Martha’s Vineyard is an island a short distance off the coast of Woods Hole, MA. How many beaches are there on the island? Too many to count. Many aren’t on any map and most are known only to locals so I was lucky to have a couple of locals show me around.

Remote parking lot on Palmer Avenue in Falmouth is very convenient. There are frequent shuttle buses to the Woods Hole Terminal. It is also right on the Shining Sea Bike Path. It’s 4 easy miles to the terminal. Great ride!!

The Massachusetts Steamship Authority in Woods Hole can be a hectic place. Get there for an early boat and you’ll miss the madness. Also, don’t go on weekends. This photo was taken on my return on Friday. Lots of people want to get to the Vineyard for the weekend. It’s easy enough to get there by bicycle. Cars? Not so much.

They pack the cars in as tight as possible. Bikes either go on first or last depending on when you get there. Once they start loading the vehicles you will have to wait with your bike.

I went on a Wednesday and it was not crowded. You can spread out and ride in air conditioned comfort.

Not the original bridge from 1974. I was there then. They anchored mechanical sharks along this waterway. A couple scenes were shot here.

I spent one very long night partying in this parking lot back in the early 80’s. I arrived on a Friday night and our accommodations did not start until Saturday. I still get a chill when I think of it. Thought I was living the life but couldn’t have been more wrong.

Partying to right out to the edge that separates life from death was part of the 80’s and I was into it. So was John Belushi who crossed over that edge of an overdose on March 5, 1982. The epitaph reads “I may be gone, but Rock and Roll lives on.”

It’s said that due to too many tourists visiting the grave that this is a fake grave setup to keep them away for the real one. If you are standing here looking at this grave and turn around 180 degrees you’ll see a large, lone stone that simply says “Belushi”. That I believe is the real grave. One day this grave will have served it’s purpose and can be removed.

This is one of many freshwater ponds on Martha’s Vineyard. Went for a swim and it’s awesome! This was once a pond where in the winter they harvested blocks of ice for use to refrigerate food.

This is something that most tourists will not find their way to. So glad I had some of that good local knowledge to share their secret. However, it is public! It’s part of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank system. This is a system where 10% of the sales price of all real estate transactions is collected and put into a bank account. That money is spent to purchase properties like this to be used by the public. There’s lots of properties.

Read all about it and get a list of all their properties here –> Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank. Very cool.

If you’ve been to Gay Head you’ll “feel” this painting. Gay Head is a very special place which I did not get to on this trip. The cliffs are made of multi-colored clay. Much like the paintings. People will mold the clay into baths where you can take a clay bath. This is/was a clothes optional beach. Here’s the real deal in a photo I took in 1983.

Reds, yellows, whites, grays, and black clay. It’s a unique place.

Here a couple of young ladies have shed their bathing suits for a clay bath and a walk along the beach.

Edgartown Harbor. The tourist mecca from hell. All tourists find their way to Edgartown and more often than not I was one of them. It’s jam packed. Parking is hard to find. Prices are high. They do have a nice social life there. Check out my video below for a sample.

Edgartown, Nantucket, New Bedford, and many other coastal communities were home to the best whalers in the world. The homes here were ship captains homes. Whaling was a huge industry back beginning in the early 1800’s.

As a tourist I spent my days at the beach and my evenings in one of the three more populated areas. Mostly the communities of Oak Bluffs and Edgartown as they are the only two communities where alcohol is sold. Make sense? Vineyard Have is another larger community. I was lucky enough to spend time with friends who lived the “up island” experience. That’s anywhere but the three main communities. It’s a different experience. Very relaxed, no stress from cars, and slow paced where the day seems to be longer as time slows down.

State Beach is a beach I always visit. It’s easy. No wave. Protected from the open sea. Warm water.

Looking south State Beach runs all the way to Edgartown. A nice easy beach.

Well that’s an overview. Check out the video here for more details and photos.