Vacation

It has been way too long since I've taken a vacation and way too long since I have posted. I suppose both are similar because they require setting aside time to stop and reflect. Anyways, the family and I have spent the last 2 weeks here in a rented house on the quiet side of Nantucket Island, swimming in the warm Atlantic, taking long walks along the sandy beaches, and getting completely lost on the 14 odd-square miles of unmarked roads. I faintly remember visiting here when I was a kid, but I am still amazed how they have somehow been able to keep the charm and beauty of this place. Unlike so many other places in the world where development has lead to a hodgepodge amalgamation of styles and ego expressions, here everything is the same -- same side-shingeled grey houses, same wooden stairways leading down to empty beaches.

The only part of the island that pisses me off a little bit is Nantucket Town. Sure, it's beautiful with cobble-stone streets and multi-generational family pharmacies like Cogndon's with soda counters where you can get chicken salad sandwiches or a root beer float while a Nantucket policeman walks Main Street with his starched shirt and black cap. It is as if though Walt Disney walked this Main Street when he was planning Disneyland. In fact, the number of families, white families, in Nantucket Center reminds me of the Magic Kingdom without Mickey.

But further out of town, there are some beautiful sites, like the Nantucket Wind/Grist mill and the 3 majestic lighthouses on the island. Food here varies from good to great. You can get pub food at the 1840's The Brotherhood of Thieves or go out to Bartlett's Farm, for some great herbs and greens straight from the fields.

But my favorite place on the island is Nantucket Seafood. The wife and I were looking for some lobster rolls on this island and walked into this shop with no seating. All you see is a display counter and a big window looking into a cutting room with huge fish being prepped. The rolls were over-priced and served on a kaiser roll instead of the normal hot-dog bun, so it took away a bit of the shine, but we had some marinated blue-fin tuna, mako, and mahi-mahi that my bro cooked on the BBQ and they were amazing.

A couple of days before, my nephew had caught a bluefish while surf-casting. I threw it on the grill with some ginger and salt, and it was good, but Nantucket Seafood makes a bluefish pate that is incredible.

So there's my update, from the center of the white world. I've got to go now and get my lime green shorts.