MVY / Boston Part 3 (7.16)

7.18 7:04AM

I meant to upload the rest of my journal entry from 7/16 (also, Happy Birthday, Alicia!) yesterday afternoon, but after arriving to the cafe, I realized that had *once again* left my notepad in the hotel room and didn’t want to waste the effort of rewriting the second half of my MVY entry. Time and space have no meaning on this blog.

I didn’t get a chance to complete my wrap up of the Vineyard day because I decided that I’d start writing the post with 10 minutes left on the bus back to Boston from Woods Hole, despite having 2 hours on the bus to write it earlier. I was busy listening to Madeline Miller’s “Circe” audiobook (would recommend) and ACOTAR smut (sometimes would recommend).

My cycling route for the day--still a ton of island that I didn't get a chance to revisit, so we'll be making a return trip

Having booked a 4:45 bus from Woods Hole back to Boston, I’d sort of hemmed and hawed about whether to take the 2:55pm ferry or the 3:30 ferry out of the Vineyard, wanting to maximize time on the island but not wanting to cut it too close to the bus departure. What I learned is that ferries run on time and busses do not. I ended up snagging the earlier ferry—which was a little bittersweet having to leave the island early—but I thoroughly enjoyed the ferry and my extended time in Woods Hole, so I’d say it was a net win.

View of the island from the ferry

The ferry was about 40 minutes, and other than some windy conditions, it was a really nice way to wrap up my day on the island, getting to see it from a very different perspective (compared to an airplane) and having some time to reflect on the day.

Don't let my expression fool you, I'm having a great time

View of the island from the ferry...not sure which lighthouse this is

I’d never been to Woods Hole, but it’s a cute little spot with good restaurants, an oceanic center, and cute local shops. I was quite grateful for the extra hour because I was able to get another quahog, a few more oysters, and a cup of clam chowder before boarding the bus.

Second lunch at Shuckers in Woods Hole

Don't worry, I got more oysters back in Boston

Clam chowder and stuffed quahog

Also, can we discuss the absolute ABOMINATION that is Manhattan clam chowder? Like, don’t get me wrong, I like tomato-based soups, but compared to New England clam chowder, MCH is absolute trash garbage.

I wrapped up my second lunch of the day and headed over to the bus terminal. I arrived at 3:30 for my 3:45 bus. Our friends Vicky and Eric had booked dinner reservations in Cambridge at 7, so I was feeling pretty confident that I’d only be a few minutes late to meet them and Cory.

And then Boston traffic happened. The bus was 20 minutes late and we had an additional 15-20 minutes of road traffic, so by the time we made it to the South Station, I was already 30 minutes late and still needed to get from South Station to Cambridge. I could have Ubered, but the difference between Ubering and getting a Blue Bike was less than 5 minutes, so I figured I’d get a few more sweaty miles in. 

I met up with everyone right as they were wrapping up pre-dinner drinks. We relocated to Moona, a tasty and upscale Levantine restaurant with some of the best stuffed grape leaves I've ever had. And I was so, so woefully underdressed. We had a lovely time with Vicky and Eric--it was my first time meeting Eric and we bonded over our mutual appreciation for Larry David humor and not wanting to inconvenience service staff. Funny and heartfelt conversations over shared small plates--can't wait for the next reunion. And we somehow managed to leave without getting a single group picture!

MVY / Boston Part 2 7.16.2026

12:17 p.m.

We landed just after 10 a.m., and as we deplaned, the familiar smell of the tarmac flooded my senses and a huge wave of memories came back to me. Parking planes is kind of cool when you think about it.

I spent many hours on this tarmac

Ironically, I didn't actually go into the airport because of construction, but I was near it!

MVY

I'd rented a bike in Oak Bluffs, so I had to figure out how to get from the airport to OB. MVTA has a free bus service this summer. Great.

I got to OB around 11 a.m., picked up my bike from All Star Bike Rentals (great service and bike—would recommend), and immediately set out for Edgartown. I didn't spend much time in OB because 18 years ago it was my least favorite of the Vineyard towns. It's cute and has dozens (hundreds?) of unique little wooden gingerbready-style homes, but the clock was ticking and I didn't want to waste time faffing about in an area that held less significance to me than other sites on the island. That said, when/if I return to the island and plan on overnight lodging, OB is almost certainly the only place on the island that I'll be able to afford.

MV has great bike trails that run through and around the island. I hugged the shoreline heading southeast from OB to Edgartown, which brought me past Joseph Sylvia State Beach, Jaws Bridge, and the Caroline Tuthill Wildlife Preserve. My visit could have ended there and I would have felt satisfied. I did pause my bike ride to jump off of Jaws Bridge. The water felt great, and I managed to retain my ring and my Apple Watch.

The Oak Bluffs gazebo

The Flying Horses - nation's oldest carousel

View of the shore from OB

Bike path from OB to Edgartown

Jaws Bridge

Post-Jaws Bridge jump

I made it to Edgartown with the goal of eating a stuffed quahog, or "stuffie," which is chopped quahog mixed with bread stuffing, herbs, spices, and sausage. I also treated myself to a glass of prosecco, as it is 12:35 p.m. on a Thursday and I don't have to be at work.

