Cape Cod Trip 2010, Nantucket Island

DAY TRIP NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS

This first image is the entrance to Straight Wharf where the Hy-Line Cruise Ferry arrives and departs. Close by as you walk along the Boat Basin is the Nantucket Bike Shop, only one of many bike shops on the Island.





As you walk southeast away from Straight Wharf, you'll encounter many shops along the walkways of the Boat Basin. There are shops selling handbags, artwork, decor, fashion. You can find almost anything amongst these shops. I tend to favor all of the beautiful flowers growing outside the entrance to each shop and the window boxes overflowing with beautiful blossoms. It definitely added to the surreal feeling I experienced walking along the Boat Basin.

My sister gave me a rundown of what the Island would be like as she had visited several years ago, but there is no comparison to the actual experience as you walk the Wharf areas and the Boat Basin itself, stroll the cobbled streets and shops in Downtown Nantucket and see some of the outlying island area such as Sisconset. For those you who live in New England and may visit Cape Cod and the Islands, I'm sure I'm boring you to tears, but for me it was truly a treat to see Nantucket!







One other aspect of Nantucket that held true from all of the photos I saw online while planning my trip, was the many bikes you'll find sitting idle against the lightposts and trees around the docks and throughout Downtown Nantucket.





Walking along the docks of Old South Wharf you'll find many shops scattered throughout. My favorite aspect of the shops had to be the colorful flags blowing in the breeze hanging outside almost every shop along the dock. The flags and all of the beautiful flowers and bushes added such charm to this whole experience. This particular image below is one of the main walkways boasting many a flag and is arguably one of my favorite photographs from my trip. I took some of these photos before the storm and some after. This image I photographed in late afternoon to capture the beautiful colors of all of the flags.



The oddity in my day trip to Nantucket surely was the weather. As we pulled away from Hyannisport, fog shrouded the Kennedy Compound. As we neared the Island, dark clouds loomed in the west. After departing the Ferry and walking about the Boat Basin and throughout the immediate downtown area, lightning and thunder began to break out and a huge downpour followed. Many streets and some shops were flooded. I held up in a shop happy to be out of the weather. I had had the foresight, however, to bring my umbrella. Something told me the weather was going to be iffy. As the rain let up I would trapse between shops. At one bike shop, the guys were literally sweeping waves of water out of the shop and down into the gutters. After about an hour of this scenario, the rain stopped, the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds and low and behold the rest of the afternoon and evening was beautiful. Again, surreal.

I invite you to click on each image to view a larger version. ENJOY!