SISTER RAIN NANTUCKET WEEK X2
6 / 10
Today’s piece, as well as tomorrow’s, will share with you all the things I did while on Nantucket. Twenty years of reading about these places was the most extensive research I have ever done before a trip. Nantucket is Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer’s world and for one week I was living in it.
FUN FACTS
Traffic:
Nantucket has no traffic lights but instead, roundabouts, or circles, which is what they are called where I live. Also, the maximum speed limit on the island is 45 mph.
Deer:
During our first full day on Nantucket, we saw nine deer. In 1922, fishermen rescued an exhausted buck swimming in Nantucket Sound. They brought him to the island, releasing him. A few years later a summer resident purchased two does from Michigan, bringing them to Nantucket to keep the solitary buck company.
A-J
ALTAR ROCK:
Altar Rock is one of the highest points on the Island. It offers perhaps the best views of Nantucket in all directions. It is located in the Middle Moors and is part of Nantucket’s Conservation Foundation.
NANTUCKET ATHENEUM:
I had been looking forward to going to the Atheneum, Nantucket’s library. It is a gorgeous building and looks like it belongs in Washington, DC. I love a library, making it a point to visit local versions when I travel, if at all possible. It is as beautiful inside as it is out, although we missed going upstairs to the Great Hall. Next time!
BARNABY’S TOY & ART :
Although not in need of any toys that aren’t for a parrot, we ventured into Barnaby’s Toy & Art to look at their neon lights in the shape of the island of Nantucket. They are works of art! We purchased a blue one to commemorate our milestone anniversary. The owner, Wendy Rouillard, was there; she is the writer and illustrator of Barnaby Bear books. I found myself wishing we had a young child in our lives for whom to purchase her books.
BARTLETT’S FARM:
Bartlett’s Farm was another stop described often in the books I have read. It was fantastic. It is part grocery store / produce stand / gift shop. I sent Mister Rain out to their pumpkin patch to find us a pumpkin to take home. He was gone a long time. When he returned he had not one but two pumpkins, stating that I should know better than to send him on such an assignment. Oh, their tagline is, “Who’s Your Farmer?” Despite living over 375 miles away, ours is Bartlett’s Farm.
BRANT POINT LIGHTHOUSE:
You cannot go inside the 26′ structure, but to walk up to it is straight out of a children’s storybook. It is enchanting. Around the Fourth of July an American flag is hung on its side by the Coast Guard as well as a wreath at Christmas.
THE CHICKEN BOX:
Locals call it, “The Box.” It is a dive bar that is in almost every Nantucket book that I have read. It is often packed, the large dance floor crammed with swaying and singing bodies, enjoying live bands on a stage set along one wall. On this Sunday night it was empty except for a few natives at the bar or shooting pool. I initially made an attempt at discreet selfie-taking, then just went for it. We had a few beers, watched Sunday night football then bought some t-shirts. My husband, ever the team player, went to the men’s room, returning from his mission with photos. One showed a line written on a cork board about 6′ feet high above a urinal that read: “If you can pee this high you should be a firefighter!” I have been to The Box and have not been left wanting. Sometimes meeting your icons does not disappoint
CISCO BREWERS:
A brewing company whose libations include beer, wine and spirits. It is an outside venue which has a tent with limited seating to watch the live bands that perform here. One of three buildings sell a specific type of alcohol. For example, if you want a glass of wine to drink there, you go in the wine cabin. If you want to buy a bottle of wine to take home, same building. There is a $10 cover charge; various food trucks are always present. It was packed on a pretty, cool fall afternoon. People with babies and dogs wandered the area. We found a barrel to set down our drinks and food; that day the food trucks were from 137 Raw, Lobster Trap as well as Lemon Press.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH:
Closed when we attempted it several times, the church tower is said to have a spectacular view.
DREAMLAND:
The only theater on Nantucket. Fred Rogers, the beloved Mr. Rogers, had a home on Madaket. There is a statue of him sitting on a bench outside the Dreamland. It had not yet been placed when I was there.
DRIVE-BYS:
These are real places featured in the books I have read. Drive-bys had to take place: Cliffside Beach Club, White Elephant Hotel and the Yacht Club.
Civil War Monument
Marine Home Center
The hardware store of Nantucket. No Home Depot here!
EASY STREET FLOOD MARKER:
This marker on Easy Street shows the dates and water levels during the island’s worst floods.
HEDWEN HOUSE:
With our admission tickets to the Whaling Museum (see tomorrow’s post), entrance to Hedwen House was included. Built in 1856, it is an impressive building filled with period furniture, lightship baskets and painted scrimshaw on the walls. The original owner built a replica house next door, you know, as one does. The second floor of this second house next door has a sprung floor for dancing under its dome.
JETHRO COFFIN HOUSE:
The oldest house on the island. Interesting fact: when you ask Siri for directions to Jethro Coffin House, Siri says, “Getting directions to Oldest House.”
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