Travelogue

Oak Bluffs Marina WaterfrontLike Aquinnah with its Native American heritage and Edgartown with its heyday during the whaling days, Oak Bluffs also has a rich historical past, but one based on religion. I find this rather ironic, as today Oak Bluffs is the “party” town of the island.

Although Oak Bluffs was first settled in 1642, its rapid growth occurred after the summer of 1835 when Methodists began coming to the island to hold revivalist meetings. This was the period of the Second Great Awakening, a religious revival movement that preached personal salvation through highly emotional outdoor revival meetings. During that first summer in 1835, the Methodists pitched their tents under a large grove of oaks in what is now Trinity Park and established the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting. Each summer they returned to do the same, with the groups getting gradually larger and larger, and the time spent on the island longer and longer. Gradually these tents were replaced with small Victorian-style cottages, which became known as “Gingerbread Cottages” because of their fanciful bright colors and ornate moldings. By 1880, 315 cottages had been built in a circular pattern around the original meeting area. A permanent structure called the Tabernacle, with seating for over 3,000 people, was built in the center to allow camp meetings to take place regardless of the weather. The town was incorporated as Cottage City.

Andrew Photographing Gingerbread CottageI had been coming to the island – and Oak Bluffs -- for about 15 years before I first discovered this tiny city within a city. My excuse is that it is fairly well hidden and easily missed. The secret is to go through an alley between the stores on the western side of Circuit Avenue, or starting from the marina, go past the grand old Wesley Hotel into what is called the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, or just the “Campground”. It’s like you’ve entered a totally different world. But be careful not to get lost, because all the roads are in circles. I usually just pop out into the real world at random spots – sometimes Circuit Avenue, sometimes Lake Avenue near the marina.

These houses are adorable and can be rented as vacation homes. I keep telling Herb that I want to do that some day.

Cottage City Illumination NightDespite 30+ years of visiting the island, only once did our time here coincide with “The Grand Illumination,” the annual end-of-summer celebration held in the Campground each year on either the second or third Wednesday in August. This event has been taking place for over a century and is a definite must-do for anyone that loves this island. During the week leading up to the celebration, residents decorate their cottages with ornate Japanese and Chinese lanterns, each trying to outdo the next in their elaborateness. However, no one can light these lanterns until the appropriate time on Illumination Night. The evening begins with hundreds of people gathered in and around the Tabernacle for a very patriotic and inspiring sing-along band concert. At the end of the concert, anticipation builds as all the lights in the Tabernacle go out. Only then are the lanterns on the cottages dramatically “illuminated,” accompanied by the “oohs” and ahs” of an appreciative audience.

Man in Tux on Illumination NightThe celebration ends after visitors finish wandering through the Campground enjoying the magnificent display of lanterns. I am so envious of the people sitting in their rocking chairs on the porches of these adorable cottages. Renting one of these is now officially on my bucket list.

Before we discovered Cottage City, we came to Oak Bluffs with the boys when they were little primarily to let them ride the famous Flying Horses Carousel, the nation’s oldest continuously operating merry-go-round. The carousel was originally built in Coney Island, but moved to its current location in a red barn at the foot of Circuit Avenue in 1884. It really is a unique place and has even been designated a National Landmark. Each horse on the carousel is different and handcrafted with real horsehair and glass eyes.

Andrew and Tommy riding Flying Horses CarouselWe have so many fond memories of this place. I think the boys rode these horses every year from their birth until they were in their teens. One time that particularly stands out in my mind occurred when Tommy was 2 years old. During this phase of his life, he had the odd habit of wanting to clutch an item in his hand – in a tiny death grip – and hold onto it for hours on end. One time, he chose to carry around a portable Latin dictionary for days – everyone thought he was gifted. On this particular vacation he chose a small children’s Tylenol bottle and carried it around for the entire week. We still have movies of him riding the carousel, stretching his little hand out to reach the brass ring, while simultaneously clutching his medication in the other. It was so embarrassing.

The other thing to dread is one of your children being lucky enough to grasp the brass ring and win a free ride, because “free” actually means having to pay for another ride for the other child who was not as fortunate. This can go on for quite a few “free” rides.

Oak Bluffs MarinaAs I mentioned before, Oak Bluffs is probably the liveliest town on the island. A walk along the docks by the harbor in summertime takes you past some pretty rowdy bars and restaurants. There are also numerous restaurants, shops, movie theaters, arcades, and bars along the main drag – Circuit Avenue.

Last summer, when Andrew and Celeste came to join us on the island for a weekend, we experienced another Vineyard first for us – which after 30 years is getting more and more difficult. We were having dinner at a microbrewery called the Offshore Ale Co. on Kennebec Avenue (one block over from Circuit Ave), when we began getting whiffs of some very incredible bakery smells. It was so good that we just had to ask our waitress where it was coming from. “Oh, Back Door Donuts has started their baking for tomorrow morning,” she said and pointed up the street.

