NANTUCKET IS APPROXIMATELY 14 MILES LONG AND AT ITS WIDEST 4 MILES. THERE ARE NO TRAFFIC LIGHTS, NO FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS, AND FEW PUBLIC BATHROOMS. ITS BEST TO LEAVE YOUR CAR ON THE MAINLAND AND RENT A JEEP, BIKE OR JUST WALK. THERE ARE TAXI'S AND TOUR BUSES AVAILABLE. FOOD IS QUITE EXPENSIVE i.e. TWO EGGS AND COFFEE $10.00 THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF FERRIES OPERATING, TRADITIONAL ( 2 HOUR CROSSING) AND HIGH SPEED, (1 HOUR CROSSING, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) $15 & $29.00 ONE WAY PER PERSON. AUTOMOBILES COST $320.00 ROUND TRIP SO LEAVE IT ON THE MAINLAND. YOU CAN ALSO FLY FROM CAPE COD HYANNIS AIRPORT, NEWARK NJ, TETERBORO, NJ OR LOGAN AIRPORT DIRECTLY TO THE ISLANDS. FLYING TIME FROM HYANNIS IS 15 MIN. THE SHOPS ARE QUITE EXPENSIVE TOO, SO BE PREPARED. NO CAMPING OVERNITE ALLOWED. THE ISLAND ITSELF IS QUITE BEAUTIFUL AND SO FAR, UNSPOILED. THE PEOPLE ARE FRIENDLY AND JUST SLIGHTLY WIERD. ENGLISH IS THE MAIN LANGUAGE BUT ANOTHER LANGUAGE IS USED AND I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE WHAT IT IS AS I COULDNT FIGURE IT OUT. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN FRENCH, SPANISH, AND CAPE VERIDIAN. I CALL IT NANTUCKET GIBBERISH AND THAT WORKS FINE FOR ME. TOO DAMN MUCH WHALE KILLING IF YA ASK ME. ONE MORE THING, THE STREET LIGHTS ARE ALL GAS OPERATED AND NO NEON LIGHTS ARE ALLOWED ON THE ISLAND SO YOU WILL GET THE FEELING THAT YOUR 200 YEARS BACK IN TIME. THE ISLAND POPULATION OFF SEASON IS 10,000 PERMANENT RESIDENTS AND SWELLS TO 45,000 IN THE SUMMER. IF YOU PLAN ON GOING OVER THERE, BEST TIME IS AFTER LABOR DAY AS MOST ITEMS IN STORES ARE 50% OFF. 50% OFF OF 300% MARKUP THAT IS!! MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS ATLEAST 6 MONTHS IN ADVANCE IF YOUR PLANNING ON GOING IN THE SUMMERTIME. I MYSELF ONLY GO THERE IN OFF SEASON.
A FEW LAST WORDS HERE. ITS A BEAUTIFUL ISLAND, LOTS TO SEE, AND IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE IT ALL IN ONE DAY. BEST WAY TO EXPLORE IS BY BIKE OR JUST WALKING. THERE IS A GOURMET SHOP OFF OF MAIN ST THAT HAS THE BEST SOUP ON THE ISLAND, $4.50 AND GREAT SANDWICHES STARTING AT $7.95 IF YOUR FROM NYC, I GUESS THAT AINT BAD. OUR MAIN GOAL ONCE WE GOT TO THE ISLAND WAS TO FIND THE OLDEST HOUSE STILL ON ITS ORIGINAL FOUNDATION ON NANTUCKET. THE REASON FOR THIS INSANITY SEARCH WAS CAUSE WE HAVE A PICTURE OF IT AND DECIDED TO FIND IT. OUR QUEST BEGAN AS SOON AS WE GOT OFF THE HIGH SPEED BOAT. FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON, I FELT LIKE A IMMIGRANT GETTING OFF "THE BOAT" AND DISCOVERING A NEW LAND. NO CLUE WHERE THIS HOUSE WAS, BUT I FIGURED I WOULD SEE SIGNS FOR IT ALONG THE WAY. AS IT TURNED OUT, JUST ONE SIGN POINTING IN THAT DIRECTION GAVE A HINT AS TO WHERE IT WAS. SO, I FIGURED I COULDNT GET THAT LOST IN TRYING TO FIND IT. AFTER WALKING FOR SEVERAL HOURS, AND ASKING ALOT OF PEOPLE FOR DIRECTIONS, SOME GOOD AND SOME NOT SO GOOD, I FINALLY FOUND THE HOUSE. IT TURNS OUT THE ONLY THING I HAD TO GO ON WAS AN OUTDATED PHOTOGRAPH WHICH MADE THE HOUSE LOOK IN BETTER SHAPE. LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPHS HERE AND YOU WILL SEE A FEW THINGS MISSING LIKE THE ROAD IN FRONT! ON THE WAY BACK WE FOUND RH MACY, FOUNDER OF MACY'S, ORIGINAL STORE AND HOUSE. HIS FATHER STARTED HIS BUSINESS ON NANTUCKET AND THAT LED TO THE BEGINNINGS OF MACY'S DEPT STORES AND THAT LED TO THE BIG TURKEY DAY PARADE, AND ALL SORTS OF STUFF. BEN FRANKLINS MOM WAS AN ORIGINAL SETTLER OF NANTUCKET ALSO, SO JUST A BIT OF HISTORY HERE. I VISITED THE LOCAL BURIAL GROUNDS AND DID NOT FIND ANY OF MY RELATIVES JUST OUT OF CURIOUSITY MIND YA. THERE WERE QUAKERS THERE TOO IN THE BEGINNING BUT THEY NEVER MARKED THEIR GRAVES SO WE HAVE NO CLUE WHO THEY WERE. IT WAS AGAINST THEIR RELIGION TO DO SO IF YOUR CURIOUS AS TO WHY THEY DIDNT. EARLIEST GRAVE MARKER I CAME ACROSS WAS ABOUT 1640'S, KINDA HARD TO READ AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.
SO I DID LEARN A FEW THINGS WHILE ON THAT ISLAND WHICH IS 29 NAUTICAL MILES OFF OF HYANNIS MA. 1..... 1'LL NEVER GO THERE WITH ROUGH SEAS AND NEVER EVER SIT ON THE TOP DECK OF A HIGH SPEED BOAT DURING THAT CONDITION. IF YA DO, BRING A BARF BAG AS THEY DONT SUPPLY ONE. LOWER DECK IS ALOT SMOOTHER, TRUST ME. 2..... WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES, DRESS WARM IN THE FALL, AND BE CAREFUL ON THE SIDEWALKS AS TREES UPROOT THE BRICK WALKS AND YOU JUST MIGHT TRIP AND SO FORTH. 3.......THE AVERAGE SPEED LIMIT ON THE COBBLESTONE IS 3 MPH. ANY FASTER AND YOU WILL NEED A SERIOUS ALIGNMENT AFTERWARDS. 4....... ITS EXPENSIVE BUT WELL WORTH THE TRIP. 5....... ONE OF THE BEST TIMES TO GO IS RIGHT AFTER THANKGIVING FOR THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL AND ALSO LATE SUMMER FOR THE DAFFODIL FESTIVAL, BOTH QUITE INTERESTING. 6...... HOWEVER, IF YOU DONT MIND CROWDS, GO FOR IT IN THE SUMMERTIME. 7....... RENT A JEEP THERE AND HIT THE BEACHES. 8....... I WILL DEFINETLY GO BACK AGAIN BUT NOT IN SUMMERTIME AND I WILL BRING MY BARF BAG THIS TIME.
