"they said it couldn't be done": martha's vineyard in a day

after living in new england for almost two decades, i finally made my way to martha's vineyard on sunday with one of my best friends, sue, who had never been either. let me say up front that i now understand why everyone recommends that you take at least a weekend -- or a full week -- to explore the island, but i want to assure you that you can absolutely have a fun day trip if you pace yourself and plan ahead. sure, we drove 1.5 hours to a parking lot that was full, missed the 9:30 ferry, got lost on the nine-mile drive to the other parking lot, had to take a 25-minute shuttle to the ferry terminal, and barely made the 10:45 ferry. BUT STILL WORTH IT because we had a great day in MV.

• the ferry

the ferry was a thing and it was actually kind of fun once we boarded it. there was wifi (good), annoying children (bad), a snack bar (good) and singing teenagers (bad). mixed bag, but it allows you to relax before beginning your adventure. pro tip: don't follow the people down the stairwell before the ship is docking, because they're not getting ready to disembark ... they're getting into the cars they drove onto the ferry. this mistake did help us come up with our hashtag for the day, though: #dontmindus. on our return trip, we had a nice man take a picture of us.

• lobster rolls

we were a little miffed at the extensive travel hassles we had faced, so i utilized the free wifi on the ferry to find us the best goddamn lobster roll in vineyard haven, and it led us to the net result. it's a no-frills seafood market and takeout spot with a few picnic tables outside, but i'm pretty sure it was the best lobster roll i've ever had. barely any mayo -- score. some onions, lettuce, and tomato. and soooo meaty!

• seafood shanty

after being deceived again by an MV transit staff member, we ended up in edgartown instead of oak bluffs and it started to rain. like a cape cod mirage, we stumbled upon this place called the seafood shanty that boasted a rooftop bar. 

as we ascended the stairs, we spotted bartenders wearing "sunday funday" shirts and two empty bar seats that backed up to the outdoor deck. as we sat down, we noticed that two fellows with perfect tans and vineyard vines attire were occupying some seats nearby. they basically could have been dawson's creek extras. i drank something with sweet tea vodka called a shan-tea, sue got a margarita, and we proceeded to chat with each other and make intense eye contact with our new friends but never actually talk to them, natch. we decided to press on when the weather cleared up, and when we realized we were exhibiting symptoms that chris d'elia describes in his "drunk girls" bit.  i can't wait to go back.

• oak bluffs

our last (and my favorite) stop was oak bluffs. this town definitely felt the most "resort"-like to me, and there were a ton of cute shops, restaurants, and entertainment options, including the oldest carousel in america! which was actually kind of sad-looking. but still.

anyways, we grabbed some ice cream from mad martha's, and set off to explore the famous gingerbread cottages. 

not going to lie, the whole 'hood felt a liiiiittle cultlike, but i was still obsessed because the houses were so amazing. and people were making use of them, too! we saw several people on their porches reading, playing guitar, and just hangin' out. also, this dog:

i really wanted to find one particular house that i had read about last year on one of my favorite blogs, strawberry fields whatever.  and i did! this house was just so ridiculous and sweet and acid trippy and strawberry shortcake, and just the house i'd choose if i were to inherit a gingerbread cottage. obviously i had to get a picture in front of it (filtered to shit for that '70s virgin suicides effect).

after our little cottage walking tour, i bought a cottage magnet at one of the cheesy gift stores so i'll never forget them. we decided to stop for one final drink at this beachy spot called the sand bar that was completely dead and was playing reggae. the hippie-lookin' bartender chick carded us and said, in a low, dull voice, "you're both geminis." i was immediately so into this place. "are you a gemini?" i asked. "no, i'm a sag. but all my friends are gems," she replied, setting our seadog sunfishes in front of us and promptly disappearing. magical.

we hopped on the ferry and decided to grab some dinner back on the mainland at a place that overlooks the woods hole terminal, quicks hole. we ate at the "bar," which really just looks into the open kitchen, so it was fantastic and kinda fascinating. almost like hell's kitchen but with much less yelling. the perfect end to a vineyard day trip.