Lunch spot in Edgartown

View from my lunch spot

View from my lunch spot

Stuffed quahogs and a glass of prosecco because I'm a fancy lass

Edgartown lighthouse

Typical Edgartown architecture

Many Edgartown homes have hydrangeas in the yard

I just finished my meal, and the next quest is ice cream in Vineyard Haven. 2.5 hours left on the island before I have to get to the OB ferry. Too much to see and not enough time.

I made the (somewhat) long ride down Vineyard Haven–Edgartown Road (through the interior of the island) to Vineyard Haven. On the way to VH, one crappy thing that happened on my bike ride. I stopped at a crosswalk to get access to a bike lane. A car stopped to let me cross. The car behind them did not. Crunch. Everyone was okay, but the car will need a new bumper. Woof. The opposite of a fender bender is getting an affogato from Mad Martha's Ice Cream in VH, so I did that.

Mad Martha's Ice Cream in VH

Proof I was actually there

I forgot how cute VH is. VH is also home to some of the most well-known iconic MV clothing stores, namely Vineyard Vines and The Black Dog. All MV stores are comically expensive, but when you hit the kids' sale clothing rack and can fit into an XL, you can afford a hoodie and a pair of shorts. The seersucker bowtie and island slacks will have to wait. I had also planned on replacing my Nantucket Reds on this visit, only to discover that Murray's on the Vineyard closed years ago. Bummer. 

After affogato-ing and shopping the kids' sale racks, I hopped on the bike one last time to return to Oak Bluffs, where I returned the bike, said farewell to the island, and boarded the 3 p.m. ferry to Woods Hole.

Not pictured: kids XL hoodie

Black Dog campus in VH

Black Dog campus in VH

7:09 p.m.

My day on the Vineyard has come to a close, and I'm on the bus with about 10 minutes remaining before we arrive at Boston South Station.

[more in part 3]

Boston / Martha's Vineyard Part 1 (7.15 and 7.16)

Martha's Vineyard Airport (MVY)

This might be the longest post in the history of this blog, which is saying something. I encourage you to push through your TL;DR tendencies to give it a shot, because there are a few Larry-David-esque gems in here.

I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time.

In 2008, I was lucky enough to land a summer job working for US Airways on Martha’s Vineyard. The summer adventuring around MVY is what inspired this blog and my love of travel and airports. You can read all about it starting with my very first blog post ~18 years ago.

My first dog, Martie (Martha when she was bad), was named after the Vineyard. RIP Angel Paws.

I haven’t had a chance to return to MVY since 2008. I’m not sure I’ve spent extended time in Boston since that summer. Anyway, Cory has a conference here this week, and since he joined me for my conference in Wilmington, NC last week, we figured we’d continue the trend of taking advantage of desirable travel destinations for work. While Cory is in meetings discussing complicated brain stuff, I’ll be gallivanting.

Since I have 2 hours to kill before my flight departs (more on that in a second), I’ll briefly cover some of the comedy of errors from yesterday.

For context, it has been an absolute chaos nebula since May.

I spent 32 days in Spain on the Camino de Santiago (read all about it on the blog). Cory joined me for the final 17 days, and upon returning to the States in mid June, we immediately moved into a new house, I changed jobs, we hosted my sister for a week (mid-move), traveled to NC for work, hosted our friend Gen—all while managing parenting responsibilities, caring for an injured dog, working, unpacking the house…

These past few weeks have been joyful and exciting and F*CKING STRESSFUL.

In news that will surprise no one, I don’t like leaving things in boxes, so the new house was 85% unpacked within 72 hours. The house looks great and we love it, but both Cory and I are hanging on by a thread. At least we have two more out-of-town trips planned in the next two weeks. Ha!

Where was I? Boston trip.

We took a red eye (also, we are way too old and mostly financially secure for red eyes—that’s young people shit.) from SLC and landed in BOS yesterday around 6am.

On the MIT campus in front of a buildling designed by Frank Gehry

Cory booked an Airbnb near Kendall Square (his conference is at MIT), and the host was nice enough to let us check in early. That said, the Airbnb was…not great. It reeked of cigarette smoke and didn’t match its online description.

I was so exhausted that I didn’t care, but Cory is both a man of finer tastes and knows how to advocate for his needs, so while I was passed out on the bed, Cory was simultaneously managing to present at his conference and arrange for a full refund for the Airbnb (the host was still compensated since we’d technically used the space) and get us booked at the Marriott Courtyard right on the Charles River.

What a guy.

Meanwhile, still in the Airbnb, I’m in full zombie mode when Cory calls to tell me the good news.

“Hey! I managed to get us a full refund on the Airbnb and booked us at the Marriott—you NEED TO PACK UP AND VACATE IMMEDIATELY.”

Nothing like being deep in a REM cycle and being woken up to that type of urgent messaging.

