, we noticed a lot of land for sale at very cheap prices. For $1,000. one could buy a very large plot of land with a nice clapboard house and outbuildings, and get change back. At the time, I was only 17 and earned $1. an hour at the YMCA, so I was not able to become a land speculator. Some people apparently were though, and now that same plot of land would probably go for ten million dollars!

The estate that the Obamas are renting goes for $35,000. per week, I believe. There are some bed and breakfast businesses on the island for a bit less.. probably still too rich for me to afford. However, you can still take the ferry out of New Bedford for not too much money and spend a day exploring the many quaint locations on the island. Try it.. enjoy the boat trip, listen to the Portuguese band, get windburn, drink some Madiera wine, try stuffed quahogs, eat fried clams, look at the little painted houses, ride the old Merry-Go-Round, pick grapes along the road, dive into the ocean surf, enjoy the bracing sea air, get away from the cares of your job....you may never want to leave.

Just don't get arrested for wearing clothes at the nude beach. You know, the one that is near where the Obamas are staying.
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