But nothing can dampen our enthusiasm for the island. As one of the local bumperstickers says, "God may have made Martha's Vineyard, but he lives on Nantucket."
Our home for the next three days, the Hawthorne House, built in 1849, was a five-minute walk from the ferry along the cobblestone Main Street and brick sidewalks, surrounded by great restaurants, shops, an amazingly affordable wine store and the home of the world's best cinammon roll (in Brad's well-tested opinion).
Instead of confining ourselves to downtown or renting a car, we instead rented bicycles for the next two days, freeing us to seeing the prodigious sites up close and personal, and reminding our butts that they're not as young as they once were.
The island is very hospitable to bikes, with racks everywhere, and pretty much every driver ceding the right of way to cyclists.
Day 1
On our first day, we did about 14 miles out to Dionus and Madaket beaches and back, stopping for picnic provisions at Something Natural.
The sun was in full glory, the breeze was refreshing, and we were treated to the perfect spot of Dionus Beach sand for lunch, where Karen took a dip in the Atlantic, her first of this trip.
On the way back was a freshwater pond where we stopped for snack and water, and were amazed to see a bale of turtles (Google it ... Brad did) poke their prehistoric heads up and stare at us with the same curiosity the seals had yesterday.
Nantucket is home to incredible cuisine, so we were delighted to get the two last seats at the counter, which doubled as front-row seats to all the action in the kitchen, complete with the ability to have a discussion with the chef about his preparations. And since it's a BYOB restaurant, they let us walk to the wine store on Main Street where we found a Rombauer chardonnay for the same price we can get it back home.
It was the perfect accompaniment to the local organic greens, tuna tartare and cod with mashed potatoes, baked figs and golden zucchini.
Better still was the conversation with our counter neighbors, Trudy and Merle, who've been coming to their second home on Nantucket for about 25 years. They told us funny stories, gave us tips for the next day's bike ride and -- best of all -- called American Seasonings to secure our dinner reservation for the next night (more on that later).
Following dinner, there was no better way to cap the day than with a stroll through town, window shopping.
Day 2
Up early, not a cloud in sight. To Petticoat bakery for the world's best cinnamon roll, coffee and tea, and then on our bikes and pointed toward the other end of the island from yesterday, the picturesque village of Sconset, about 11 miles away. But first was navigating the way out of downtown -- unbenknownst to us -- on the truck route. Note to selves: next time, check the map carefully to find the uncongested routes.
Once at the tip, we did a two-mile walk. Mile 1 was on the Bluffs Trail, which actually meanders through the backyards of the majestic Cliffside homes overlooking the empty beach and the vast ocean. And Mile 2 was along the shoreline, accessed by our not-so-stealthy entry onto a private staircase to the sand.
Back in town, we couldn't help but check out the local wine shop, and looked at each other knowingly when we saw two of our favorite Santa Rita Hills chardonnays, Liquid Farm and Clos Pepe, next to each other on the shelf. We wonder if the store owner actually knows that the winemakers at both are good friends.
Dinner this night was at American Seasonings. What providence that Trudy and Merle are regulars at the restaurant and had so kindly made reservations on our behalf. We had scallops, organic greens and arctic char on top of fried green tomato. Each bite was a taste sensation.
Day 3
Because we had a 1:30 ferry departure, we had to begin our activities early. So it was back to the best home of the world's greatest cinnamon roll and then a quick stroll in the fog to the other side of downtown to catch our four-wheel drive van for a nature tour of the Coskata-Cotsua beaches and sand dunes. Perhaps because of the dense fog, we were the only two passengers, making for a private tour.
Once the fog lifted, an isolated, serene world was revealed of narrow beaches separating the Atlantic from Nantucket Sound, birds and marshes. One highlight was watching an osprey building his next with twigs and grass.
Once back in town, we bee lined to Yoshi's sushi, let the chef know we had less than 30 minutes for the ferry, and he expedited our order of uni, spicy tuna and a mixed seafood roll. While Karen paid the bill, Brad ran for our stored backpacks a block away, and we hustled through the streets to make it just in time for the ferry to Hyannis.
Once back in Wellfleet, we enjoyed a relaxing evening with hosts Mike and Sally with cheese and crackers followed by pasta puttanesca.
Thanks for reading through this long post ... here are three days of photos from our Nantucket excursion:
Madaket Beach
Madaket Beach with two cyclists on it
Two-wheeled fun
On the lookout for TOUS (turtles of unusual size ... yes, that's an actual Princess Bride reference)
One of many TOUS spottings
Downtown from the Brant Lighthouse
From our spot behind the counter at Black Eyed Susan's
In the Sconset wine shop, two of our favorite chardonnays were next two each other on the shelf. We wonder if the owner knows that winemakers Jeff and Nikki Nelson of Liquid Farm and Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe are good friends and supporters of each other's work
Video: Strolling the Bluffs Trail in between the local homes' backyards and the Atlantic
Morning solitude in the Coskata preservation area
We didn't know conch grew on dead trees
An oystercatcher
On the ferry headed back to the mainland, Nantucket harbor in the background
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