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Going on walks:

There are many miles of trails in the acres that have been set aside as conservation land by the many preservation authorities in Martha’s Vineyard.  You can find a fairly comprehensive listing and map in the Land Bank map that you will find in the rightmost top drawer in the kitchen’s island.  The Land Bank is an authority that has been set up to preserve parcels of land of special ecological, historical or other interest.  A 2% fee attached to every real estate transaction on the Island funds the authority.  Here are some selections of what you can find in the map with our comments.

Felix Neck – Audubon society  - This nature preserve not only has beautiful trails leading through the woods and to Sengekontacket Pond, but it is within easy walking distance of the house and has many special activities through the summer. 

	Wasque Reservation - Trustees of Reservation - This is a must visit.  At the end of the main road in Chappaquidick (Chappy to the initiated) you will find the lovely Wasque Reservation

Before you go on any walk in the woods, be forewarned that the island has somewhat of a problem with ticks and plan accordingly.  Long pants and long sleeves are recommended whenever the weather allows; high power insect repellent is a necessity, not an option.  One of our favorites is Backwoods Cutter, though you should not use it on young children. For young children use one of the special formulations designed specifically for them.  Spray not only the exposed skin but also your clothing.  Pay special attention to openings such as sleeves and pants cuffs and anywhere else a tick may find a chink in your clothing. 

There are two kind of ticks on the island, regular garden variety wood ticks, which are relatively benign and carry no diseases, and the Lyme disease carrying deer tick.  The deer tick is small and reddish while the wood tick is largish and black.  If you find that a tick has attached itself to you, do not attempt to remove it unless you have experience doing so.  If you do not remove a tick properly, you may leave parts of its mouth attached, which may become infected.  Dousing in alcohol or burning the tick off does not work.  Your best bet is to go to the emergency room in the hospital.  The hospital is at the end of County road, just take a right at the end of Tenth Street and follow the H-for-hospital signs.

If ticks weren’t enough, there are also mosquitoes through the summer months, particularly close to the ubiquitous fresh and salt-water ponds, marshes and wetlands.  Even a short stay in the yard merits some insect repellent, citronella candles, etc.  and be prepared for them on the trails.

There is also a lot of poison ivy on the island so stick to the trails whenever possible.  Poison ivy is a low plant with leaves that grow in triplets and have reddish stems.  We try to wage chemical warfare on it on our property, but a short walk across the street can land you in a thicket of it.  There are also other varieties that look different so in general, try not to touch any plants.  If you come in contact with it, you have a very short time window – about 20 minutes – to wash the affected skin area with soap and then alcohol.  The symptoms may take a couple of days to manifest and the oils that produce the reaction can linger on clothing through several washes so you may be exposed days after you got the oils on your clothing.  The symptom of poison ivy poisoning is bubbles in the skin like blisters from burns and may itch fiercely.  If you see these symptoms, go to the doctor, they will prescribe either a cortisone in ointment, pills or a shot in increasing order of severity of your reaction to the ivy.

I don’t mean to discourage you from enjoying the lovely nature trails, but an ounce of prevention will make the difference between a happy stay and one marred by a visit to the hospital.

Beaches:

There are many fine public beaches on the island, you can find a fairly comprehensive listing in the Martha’s Vineyard visitor's guide, but here are some of our favorites:

Norton’s Point/South Beach: Both of these beaches represent the quintessential Island beach, white sands, roaring surf and grassy dunes.  Both have parking, though it is limited and it is best to arrive early.  They are a fairly long bike ride away, but if you are athletic and up for the approximately 12 mile round trip, it is a safe and nice ride from the house.

????:  The small beach on the nature preserve that is at the end of the Boulevard on the Edgartown side is perfect for children.  On the quiet end of the Sengekontacket pond, the area is also home to a year round flock of swans.  There is no surf and the pond is fairly shallow at that end making it perfect for kids.

Wasque preservation in Chappaquidick (Chappy to the natives)  This Nantucket Sound beach is remote, quiet and quite spectacular.  You can drive or ride your bike to it, in any case it also involves a picturesque trip across the entrance to Edgartown Harbor on the “On Time” ferry (leaves on demand so is by definition always “on time”).  The beach is managed by the Trustees for reservation and they charge not only for parking but also admittance per person.    There are also some beautiful nature trails.

When going to the beach in the Vineyard there are a number of things to remember:

Other than specially designated public beaches, beaches in Massachusetts are private to the low tide line.  This means that the only way in which you may lawfully cross a private beach is to wade across the water.  Having grown in Puerto Rico, where the entire coastline is public past the high tide mark, this seems a travesty to me.  Just be aware that this is the case and don’t stray past the borders of the public beaches.

Beside the private property issue, there are many beaches which are restricted to the residents and guests of the towns where they site.  One of the most famous beaches on the island, infamous as well for being a clothing optional beach, is Lucy Vincent.  Access to Lucy Vincent though is restricted to Chilmark residents.  There are other similar restrictions on other beaches and there will be signs to the effect prominently displayed.  The Visitor’s guide points out which are private to the area residents so you don’t have to waste a trip to find out.

The large expanses of dunes, sea and sky in island beaches, combined with the fact that usually there is no shade anywhere around conspire to increase the likelihood that you will get a bad sunburn.  Use caution when starting your tan and make sure to use sunblock with an SPF on the conservative side for your complexion.  Avoiding the 11am to 3pm time slot not only helps stave the cooked lobster syndrome, but also makes it more likely that you will find parking.

Parking is limited, everywhere, so bike, take the bus or walk whenever possible.

For now check out the Martha's Vineyard Times for links and info
 

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