Re: A Wonderful National Landmark
Cynics might say there is no such thing as a community based on "HyperCharm," but I have one to offer: The Campground in Oak Bluffs on the island off Massachusetts commonly known as Martha's Vineyard. Here are a few samples of the evidence.
Built as a tent site back in 1835, each home sits on what was originally a platform. Victorian architecture in many of its styles characterizes the omnipresent, small-scale construction. It is not "miniature," as is often described, but simply a small, human-scale community of remarkable structures. Owners take great pride in decorating their homes, in creating original color palettes, in planting, in maintaining the fine trim that characterizes each and every abode.
The campground site sits in the middle of Oak Bluffs, an All-American town on the island, home to a variety of hearty Islanders, and their businesses. Tourism is of course, essential. Fishing, Art, Music, T-shirts, Culinary Outposts and Cocktail Parties make up at least six other business sectors I observed to be prospering on this particular weekend.
Most of the homes are not yet open, but a number of residents are busy planning to open them up this week, in time for Memorial Day weekend that officially opens the season. Homeowners are congenial, friendly. One woman says she lives here year-around. "It's cold," she swears about the winter. But she acknowledges she would not live anywhere else.
These photos were taken a week before Memorial Day weekend, in the morning, as I ambled around the circle that surrounds the Campground, and the Tabernacle in the center, home to famous community sings and concerts, some of which I have attended over the years beginning with a wonderful Pete Seeger performance, long time ago. Special events provide the locals and island guests a wonderful summertime gig.
The town dock is walking distance from the Campground, so you need not worry about transportation if your ferry arrives in Oak Bluffs. You can take a cab or ride bikes, or motor scooters all over the island. You'll certainly want to see the upper-crusty Edgartown, the tourist-focused Vineyard Haven, the scenic vistas of Chilmark and the quaint, startling, picturesque beauty of the fishing village, Menemsha, before you leave.
I walk the Campground several times before I depart, not sure when I'll be back, again-- in the early morning, later in the day, and then, around 2:00 a.m. There is a romantic comfort here, a nostalgia, an authentic charm that captures another time and place in the most delightful way, in the midst of an island getaway, far away from the frenetic life we know all too well on the mainland.
The island seems to open its arms to everyone. Yes, there are Blackberries and cell-phones here, and no doubt, iPads, too. But I find this spot hard to describe, now as I did then, decades ago, back in the days when Jeff and Maria Muldaur sang love songs to each other while playing with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band in the Moon Cusser Cafe. I went to both shows for a week. The experience is with me, still. Time is still a little slower here. One lives with a surer sense of focus, fun, and gratitude. My own inner clock makes the adjustment, easily. Surely, this is a very special place, with a very special history. Take a look.
1 comments:
Well said, on point and a wonderful narrative of a place that has to be lived in to be known. I envy you your walks and your peaceful thoughts in a place that is such its own place.
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