I was practically giddy when I got off the plane at Martha's Vineyard to see my pals Leah and Rashaun. Excited, I jumped into their Land Rover, looking forward to a weekend of summertime relaxing, copious amounts of seafood and lots of local wine.
As we started off with lunch at Nancy's, complete with a view of the harbor and a mandatory Lobster Roll, it was clear that the first two on my list were quite do-able.
It was only then that I learned the horrible truth about Martha's Vineyard. Are you sitting down?!?
There is no vineyard on the island.
That's right. Martha's "Vineyard" is a total misnomer. Making matters worse, the island is home to several towns with "dry" policies. Yes, that means alcohol is verboten. To top it off, the wine store I visited on the island had a paltry selection of vino. (What do you mean, no Gruner Veltliner? You really have only one Sancerre?) Leah and Rashaun informed me that this was par for the course.
Harrumph! Was Martha's Vineyard just another false advertising vacation spot like Cape Cod's Chatham? Was I just going to have to give up on the state of Massachusetts altogether?
Thankfully not. My fears were put to rest that evening when we drove to Menemsha beach for a seafood dinner and the sunset.
Sure enough, we pulled up to the Menemsha Fish Market and they sold fish.
Whew!
We ordered up a pound of mussels and couple of gorgeous lobsters to be steamed and threw in a Fried Oyster Roll for good measure. We staked claim on the beach and, as promised, there really was a sunset awaiting.
Yowsa!
It was a beautiful one. The photo above says it all. I took the snapshot from our picnic blanket.
Why no pictures of the glorious seafood dinner? Because we forgot to bring utensils and my hosts don't even own a shellfish cracker.
You guessed it! To heck with my manicure, I tore apart a lobster with my bare hands. It was primal. It was disgusting. It was divine. But, please, no pictures!
All in all, even with the "vineyard" let down, Martha paid it back in spades. Now I just need to purchase my wonderful hosts a proper seafood cracker for future use, and my manicure will be safe for a trip back to Menemsha beach next summer.