The Line for Back Door DonutsImmediately upon finishing our dinner, we followed the aroma of donuts up the street, only to find a line of people that stretched about a 100 yards through a parking lot and up to a small window in the back of a building. Without even thinking twice we got on the back of the line. Seeing that we were obvious newbies to this process, several people near us in line gave us some advice. We even ran into a neighbor from New Jersey about 6 people back, who comes and waits on this line each year when she comes to the island. I was a bit embarrassed that we had been coming to the island for so long, and never knew this was occurring each night in Oak Bluffs.

Apple fritters was the unanimous recommendation, so we decided that we would get four of them. As we slowly inched our way along the line, the continuous stream of tempting aromas did something to our brains that made us keep adding to our intended order. We were now up to four fritters and four donuts. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take too much longer or we would be adding cinnamon buns as well. When it was finally our turn, we were kind of nervous, fearing we would mess up our order and be denied our treats – “No fritter for you!” -- just like the “Soup Nazi” Seinfeld episode. But we managed to hold ourselves together and achieve the prize.

Kite Boarders on Sengekontacket PondWe didn’t even make it to the corner before diving in. While I must say, the donuts were really good, the apple fritters were incredible. A new Vineyard tradition had been born.

Oak Bluffs is also home to one of the two “Chops” on the northern part of the island. Many times we have parked in Oak Bluffs and gone for a run that includes circling the chop. The run is nice, gradually ascending from town to the top of a prominent bluff overlooking Nantucket Sound to the north and Vineyard Haven Harbor to the west. In fact, the bluff is the source of the name Oak Bluffs. There are no stores or businesses of any kind along the Chop, just very enviable, mid-1800 mansions with some really great views. At the very northern end of the Chop, atop Telegraph Hill, stands the East Chop Lighthouse, one of the island’s five.

Boys catching fish from JettyThere are 3 (or more correctly 2 ½, as one is shared with Edgartown) public beaches in Oak Bluffs: Eastville Beach on the west side of East Chop, Town Beach to the east of the Steam Ship Authority dock, and Joseph Sylvia State Beach (or more popularly, just plain old State Beach) along the road to Edgartown. State Beach, by far, is the most popular one. It is very long and narrow, extending for two miles along the state highway that connects Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. The Nantucket Sound shoreline lies on one side of the road and Sengekontacket Pond on the other. During the summer, cars fill the parking lane that runs the length of the beach.
There is also a bike path that runs parallel to the road on the Pond side.

Tommy jumping off Memorial BridgeThere are two bridges along this road going over inlets connecting the Sound to the Pond. On any summer day, you will find dozens of kids of all ages perched atop the rail of the American Legion Memorial Bridge, jumping off into the inlet. One summer we convinced the boys that doing so would make them true “islanders,” so they did. For movie buffs, this inlet might be familiar as the site of a shark attack in the movie Jaws.

Over the years, we have spent many days at State Beach. It is not necessarily my favorite beach in that it doesn’t have the surf that South Beach in Edgartown has, or the grandeur and beauty of Moshup Beach in Aquinnah, or the fishing to be found at Wasque on Chappaquiddick. However, it is a lovely beach and a good place for us to set up base camp with the RV. In the summer this means getting there early in the morning or waiting until late afternoon when most beachgoers have called it a day.

Lolo with boys kayaks on Sengekontacket PongAlthough we have parked along the road, we usually try to get a space in the small parking lot on the Oak Bluffs end of the beach. We back it in with our back window overlooking the Pond. There have been so many times that we have spent the evening here, cooking dinner and watching the sun set over the Pond.

There are a lot of things to do from here, besides just hanging on the beach. In past years, we have brought a windsurfer to the island and practiced in Sengekontacket Pond, where we couldn’t be blown off to Nantucket. The Pond is very pretty and shallow, and a perfect place to learn. It’s also a nice place to kayak, which we have also done on a few occasions.

This parking lot is also a perfect base camp to bike ride either into Edgartown or to Oak Bluffs. Edgartown is about a 4 mile ride from here and Oak Bluffs about 2. This way we can go to town in the evening and not worry about finding parking for the RV.

Description

Sunset over Sengekontacket PondThe town of Oak Bluffs is located on the eastern chop on the northern shore of Martha’s Vineyard, with Nantucket Sound to its east and Vineyard Harbor to its west.

