A Trip to Nantucket

Even with 30 years on the east coast, I never visited Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. Nantucket is an island about 30 miles from the coast of Cape Cod. The name “Nantucket” is adapted from an Algonquian name meaning “faraway land or island”. Recently, our entire family took a trip to Nantucket.

Nantucket is a tourist destination and summer colony. Due to tourists and seasonal residents, the population of the island increases to at least 50,000 during the summer months (from 10,000 during the rest of the year). Very affluent, the average sale price for a single-family home is approximately $2.3 million.

Why Nantucket?

We won a charitable auction item to spend a week here, only to find out that the accommodations belong to our friends. What a pleasant surprise as not only are they lovely people, but they did happily share everything we need to know about Nantucket….and allowed us to extend our visit to 10 days.

With the children growing up and heading in different directions, my goal is to create an annual fun family vacation somewhere in the world where we can all gather. Naturally I am delighted that all three children could make time in their schedule. Also joining us on this trip is my son’s girlfriend, Delaney and Julianna’s dog, Hemingway.

How to Get There

Being an island, you can fly or take a ferry. Nantucket is served by Nantucket Municipal Airport (ACK), a three-runway airport on the south side of the island. The airport is one of the busiest in Massachusetts and often logs more take-offs and landings on a summer day than Boston’s Logan Airport. This is due in part to the large number of private planes used by wealthy summer inhabitants, and in part to the 10-seat Cessna used by several commercial air carriers to serve the island community.

Once we landed in Newark, we traveled to the Essex airport where our hosts flew us on their private plane to Nantucket. And then they spent the next few days showing us all the wonderful island spots. Lucky us!

The Ambiance

Cobblestone streets, window boxes filled with colorful flowers, and the classic shake siding are abundant here. The Nantucket rose is frequently seen climbing up a trellis, adding shades of pink to the rather gray exteriors.

Everyone’s home is uniquely named and properties range from sweet cottages to sweeping estates.

Lots of shops and interesting restaurants are common, but depending on the time of year, it may be difficult to get reservations.

Beaches and the Water

Being an island, there are many places to enjoy the water, either by boat, car or on foot. You can even drive on the beach with the proper permit!

My brother and his wife brought their boat from Rhode Island to the harbor for a few days~an extra bonus is being able to spend time with them too!

The Weather

Coastal fog is typical this time of year~similar to the June gloom on the west coast. Perfect for quiet mornings on the deck with a cup of coffee. We are surprised to find that different parts of the island have their own unique weather patterns, in spite of the small geographic area.

Things to Do

Besides boating, beaching, exploring, and eating, you can rent bicycles (which I highly recommend). There are numerous bike paths throughout the island. In addition a visit the Whaling Museum, Shipwreck Museum or the display of Nantucket baskets sheds light on the history of this island.

There are 3 lighthouses on the island, which are also fun to see. After biking 12 miles in the morning, we did a 3.5 mile hike in very soft sand to the Great Point lighthouse. My calves are still aching.

Our 10 day Nantucket adventure was made extra special by our hosts and having our entire family together once again. I can honestly say that traveling by air is a bit challenging as the airports are packed and the flights full. But just seeing these beautiful pictures and creating new family memories made the journey worthwhile.

I am back home only to discover a failed air conditioning unit in the kitchen/mudroom/library area that will need complete replacement. Cha-ching. As I am writing this it is 90 degrees in my workspace, but better than the 107.5 degrees outside. It’s hard not to desire for those chilly mornings in Nantucket right now.

Happy Tuesday! Hope you are either on vacation or planning to take one soon.

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