Sunset Cruise

We wrapped up the summer season with a lovely sunset cruise around the Edgartown harbor thanks to my cousins, Molly and Chris. We had a beautiful evening, great company, good wine and calm seas!

Breakfast on the Cliffs

My family and I enjoyed breakfast on the Cliffs of Martha's Vineyard this week. It was a gorgeous, clear morning and we had an ideal seat outside overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Cliffs.


A close up of the cliffs

A view of the back side of the cliffs

Sweet Bread French Toast!

The shops at the top of the cliffs


The Aquinnah Cliffs are part of the Wampanoag Indian tribe's land and are composed of one hundred and fifty feet of sediment from six glaciers - including red and white clays, green sands, white quartz, black organic soil, and lignite. According to the Indians, they tell the story of the past hundred million years one colorful layer at a time. The streaks of red in the Cliff are from the blood of whales that Moshup would drag onto the Cliffs to cook. The discarded remains from his table are now fossilized deep in the clay. To the Wampanoag, the Aquinnah Cliffs are a sacred spot for the very reason that Moshup chose this special place as his home - they are a watchful place of great bounties.

Before there was even a paved road, the Aquinnah Cliffs were a destination for tourists traveling by land or sea. From far and wide people came to see the colored cliffs and the famous lighthouse with its Fresnel Lens. In the late 1800s, visitors came into Aquinnah (then Gay Head) by ship and then were driven in ox carts to see the lighthouse or dine in one of the many restaurants offering lobster dinners. The allure of the area is no less today than it was then (though the trip is less arduous since the roads were paved in the 1920s!) One hundred years later, visitors are still coming from faraway places to see the unmatched beauty of the Aquinnah Cliffs. All businesses located on the Cliffs are owned by tribal members and continue to serve visitors and provide for their needs from April to November.

Passion Flowers

From my mother's garden - what a green thumb she has!

From Wikipedia: "The passion flowers or passion vines (Passiflora) are a genus of about 500 species of flowering plants, the namesakes of the family Passifloraceae. They are mostly vines, with some being shrubs, and a few species being herbaceous."

Sharks

It's been a busy summer of shark sightings around the Cape this year and while we have our share of seals on the Vineyard, we've not seen any sharks. Imagine our surprise when a guy at the beach walked out of the ocean having caught a sand shark with his bare hands. My nephew is seen here holding it. It was very exciting for him as he is quite taken with sharks and was glued to the television during shark week!

Ready for the Fair

As the head of the "preserving" department at the annual Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Fair, I spent the past 24 hours accepting entries and overseeing the official judging of the jams, jellies, pickles and preserving for both the adults and junior departments. It was a busy year. Here are a few shots of the adult section. I never got any pictures of the junior section but they had a record number of entries this year!

Crabs

Today we hit the Chilmark pond in search of blue crabs. SUCCESS. We dangled a chicken wing and pulled in 4 dozen crabs. We had a wonderful feast tonight and will be enjoying crab cakes tomorrow!

Gay Head cliffs

Gorgeous day today! Met some friends for breakfast at the far end of the Island overlooking the Gay Head cliffs. Perfect way to start a day!

Christening the kayak

My aunt has a great place with a brook running along the back side and this time of year it's quite lush. My cousin recently rebuilt an old kayak that my cousins used as kids and my niece and nephew were the first to try it out. They became quite accomplished by the end of the evening!

Mon amie Sylvie

Back in the late 1960's when we lived in France, I had a fantastic French friend, Sylvie. She was my first friend in school and we did everything together. Even our parents became friends which made it easier for us to stay at each other's houses! When I moved back to the states we stayed in touch and one summer in the early 70's she came to the US and stayed with us and the following year I went to Paris and stayed with them. I think I was all of 14! Well, she and her family visited the States this summer and they came and spent 4 days with us on the Vineyard. We had such fun catching up!

Change of Command

Now to the main reason we all went to Chicago. My brother-in-law took command of the Midwest Naval Region which is located in Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago and the week ended with the official ceremony. It was a very impressive ceremony with a lovely reception following.

Chicago Art Museum

Back into the city to spend an afternoon at Chicago's Art museum. What a wonderful collection of paintings. Something for everyone! Here are a few of the favorites:

Northern Illinois County Fair

We continued to explore the northern Illinois area and came across a county agricultural fair. The kids had a great time looking at all the animals and unlimited rides since the park was nearly empty!