Why can't I have a vacation from my vacation?

Hello. It's good to be back home. All in all a wonderful week. Before I get into the meat and potato's of the blog, on the first day, last Sunday, the weather was nice. The next day the weather was not so cooperative. By the third and fourth day things improved and they started to refurbish the beach. We had a bad winter and the beaches were roughed up. Most of the week truckloads of sand were dumped, sifted for rocks and spread. I made one trip to the beach and managed to track a whole lot of sand back to the hotel room.

 

 

 



 

There were more people than we've seen on past visits. Not only people from other states but other countries as well. In our hotel was a family from Holland who had just come in from Boston. As we chatted he told me had had been to the Red Sox game the night before. They had been traveling across the U.S. I suspect there are some big bucks here. Another couple was from England. Liverpool to be exact. His daughter lives on the island and was getting married in the gazebo near the water.

 

A couple of days before we left we had the mandatory buying of the fudge. One of my sisters wasn't interested in fudge so I wanted to get something else for her. She's on the mend from some surgery but is doing just fine. What do you get. Everything is just touristy stuff and trinkets. I settled on getting her a Martha's Vineyard hoody that we found walking along the main drag. It was a tiny place. I looked around, picked out what I was going to buy and went to pay for it. The guy behind the counter had a slight accent but I couldn't detect what kind. He asked me how I was enjoying the island. I told him we love it. We still can't put our finger on it. There's just something about the place. He agreed then proceeded to tell us that he came here from France in the '70s with $1000 in his pocket. Took a job as a dish washer and has been there ever since. He said he wasn't sure why, there was just something about the place.

 

Then there was a curious episode. Arlene and I were sitting on the porch of the hotel. Our room was at the very end of a long porch. It's about 3 steps from the porch and the door was opened because the maid Betty was cleaning up a bit. Up the street walked a family. A middle aged couple, a younger couple, and a young girl about 10. That in of itself is not unusual. What was unusual was that between them all they had for luggage was the little girls, colorful pull luggage and a sort of basket bag that the middle aged women held. That and the clothes on their backs was all they had. They walked up the porch stairs and said something to a gentleman at the far end who replied as we all do when we don't understand someone, loudly.

"I'M SORRY SIR! I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU!" Translation, "I don't understand you! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

It is a cliché but they really looked like they just got off the boat. I had no idea what language they spoke. Most everybody in this country can trace their roots to somebody "who just got off the boat". I know I can.

They now made their way towards us, behind us and right through the open door of our room! They were quickly greeted by Betty. Arlene stood up, pointed  at the room and said, "MINE!"

On the one hand you feel bad because they really were strangers in a strange land. They didn't seem like they were on vacation. They were then sent to the front desk who didn't understand them as well and soon they were on their way up the street to who knows where?

On the other hand it was a bit surreal and amusing. Who knows maybe they were there looking for summer employment during the tourist season. After it was over we both thought, "What was that all about?" Then we both laughed.

 

Here's a tip. Never think of taking some pictures and using 3 cameras. I've created a bit of a mess sorting everything else. In the grand scheme it's not important. Here are some pictures in a sort of slideshow deal.

 

Our ride home was uneventful until we approached the Boston city limits. then thing started to bog down. On a Sunday at 2 in the afternoon! That's when we knew we were home. It added about 10 minutes to our ride. Once again in the grand scheme it means nothing.

I need a vacation from my vacation.

I'm outta here.