Nonetheless, I am very appreciative of Cory’s efforts and willingness to advocate for himself and us, and the upgrade from the Airbnb to the Marriott was like upgrading from a gas station taquito that had been sitting on the rollers for 10 hours to an Arby’s combo meal. DON’T QUESTION MY ANALOGY.

A reasonable person would have packed the bags and called an Uber to transport them the two miles between lodging sites, but I am not reasonable.

I packed the bags and dragged our heavy-ass luggage two miles to the hotel. Between the humidity, heat, and smog from Canadian wildfires, I was pretty haggard by the time I made it to the Marriott. I had a lovely conversation about the World Cup with the front desk attendant (he was pulling for England and I was wearing a very sweaty Argentina jersey) before showering and taking my second nap of the day.

I woke up around 2pm EST and realized that I needed to get my ass in gear because I was expected to present (remotely) with my friend and colleague Julian to a group of undergraduate students about qualitative research methods. A quick query of cozy coffee shops in the area returned a Turkish café called Andala Café, so I packed up my laptop and set out on foot again to work on my presentation and watch the soccer game. Andala Café was super cute, and the food and coffee were unique and tasty.

They had a big-screen TV and were airing the game, and there was a nice crowd of what seemed to be regulars. However, during halftime, I thought it would be best to return to the hotel so I could present with minimal background distractions, and as I was packing up and unplugging my computer, I accidentally managed to unplug the ENTIRE TV SYSTEM effectively shutting down the World Cup game for everyone in the café.

Big, big oops.

I was MORTIFIED, particularly after I heard a collective gasp from everyone in the café before I realized what I had done. The good news is that the staff was super understanding and cool about it, it wasn’t during live play, and they fixed it before the game resumed. But man, did I feel like an asshole.

I sheepishly returned to the hotel and gave my presentation. (Big shout out to Julian for being a great co-presenter and partner. Can’t wait to team up again.) Being back on faculty is pretty great.

After the presentation, Cory invited me to join him and colleagues at an arcade-themed speakeasy called Roxy’s, so I snagged a Blue bike and pedaled my way over to Central Square. I love the Blue bike system in Boston. Such a great way to travel around town. We only had about 20 minutes at Roxy’s before Cory and I departed by bike to meet our friend Ian at Gustazo’s Kitchen for dinner. The bike ride was lovely. The search for an open bike dock was not.

I sent Cory ahead to meet Ian and maximize time together while I quested for an open dock (PS: the Bluebike app shows you how many docks are available). I docked my bike in New Hampshire and walked to the restaurant to meet the lads.

Dinner was AMAZING. Ceviche, empanadas, pulpo (sorry Jeff), tacos, croquetas—truly top-notch Cuban food. And spending time with Ian is always a blast. Lots of laughs and thoughtful conversation.

Ian, Kellie, Cory
 

Because Cory is a reasonable person, he ordered us an Uber back to the hotel. We went on a short stroll along the river and stopped by a boathouse so Cory could ask me about the anatomy of a racing shell. It was fun to reconnect with my rowing past, but I was surprised by how much I’d forgotten.

All in all, a solid first day in Boston.

Which brings us to today.

My morning didn’t exactly get off to a bumpy start, but choices were made that would have been made more effectively.

For example:

1) I debated whether to take MBTA (train) or Uber to the airport. Last night’s prices for Uber were about $40 and roughly 30 minutes to the airport, so I woke up extra early (5:30am) anticipating taking MBTA ($3 and 50–70 minutes). Uber prices went down by half, so I opted for lazy, efficient and took Uber. However, I didn’t adjust my time calculations to account for faster travel, so I got to the airport by 6:45—2–3 hours before my departure. Good for international flights, checking a bag, or Atlanta-Hartsfield, but completely unnecessary for a 40-minute flight to MVY with no luggage.

2) I left my notepad and pens in the hotel room, thinking that I wouldn’t use them or want the extra weight in my backpack while biking MVY. I always travel with 2–3 pens. Upon getting to the airport, realizing I had three hours to kill and wanting to document this experience, I spent the next 40 minutes combing the airport for any sort of journal and cheap pen. I’m convinced that Boston doesn’t believe in blank paper because they’re too busy stocking Patriots merchandise. Ick. After 40 minutes, I finally found a bookstore that had journals and pens. I managed to get out for less than $10, so I’m counting it as a win.

The time is now 8:23am.

I’ve been at the airport for two hours, half of which I’ve spent journaling at the Shake Shack in Terminal C. $8 on writing materials well spent. I’m going to start making my way to my gate. The next 5–6 hours will be spent reconnecting with places and memories on MVY. Let’s hope I make reasonable choices.

Good ol' Cape Air Cessna. I've ridden shotty in these a few times.

This is the thing I used to do at MVY, among other things.

Feels kind of surreal to see that on the boarding screen.

So...this doesn't seem to be a particularly lucrative route for JetBlue?

First sights of the Vineyard

Flying over Oak Bluffs (I think?)