Family Time

The end of July was family time.  Our oldest daughter, Melissa, and her black labrador retriever, Daisy, came for a visit.  Daisy is a beautiful, sweet dog and we enjoyed having her at the cottage.  We were both amazed that she would climb our open, spiral staircase and climb back down!! We all took turns taking her on walks to Sunset Lake and along the harbor.  One hot, humid afternoon, we took her to the ocean for a swim which she thoroughly enjoyed.

While sitting on the porch,  a young man approached and asked to take a picture of Daisy.  This is not an uncommon request. However, this was not a normal tourist's picture.  This photographer was Elias Weiss Friedman, author of the New York Times best selling book, The Dogist.  He also has a Facebook and Instagram page devoted to his pictures of dogs.  We moved Daisy to the edge of the porch and Elias went to work, snapping pictures, squeaking toys, and flashing a tennis ball.  The picture he took was amazing!  If you check out his Facebook or Instagram page, you will find this picture of Daisy with a short description.  She's famous!

While Melissa was visiting, the Campground held a special historical event on Thursday night, Cottage City Through The Stereoscope.  A local man, Hal Garneau,  has been collecting stereoscopes his whole life.  He has over 1800 stereoviews.  At his presentation, he shared more than 100 vintage photos of the Campground and Oak Bluffs.  Everyone in the audience wore 3-D glasses to get the full effect of the stereoviews.  It was awesome!

Melissa left on the same day our two grandchildren, Ryan and Gabby, came for a visit.  The weather did not cooperate, so a trip to the beach was out.  Instead, we went for a drive up-island to Aquinnah, Chilmark and Menemsha.  They had never been to that part of the island.  Despite the fog and drizzle, we climbed the hill to view the Gay Head Cliffs, stood in line at Chilmark Chocolates and visited Alley's General Store.  Our picnic lunch was relegated to inside the car, looking out over the beach at Menemsha.

Every Friday night, there is a free concert on the green outside the Tabernacle.  This Friday was a group that sang more "country" music.  We listened to them while having dinner on the porch and then decided to walk over to see them from the front.  Gabby decided to climb a nearby tree (with alittle help).  When it came time to climb down, reinforcements were needed.

However, the standard Vineyard activities of hanging on the porch, happy hour and eating dinner on the porch, attending church in the Tabernacle and eating Backdoor Donuts.  If you have never enjoyed Backdoor, you simply must!  There is nothing better than waiting in line in the parking lot, ordering at the backdoor next to the dumpster and finally biting into a warm apple fritter.  Trust me, it is worth every last calorie!  Word of warning, don't eat a whole fritter by yourself, your stomach may not like it.

Dinner on the porch

Ordering at Backdoor

We also went to a Vineyard Sound concert.  This is an acapella group consisting of 10 college-aged men who sing a wide array of songs that can make you cry or laugh until your belly hurts.  This year they celebrated performing on the Vineyard for 25 years.  We always enjoy their concerts.


There is nothing better than spending time with family!