Its history is fascinating and probably the reason Martha’s Vineyard is such a popular vacation destination today. What is now Oak Bluffs was first settled in 1642 and functioned as a farming community for almost 200 years before Methodists came in the summer of 1835 to hold a revivalist meeting. This was the period of the Second Great Awakening, a religious revival movement that preached personal salvation through highly emotional outdoor revival meetings. During that first summer in 1835, the Methodists pitched their tents under a large grove of oaks in what is now Trinity Park and established the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting. Each summer they returned to do the same, with the groups getting gradually larger and larger, and the time spent on the island longer and longer.

Boys playing in Ocean ParkBy the 1860s, the tents began being replaced by small Victorian-style cottages, built in a circular pattern around the meeting area and as close together as the tents they replaced. These cottages became known as Gingerbread Cottages because of their fanciful bright colors and ornate moldings, which made them appear as props in a fairytale. By 1880, 315 cottages had been built and the town was incorporated as Cottage City. A permanent structure called the Tabernacle, with seating for over 3,000 people, was built in the center to allow camp meetings to take place regardless of the weather. The Gingerbread Houses and Tabernacle are still there today, but as vacation homes and a community center.

Andrew and Celeste dining in RV at State BeachAnother old tradition on the island dating back to 1868 is the Vineyard Haven Band, made up of a group of Civil War veterans (both Confederate and Union soldiers). In 1878, the Oak Bluffs gazebo in Ocean Park was built to serve as a bandstand for the Band. The gazebo is still used today for summer concerts.

In 1884, the Flying Horses Carousel was moved from Coney Island in New York to a red barn at the foot of Circuit Avenue in Cottage City. Constructed by Charles Dare, each horse is unique and handcrafted with real horsehair and glass eyes. Children (and adults) today still enjoy taking a ride on the carousel. It is the nation’s oldest continuously operating merry-go-round and has been designated a National Landmark.

Circuit Ave CottagesIn 1907, to reflect the growing population and the changing face of the resort, the town’s name was changed from Cottage City to Oak Bluffs because the town was the site of an oak grove along the bluffs overlooking the Sound.

Today Oak Bluffs is a bustling resort town with lots of restaurants, inns, shops, movie theaters, arcades, and bars to enjoy live entertainment and dancing. Ironically, what once started as a place of prayer is now one of the liveliest towns on this otherwise very reserved island. Circuit Avenue is the main drag through town and where most of the action is.

Illumination Night LanternOak Bluffs also operates the largest marina on the island. Situated in Oak Bluffs Harbor, this bustling marina is in walking distance to Circuit Avenue and the historical gingerbread houses in the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association. There are also several pretty rowdy bars and restaurants located alongside the dock.

When in Oak Bluffs, be sure to take a stroll through the old Camp Meeting Grounds to see the gingerbread houses and the Tabernacle. Visitors to the Cottage Museum can view the interior of one of these cottages, complete with period furnishings, and learn more about the history of the Campground. In 2005, the grounds and buildings in the Campground were designated a National Historic Landmark.

MV Ferry at Oak BluffsOn a Wednesday night in either the second or third week in August, the Campground is the site of “The Grand Illumination,” an annual end-of-summer celebration where residents decorate their cottages with ornate Japanese and Chinese lanterns, each trying to outdo the next in their elaborateness. The lanterns remain dark while people gather in the Tabernacle for a sing-along band concert. At the end of the concert, all the lights in the Tabernacle go out and then the lanterns on the cottages are dramatically “illuminated.” The celebration ends after visitors finish wandering through the Campground enjoying the magnificent display of lanterns. The Grand Illumination has been taking place for over a century. It was initially intended to mark the visit of the Governor of Massachusetts.

Another distinctive area in Oak Bluffs is East Chop, a residential area on a peninsula, surrounded by Nantucket Sound on the north and east and Vineyard Haven Harbor on the west. It features a high prominent bluff (hence the name Oak Bluffs), with mid-1800 mansions overlooking the Sound. East Chop Light, one of the island’s five lighthouses, stands on Telegraph Hill at the north end of the chop.

There are 2 ½ public beaches (State Beach is shared with Edgartown) in Oak Bluffs (all on the calm waters of Nantucket Sound):

• Eastville Beach – located at the bridge between Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven on the west side of East Chop
• Oak Bluffs Town Beach – located between the Steam Ship Authority dock and the first jetty towards Edgartown
• Joseph Sylvia State Beach (more often referred to as State Beach) - extends for two miles along the state highway connecting Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. The Nantucket Sound shoreline lies on one side of the road and Sengekontacket Pond on the other. The calm waters of the Sound and the Pond make this a very popular beach for families. Parking is available along the paved parking lane that runs the length of the beach. A paved bike path on the Pond side connects the towns of Edgartown and Oak Bluffs.

Kayaking opportunities:

• Sengekontacket Pond
• Lagoon Pond