2024 Life Logs, Day 229: Illuminating Encore Trip to Martha’s Vineyard
Date: Friday, August 16, 2024
Weather: Some Sun, Some Clouds; High Temp 75, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
In Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard sits an open-air tabernacle surrounded by gingerbread cottages that ‘evolved’ in the 1800’s. It all started in 1835 when Jeremiah Pease and six other Methodist men secured land to hold a religious camp meeting. It began as a simple preacher’s stand with plank seating. Eventually a canvas tent was erected. As the years progressed, more and more people came, staying in tents put up around the tabernacle. Then platforms were built to put the tents on. And eventually, small cottages were built on those platforms. Some say the gingerbread cottage village on Martha’s Vineyard is one of the quaintest places on earth. Grand Illumination Night on the third Wednesday of August has been happening in this quaint little gingerbread village since 1869. Lanterns of all kinds light up the cottages. Then more recently on the third Friday of August, they added fireworks to mark the end of the summer season.
This evening, I got aboard The Patriot in Falmouth Harbor, to travel with fellow Encore members to watch the fireworks.
Some went out to dinner in one of the many restaurants and others of us took our dinner with us and found a quiet corner to eat and then walk the main street on our way to the park to wait for the fireworks. The wait was a bit long as the fireworks didn’t start until 9:15 pm.
Our boat was supposed to leave at 9:30, but the captain delayed for about 15 minutes and then we watched the end of the fireworks display on our way out of the harbor.
It was a fun trip!
