Postcards from Nantucket
Visiting Nantucket with my parents last week was truly a dream. We had the best day exploring the Island, browsing the boutiques, and eating lots of delicious food. I flew up from Texas on Wednesday, and my parents picked me up from the Boston airport late that evening. We spent Thursday exploring downtown Chattam and Brewster. We woke up early Friday morning and caught the Hy-Line Cruise over to Nantucket. Our boat was named the Grey Lady, and the ferry over to Nantucket only took about an hour. Watching the Brant Point lighthouse slowly appear in the distance was a highlight of the trip.
Immediately upon arriving on Nantucket, we were impressed by how clean and manicured the island is. I leaned over to my mom and said, “This feels a little bit like Disney World it’s so perfect.” We couldn’t wait to explore downtown Nantucket, but there was just so much to see. We decided to let ourselves get lost in the Nantucket streets and spent an hour or so shopping. I purchased my first Hill House dress and have already worn it several times. I also stopped into Lemon Press and ordered the signature lemonade (rose water and lavender) and a box of energy bites. The energy bites were perfect and I can’t wait to recreate them at home.
Of course, I had to stop in Mitchell’s Book Corner. I first discovered Mitchell’s a few years ago through Carly and have wanted to visit ever since. I love that the second floor is filled with books about Nantucket and by Nantucket authors. I enjoyed browsing through the selection of novels set on Nantucket. I don’t read fiction often, but a woman at the store recommended The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand. I like it so far—I read about ten chapters on the train back to Boston—and will let you know what I think once I’m finished.
As I was browsing, I noticed there was a book signing with an author who writes children’s novels. He signed a book for a little girl and added his email in the back, asking her to email him her thoughts after she finished reading. I thought that was cute.
My parents met me at Mitchell’s and then we headed over to the bus station so that we could catch a bus to Sconset. A bus ride was just $3 per person. The ride was longer than I expected (about 30 minutes), but we arrived just in time for lunch at Claudette’s Sandwich Shop. When I tell you these sandwiches were huge, I mean they were huge. I could only finish half of my smoked turkey sandwich with cucumber, tomato, white cheddar, and lettuce. A lemonade and cape cod chips were the perfect addition. We could have ordered cookies—and probably should have because they looked wonderful—but we knew we wanted to get ice cream at the Juice Bar later in the day.
After lunch, we made our way down to the beach. We took a slow stroll through the neighborhoods and admired the houses along the way. I don’t recommend walking on the hot sand barefoot in late July—ouch!
We didn’t spend too much time on the beach because we knew we wanted to check out the Sankaty Head Lighthouse. You’ve probably seen photos of this red and white lighthouse before. Our trip out to the Sankaty Head lighthouse did not quite go as planned. If you travel to Nantucket, keep in mind that cell service is a little rough, especially near Sconset. We knew we could walk from the beach to the lighthouse, but could not get Apple Maps and Google Maps to load correctly. We ended up walking about 15 minutes before turning back around to try to catch a bus in downtown Sconset instead.
We made it back to the bus stop and waited about 15 minutes. The trip was another $3 per person. We weren’t quite sure when we needed to get off the bus, but our bus driver said he would take us that way. We hopped off the bus once we could see the lighthouse and what looked like a path to it. The path was actually a path to a golf course, not the lighthouse. Luckily, a golfer told us this happens all the time (not sure why the bus driver didn’t stop us from getting off at the wrong spot, haha!) and directed us on where to go. “Where to go” was about a 30-minute walk back in the direction we originally came from. We realized later that we were basically at the road to the lighthouse on our first 15-minute walk. I didn’t mind the delay, though, because now I know how to tell you to get to the lighthouse so that you don’t run into the same problem. Here’s what you need to do:
Take a walk or a bus ride to Baybery Lane. If you take the bus, you will need to tell your bus driver where to stop by pulling on the yellow cable. He won’t stop for you, even if you tell him ahead of time where you are headed. Walk down Bayberry Lane and take a left at Baxter Road. This road will lead you to the lighthouse. If you feel like you are just walking through a neighborhood, don’t worry, the lighthouse sits at its dead end.
Even after a long journey to the lighthouse, I would do it all again. I had fun walking with my parents and admiring the homes along the way. Next time, I will probably try the Sconset Bluff Walk, a 2-mile trail that takes about 35-40 minutes to complete. This walk sounds more scenic and straightforward.
We left Sconset around 3 pm on another bus back to downtown Nantucket. The first thing we did after stepping off the bus was walk straight to Lemon Press again. We needed cold drinks. My dad and I ordered smoothies and my mom ordered a signature lemonade. We walked through a few more stores, snagged a few souvenirs, and then headed to Old North Wharf. The roses were pretty wilted in late July, but there were plenty of hydrangeas and cosmos to admire. The homes in Old North Wharf were quaint and cute, and I loved seeing the boats lined up behind them.
Our final stop of the day was The Juice Bar. I had heard raving reviews about the Coconut ice cream. To be honest, it was good, but I’ve had better. It wasn’t very flavorful and just tasted like vanilla ice cream with coconut shavings here and there. I thoroughly enjoyed an ice cream cone, though, and would love to try other flavors in the future.
My favorite part of the day was sitting on our ferry back to Hyannis (this is where you catch the ferry from the mainland). My parents and I talked about our favorite foods from the island, scrolled through photos from the day, and soaked in the breeze and light ocean mist that hit us all the way back to the mainland. I understand why everyone wears a sweater or a sweatshirt around their shoulders in the cape—it grows quite chilly on a boat. If you have a chance to visit Nantucket, I hope you enjoy the island as much as we did!
