Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

 Vineyard Haven Harbor, Martha's Vineyard. Sailboats on a calm day in the inner harbor. The Wampanoag called the island Noepe, which means "Land amid the Waters." Some historians believe that Norsemen sailed this far south around 1000 A.D., and stone relics lend this legend merit. In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold named the island after the local wild grapes and his eldest daughter.

 The Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse - first built in 1828 to aid the large number of sailing vessels that used the harbor during the whaling boom of the late 1700s and early 1800s. 

 Aquinnah - the sacred clay cliffs of the Wampanoag (People of the First Light) Tribe. "The streaks of red in the Cliff are from the blood of whales that Moshup would drag onto the Cliffs to cook. The discarded remains from his table are now fossilized deep in the clay. To the Wampanoag, the Aquinnah Cliffs are a sacred spot for the very reason that Moshup chose this special place as his home - they are a watchful place of great bounties."   ~ wampanoagtribe.net

 Sunset over the cliffs of Aquinnah. The early settlers learned whaling from the Wampanoag, who were known for their harpooning skills. It was even considered good luck to have an Aquinnah Wampanoag aboard a whaling ship. In the past the whales were so plentiful that they could be hunted from shore with canoes. 

 Menemsha Fishing Shanties - I could live here, ditch the boat, and still be on the sea. Generations of fishermen have called Menemsha home, and the harbor was the background for Steven Spielberg's film "Jaws."

 Cottage City, now Oak Bluffs. Row upon row of row of small gingerbread cottages fill this old Methodist summer campground, where open air Christian revivals were held as early as 1835. This is what summer homes should be - many of the cottages are under 500 square feet, as apposed to the 4,000 sq ft seasonal monsters that line the shoreline today. 

 Vineyard Haven at night - bright lights, big village, lots of seafood, history, beaches and ocean views. If you plan to stay awhile, bring lots of money. You'll need it.