Island Light: Look Around
The Rosa Parks takes a winter sail.
The Rosa Parks takes a winter sail.
West Chop Light guides at the west end of Vineyard Haven harbor.
West Chop Light guides at the west end of Vineyard Haven harbor.
Chowder Company sentinel views downtown Oak Bluffs.
Chowder Company sentinel views downtown Oak Bluffs.
Parked for the season.
Parked for the season.
Iconic red building houses the Flying Horses.
Iconic red building houses the Flying Horses.
Anchoring the bottom og Circuit avenue.
Anchoring the bottom og Circuit avenue.
Steeple of Congrgational Church keeps West Tisbury on time.
Steeple of Congrgational Church keeps West Tisbury on time.
So much history in the Edgartown cemetery.
So much history in the Edgartown cemetery.
The path to Chilmark Pond invites walkers.
The path to Chilmark Pond invites walkers.
Fog settles in on State Road on the way to Aquinnah.
Fog settles in on State Road on the way to Aquinnah.
Waves swirl around the shore of Philbin Beach.
Waves swirl around the shore of Philbin Beach.
Gay Head Light beacon.
Gay Head Light beacon.
Tree roots along Edgartown Great Pond.
Tree roots along Edgartown Great Pond.
Menemsha seaweed.
Menemsha seaweed.
Dock details.
Dock details.
Edgartown's Charlotte Inn is so inviting at night.
Edgartown's Charlotte Inn is so inviting at night.
For those left behind, the beauty of the Island this week was somehow magnified by the quiet corners and empty places. Coffee in the morning at Mocha Mott's or Rose Water is a simple affair. Beach Road between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown belongs to the gulls. Farther west, the Gay Head Light is a lonely sentinel on a cliff swept by wind and fog, backlit by sun at the end of the day.
For adventuresome winter walkers, this is the best week for tramping unattended, the best week, perhaps, for a little harmless trespassing in some of those beautiful places that were once open to all. It is the best week to pause, look around and drink in the unfettered space of a quiet Island.