Road Trip, Part 2: The Man from Nantucket

"There once was a man from Nantucket
Whose..." 

Hey now! Get your mind outta the gutter! ;)

"There once was a man from Nantucket
Who kept all his cash in a bucket
But his daughter, named Nan,
Ran away with a man
And as for the bucket, Nantucket."

To make up for Boston's deluge, Mother Nature apologized with picture perfect weather in Cape Cod.  

We stayed in Hyannis at the Heritage House in a hotel room straight from 1980. I forgot to take a picture but imagine wood paneling, maroon carpet, mauve sheets, matching polyester paisley comforter, and a 13" TV. At least it didn't have rabbit ears. But the hotel was cheap and relatively clean so I didn't complain too much.  

Hyannis wasn't much to write home about. Lots of kitchy shops selling seashells by the seashore and Jimmy Buffet-themed restaurants, like any other harbor town. People go there to catch the ferry to its more famous neighbors, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island.  

Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket

The ferry ride to Nantucket took about two hours. Jody looooooves ferries and all things nautical. Me? I was engrossed with Mockingjay. So while Jody ran from bow to stern (back to bow and again to stern), I staked out a shady corner on the deck and buried my nose in Mockingjay.

I'm on a boat!  With my flippy floppies!

MOCKINGJAY!

Nantucket trivia: Nantucket has an island-wide ordinance that all new construction must have cedar-shingled exterior.  That means pretty much everything on the island - be it a house, hospital, gas station, etc. - has the same grey, wooden exterior.  We saw a lot of celebrity-owned houses and yachts, including Tim Russert's house, John Steinbeck's house, and Billy Joel's yacht, just to name a few.

Steinbeck residence

Billy Joel's yacht, "AUDACIOUS"

This windmill is pretty non-descript - just an old windmill that was used to grind corn or flour or something.  But did you know that the sheets on the windmill are removable and were used to control the windmill's speed?  Two sheets were used to grind slowly; four sheets were used to grind quickly.  Three sheets, however, unbalanced the windmill and made it flop around wildly, drunk as a skunk.  Hence the expression "three sheets to the wind"!  Yeah, I shared this picture just to tell that story.

Bottoms up!

Overall, Nantucket and Cape Cod were lovely but not worth a second visit.  Once was enough.  Unless I was invited by the Russert or Steinbeck families to stay in their mansions.  I wouldn't turn down Billy Joel either.  

"Sonny, move out to the country.
Workin' too hard can give you
A heart attackackackackackack"

 Next up...Newport, RI!