Several friends and I decided to visit the island of Martha’s Vineyard for a lovely day trip last weekend. The small isle, off the coast of Southern Massachusetts is a popular summer destination for New Englanders. It is also known for being the summer playground for celebrities and a vacation spot for our U.S. presidents! As a native of Massachusetts, I have spent many a summer day at the Vineyard in years gone past. It has always been quite a challenge to find even a morsel of food that is suitable to my vegan palate. During my previous visit, a couple of years ago, I found a Thai restaurant that was able to prepare a steamed veggie stir fry dish with rice. The island never has had vegetarian or vegan restaurants in any of its towns. Fortunately, this has recently changed! A vegan smoothie shop with several vegan baked goods now calls the island its home, as well as a couple of veggie-friendly restaurants. I was delighted to find such information online, so of course they had to become part of my day’s itinerary! My travel companions and I met up at the Steamship Authority ferry terminal in Woods Hole, Cape Cod. There, we boarded the 10:45am ferry to Martha’s Vineyard! The ride was all smooth sailing! Those are typically calm waters. The ferry does offer snacks and beverages for purchase. We enjoyed the view of lighthouses, beaches, sailboats, and each other’s company, as the boat swept us away through the ocean’s waters. After a mere 45 minutes, we had landed at Vineyard Haven, Martha’s Vineyard! Upon arrival on the island, our first thought was that we were famished! Several of us headed to BlissedOut Smoothies(BlissedOut Smoothies). I purchased a chocolate smoothie called ‘Cacao Kapow’ with added phtyoplankton. It contained coconut, bananas, blueberries,cacao, dates, spinach, and nut milk. Many options are available as nutrition extras to the smoothies. My beverage was so delicious! BlissedOut also sells baked goods and desserts such as cakes or vegan cheesy kale chips. The owners gave me a complimentary raw chocolate acai truffle. It tasted so good! I give two thumbs up to this new “vegan kid” in town! Some time was spent wandering inside the souvenir shops. Vineyard Haven is known for its touristic shops and souvenir goods. The Main Street was indeed lined with gift shops, art galleries, and cafes. However we were getting even more hungry at this point! My pals and I scattered about to different places for lunch, as the group consisted of carnivores and vegans. I hopped on the island bus to further down the road at Scottish Bakehouse Restaurant(Scottish Bakehouse). They offer several vegan options on their lunch and dinner menu, as well as several vegan desserts. It is the ONLY place in town where vegans can dine. I opted for the Coconut Curry with broccoli and rice. It was absolutely magnificent! For dessert, I selected a dark chocolate cookie and a raspberry filled linzer cookie. Both were incredibly tasty treats! I highly recommend this casual restaurant for vegan diners!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I walked back to town to meet up with my friends, I made a stop to admire the beach, the sailboats in the ocean, and the area around the docks. After lunch, we met up again and started our invigorating walk to the neighboring town of Oak Bluffs, located about 3 or 4 miles away. The ocean view along the road was spectacular! When we arrived in Oak Bluffs, our group posed for fun photos of each other and then snapped some pics of the first row of ginerbread cottages. Our first stop was the popular indoor shopping arcade building with its shops and food vendors. A very well-know shop on the island is the Black Dog. Every tourist visting here must without question purchase a T-shirt(or some other item) with the large black dog symbol gracing the front. Our next stop was the infamous carousel. It is the oldest, operating carousel in the United States and graces the list of the National Historic Registry. A couple of us adults even took a ride on the carousel’s horses! I went for a ride myself! We proceeded on to what is the absolute most popular tourist attraction in Oak Bluffs: the ginerbread cottages! The area where the cottages are located is part of the Martha’s Vineyard Campground Meeting Association. Members of the Methodist church would have meetings there and pitch tents back in the 19th century. They began replacing the tents with these small gingerbread cottages. The name ‘gingerbread cottages’ arose from the fact that their colors with orante and quaint like storybook images. The homes have been passed down through generation and are still popular residences and vacation rentals today. My friends and I strolled contently through each twist and turn of the neighborhood with its homes surrounding the meeting place’s center in a circular pattern. The neighborhood consisted of residences, guest houses, Catholic and Methodist churches, gift shops, and a center meeting house for group meetings. We noticed the white Catholic church and the gold Methodist church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The large meeting house structure for the camp was located in the center area of the neighborhood. Our group strolled through the row upon row of precious and charming little gingerbread cottages, painted in an array of colors such as red, blue, pink, orange, green, purple, and yellow! Our hunger pangs told us it was dinner time! We headed to a local restaurant for a quick bite to eat. As a vegan, my option there was the french fries, cooked in vegetable oil on a separate fryer. If there had been more time before our ferry arrived, I would have eaten dinner at Sidebar Cafe(Sidebar Cafe). Though expensive, the menu offers a wonderful vegan burger.

 

As our day was ending, we walked down to the oceanside to admire the view. We then got on the evening ferry for a return trip back to Cape Cod!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My companions and I had a marvelous day! Personally, I was incredibly pleased to finally find vegan dining options on the island, vegan baked goods, and vegan smoothies! The breath-taking ocean landscape, precious gingerbread cottages, and the island atmosphere made for a fantastic day!