The Galley Restaurant at the Beach, Nantucket.

Great Point

Brewery

Nantucket June 2011

This year's trip to Nantucket was one of the best ever. It was the first time in early June that I have been there for an entire 5 days without a drop of rain. It was 70 degrees and beautiful the entire time!

I spent the first two days on the island by myself and because the weather was so beautiful, was forced to rent a small car on day 2 just to go exploring and head to the beaches. What a wonderful day. I tried a new rental car company this time, one of the ones from the airport. They seemed much cheaper than the one in town and they sent someone to come pick me up at my hotel and then drove me back to the airport where I signed the paperwork and took the car. I learned the hard way when I returned that because of airport taxes, it was in fact NOT cheaper and the time it took to be driven back and forth from the airport was not really worth it. So, I headed back to the old standby, Affordable Rentals, when it came to rent a Jeep the next day.
I first arrived on Memorial Day and learned a valuable lesson not to do that again! It was the end of the most popular weekend on Nantucket, the Figawi Race Weekend. While the ferry ride over to the island was captivating in passing the throngs of sailboats, I quickly realized that the island was full of young people who were now trying to get back to the Cape. I have never seen so many people on the island before. All of the ferries were full and people were camped out everywhere with their luggage. I quickly went to one of my favorite restaurants, the Brotherhood of Thieves, to relax and hide from the crowds. They were actually out of beer from the weekend. It was crazy. The ATM's were out of money and there was a lot of frustration from the weekend crowds.
One night I was desperate for a great meal and even though I was dining alone, I headed to my favorite restaurant in town, the Boarding House. It was not crowded and I was able to get a small table in the bar and had the best meal of the week, one of the classics, Steak Frites. I love that place.
By day 3, my college roommate had arrived on island and since I still had a few hours left on my rental car, we headed straight out to the Galley Restaurant at the Beach for lunch. For the first time ever, I was able to have a lovely lunch with drinks on the patio without a crowd trying to catch the sunset. It was the perfect location for lunch on the beach. Pricey, but perfect.
We rented a Jeep the next morning and headed out to Sconset. I discovered something new on this trip, thanks to my friend. She took me on the "Sconset Walk." It is a long winding trail at the top of the bluff overlooking the ocean that is open to the public. It is simply lovely. The walk takes you past the mansions and gatehouses overlooking the water and in most cases, you are actually walking across the homeowners lawn. It is a wonderful opportunity for exercise in addition to some "house hunting" and enjoyment of the day.
From Sconset, we headed out to Great Point with our Jeep and were not disappointed. Last summer, we were prohibited from getting more than 3 miles from the lighthouse due to some conservation issues, but this year, we were able to drive right up to the lighthouse and get cozy with all of the seals. It was amazing. One of the best things to do on Nantucket.
After spending the afternoon at Bartlett's Farm shopping and the brewery, we discovered my other newest favorite place on the island, Madaket Millie's. This is a super cool restaurant and bar just blocks from the beach at Madaket. The dining room and main bar are upstairs offering panoramic views of the ocean and the island famous sunsets on Madaket. The food was wonderful and the location was to die for. It will now be a usual stop of mine on my Nantucket trips.