Our second day on the Vineyard began early, as we were excited to get going with what our next adventure would be. While waiting for breakfast, we decided to take a few pictures around the property and spend some time outside in the morning sun.
The temps were in the mid 80s and the air was clean, breezy, and fresh. It felt warm and summery without being scorching and humid, which was wonderful…
Tyler has the ollo clip, a lens kit for his iPhone, and his favorite lens is the macro, so he loves to spend time searching for tiny bugs, intricate flowers, and find things to photograph that many people might miss or bypass.
The yellow sunflower and the bee/zinnia are a couple of his pictures he took that morning in the garden, just a few yards from our suite. :)
After a few minutes, we saw someone pop up from the flowers on the other side of the garden as we were taking pictures of the petals and bees - it was Charles! He was picking tomatoes and edible flowers for garnishing our breakfast. He had such a beautiful bounty! He asked how we were enjoying the island so far, how our first day was, and what our plans were for Day 2. We told him we were planning to check out the Aquinnah Lighthouse so he gave us a few tips about our visit before heading back to the kitchen to finish up the food preparations.
Right at 8:30, we were hungry :), we headed to the pool to choose our seat for breakfast. A sweet lady came out to greet us, pouring a refreshing drink made from bananas, fresh ginger, turmeric, and sweet potato into our juice glasses. And with our coffee, she brought us a pair of beautiful scones and homemade raspberry jam. With one single bite, we knew that these sweet little pillows of clouds had currants and candied ginger. She asked Charles, and he confirmed… they were absolutely delicious. We were so impressed with the soft, billowy, buttery texture, as scones can often be so dry. We were in culinary heaven…
Our main course was soon brought out to us - which was even more heavenly… A bed of cheesy polenta with fresh tomatoes and a poached egg, with a side of fresh peaches and kiwi. So simple, so beautiful, so delicious… It was light while also substantial and just what we needed before our day began. Since this was our first time having breakfast here, we weren’t sure what to expect, so we were tickled. The egg was poached perfectly, everything was seasoned well and balanced, letting each ingredient speak for itself without being overpowered by anything. And the fruit was like a dream, we both took a bite of kiwi and almost fell out of our chairs, I’m serious.. I don’t know if it was just the best kiwi we’d ever had, or if he poached it in some sort of sweetened nectar of the gods but it was perfection!
We enjoyed every single bite and took it all in… excited that we’d picked such a great place to stay, and thankful for such a lovely way to start our second day!
After breakfast, we got our things together and headed out to the west side of the island for the cliffs of Aquinnah. We pulled over a few times so I could photograph a couple of beautiful overlooks and views. The island is covered in Sycamore trees! Their trunks are so pretty because they’re light like Birch, but more speckled with bigger leaves. There are only a few “main roads” because it’s such a small island, about 7 miles wide and 23 miles long. There are no stoplights (that we could find at least) and when you get to each intersection, there are signs that point to the next town over. It definitely felt different than driving on the mainland, with a much more laid back vibe. The main routes felt like home’s back country roads.
When we arrived, there were a few cute little shops before the entrance of the walking path to the Lighthouse, but we decided to check those out on the way back, after we’d seen the cliffs. Looking south, we saw the water and a beach through the trees and brush, but we were heading north to see the cliffs, so we headed that way. Little did we know that we’d end our trip on that south-facing beach a few days later.
(Here’s a little peek at our rental car too, a 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander. It had 11 miles on it when we got it at the airport. A little honest review - it isn’t one we’d purchase ourselves, but was the perfect size and car to have while in a setting like MV, where having a compact SUV is just what you need!)
The Cliffs were breathtaking! It’s a short walk up the nice wooden deck path to see the overlook, and then another path took us to the Lighthouse itself, a bit further down. The water was such a gorgeous blue, and we could see for miles!
Afterwards, we decided to head back to Vineyard Haven to shop along Main Street and get a bite to eat. There were so many cute places to see! We got sandwiches from Waterside Market and took our time looking for anything we might have wanted to take back home with us.
We ended up finding several fun things… One in particular being a really cool ship kite from Lennox & Harvey, which I’ll show you in a later blog post, a few kitchen items from another shop called LeRoux, a t-shirt or two, and more…
One of my favorite stores was The Beach House… It was filled to the brim with linens, napkins, table cloths, blankets, and fabrics of the most fun and inspiring prints and colors! All I kept thinking was how much my mom and Aunt Nina would have LOVED that store!!! I could have gone home with nearly one of everything if I had the suitcase space! :)
We hauled all of our findings back to the place to rest by the pool with some fruit and wine, before changing and heading back out for dinner. :)
So for dinner, we ended up at La Soffitta. We didn’t know this until we arrived, but it’s actually in the same location as the Waterside Market, and we were even seated at the same table where we had lunch.
Our wine and appetizers were delicious, but our dinners weren’t exactly anything to write home about. My watermelon salad was really nice, topped with an herby goat cheese and drizzled with a basil oil, and the grilled bread was nice, but our meals were disappointing, and our waiter came out a few times asking “who ordered what again”… and we were literally there for about two and a half hours in total, which, for a quick “bistro dinner” type of experience, was way too long. We enjoyed each other’s company, but weren’t as impressed with the service and dinner entrees.
Mine was described on the menu in a totally different fashion than what I received, the chicken skin was soaked in a broth (which is a big time “no”, anything wish skin should be crispy and dry), and the meal had very little flavor overall, and my “sauteed carrots” were basically raw. The “tomato salad” that was supposed to come on the side, comprised of two heirloom tomatoes that were merely chopped up raw and placed on top of the chicken. And everything was crying out for salt!
Tyler’s tortellini sauce was very strange in texture, almost like a jelly, and it tasted very one note and dull. Both meals were definite flops, but we still had fun together and again, the wine was amazing… We each ordered a glass with our appetizer, and another glass with our meals, and they were delectable! My favorite was actually the wine that Tyler got with his dinner, which was the 2014 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon by Jordan.
One of the things we love to do together most is critique food, wine, and restaurant experiences, so we come at it with a heightened critical edge, and we know that not everything is always going to be great, even when you’re paying a higher dollar for it. We like to rate each element and pick it apart. :) So now we know for next time! And now you know too if you ever decide to go there, lol.
After dinner, we went back to our place to rest up for day 3… Our actual 10th Anniversary… where we hiked Menemsha Hills! Recap of that coming up next!