First thing to say about today is that the weather was beautiful. All day. None of this “only nice after you’ve had lunch” thing. It was perfect weather. (As in, why couldn’t it have been this great the other days?) But really, not complaining, because I said the most important thing was for it not to rain, and it didn’t. I even bought a baseball-style cap today, to keep the sun off my face. And I don’t even like baseball caps on me!

Chappy’s exhausted. Right now—quarter to six—is about the first chance he’s had to lie down and relax all day. We started by driving into Edgartown for breakfast (Espresso Love again—the best coffee, really), and then walked up to the lighthouse and then sat and admired the view for a while. (Insert perfect picture here—clean, white lighthouse, crystal blue sky, a fluffy cloud or two for effect, Chappaquiddick in the distance.) We walked back along the harbor, stopped to get a small snack, and then bumped into the woman who used to run the Stephen Huneck gallery, and then managed the Point Way Inn for a while (which is no longer an inn, but now a private residence). She’s the sweetest lady, and it was nice to see her.

Over lunchtime, we sat in the car by the beach, overlooking Vineyard Sound, and finished our “trip book.” (“The Witch of Blackbird Pond,” you’ll remember.) That was really nice. Perfect, again. We had the windows open and the salt breeze blowing through. There was a bank of clouds over the mainland (and, apparently, the smoke from a fire somewhere on Cape Cod), but again, nothing but cottonballs overhead.

We went into Vineyard Haven to pick up my ring. I mentioned this a couple days ago, how I’d bought a peridot ring and they were sizing it for me. Turns out, when we went to pick it up yesterday, there was a glitch. The stone had apparently been glued into the ring, which wasn’t necessarily a problem, but it didn’t take kindly to the heat of resizing, and when they reglued it in . . . you could see the bubbles in the glue, as if the stone were impure. Very disappointing, but when I picked it out, it had come down to a choice between that ring and the very first one that had caught my eye when we walked into the store. So, um, guess which one is coming back to New Jersey with me. (The good news is that it’s even the cheaper of the two rings; how often does that happen?)

We walked up the road to the “business” end of Vineyard Haven harbor (Owen Park) and sat there for a while, until Chappy got too antsy about being so close to the water without actually being allowed IN the water. We met a friendly, young, rambunctious, and wet golden retriever named Pilot, who came bounding up the hill after us and chose to completely ignore her owner (the Harbor Master) when he called her. Basically, she ignored him completely until he had walked all the way up the hill himself and actually had hold of her collar!

We’re back at the room now, for the night. Chappy is taking advantage of the peace and quiet to finally get his nap, and Mom and I are both sitting here, saying, “Gosh, I’m so tired!” We leave tomorrow on the 9:30 ferry and then have the 6-hour drive back home. From what Dad said on the phone yesterday, it’s possible we won’t have a driveway to pull into—we’re getting it repaved and they wanted to start today. (Mom freaked just a little at the news—I think she feels there’s a little too much going on at once!) I’m just as glad, though, that I’ll be able to give Chappy a bath tomorrow night—or maybe Saturday. He (and my car) are rather dirty!

And, lest you think I’ve been neglecting my knitting. I’ve got my sock just about to the heel-turning point. It’s not enjoying travelling, though. No matter how carefully I put it in my purse, I’m forever losing stitches off the end of one or the other DPNs (another reason to love Magic Loop, in my opinion). As to my Peacock, I’ve got three more rows of the pattern, and then I get to start the edging. Yay!

• Tags: Family, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:MV Day Five //