Holiday Weekend on Martha’s Vineyard

We celebrated the official kickoff of summer 2025 with a five-day visit to Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod.

Last year, we lost half an hour of a gorgeous day when the Coast Guard boarded us for a safety inspection just before Memorial Day.

To avoid a repeat, I scheduled an inspection via their website and got my sticker in Onset before we departed for the holiday.

I made a checklist before they arrived and the entire inspection was over in ten minutes.

• Registration or Coast Guard Documentation
• Life Jackets
• Navigation lights
• Black Water Discharge Secured
• Fire extinguishers
• Distress signals (flares or beacon)
• Sound Making Device (horn or bell)
• Copy of USCG Regulation Handbook
• Engine Room Ventilation (gas power only)

OB Bound

The weather forecasts thus far this year have been unusually unreliable. None of the major weather services agreed, but all reported some sun, some rain, and temperatures in the 50’s and 60’s.

If it weren’t a holiday weekend and the first long trip of the season, we might have canceled, but we persevered.

We left mid-morning Friday for the short run to Martha’s Vineyard amid clearing skies.

The wind was blowing a brisk 22 knots, but it was coming out of the northwest and we were heading southeast, so the ride was quite smooth.

We tied up and headed to town around noon. Despite the clearing sky, it was barely 50° and the northwest wind was blowing straight into the boat basin and down Circuit Avenue.

We felt bad for all the open-air waterfront restaurants, but not bad enough to freeze during lunch! We bailed to the warmth of the MV Chowder Company.

The food at the Chowder Company is always excellent. One of my favorite pleasures dining out is an ice-cold IPA draft beer – something I can’t enjoy at the Chowder Company.

You see a few years back, someone smashed their car into their draft system off the back of the building and shut it down. Business is good without draft beer, so its unlikely it will ever be repaired.

The good news is they make a tasty Bloody Mary!

I started with a cup of their award-winning chowder (photo omitted – all chowder looks alike) and an order of Shishito Peppers.

The peppers were perfectly prepared, but the peppercorn ranch didn’t work. Perhaps more of an Asian aioli with soy could have been better.

The Chowder Company added an entire sushi menu last year and it’s quite good.

Mrs. Horne loves sushi and she ordered

I think the spicy mayo would have complimented the shishitos perfectly!

After lunch, Mrs. Horne did a little shopping while Peter and I grabbed iced coffees at Toccopuro.

This is one of the best coffee shops on the South Coast. It is located on the right side of Circuit Ave as you walk down the hill past Black Dog.

The Red Cat Kitchen

Although you would typically want reservations in OB on Memorial Day weekend, with the cool wet weather, we probably didn’t need them.

Nevertheless, I was doing restaurant research on Friday morning and checked out the menu at the Red Cat Kitchen.

We have had some great meals at the Red Cat (one of Michelle Obama’s favorites), but lately, their menu has been disappointing. It’s not that Chef Ben isn’t serving great food – he always does. It’s more that there is seldom a dish on the menu I want to eat. It’s been an odd combination of very unhealthy food (fried or starchy) and eclectic stuff like “Red Cat Kitchen Vegetarian Showdown for my Sister Melanie”.

But when I checked out the menu last Friday, it was filled with dishes I’d order in a heartbeat.

I couldn’t wait to taste Chef Ben’s version of Smoked Blue Fish Paté and Duck L’Orange, so made a reservation for 6:15.

RCK Menu Switcheroo

We sat down just after 6:00, ordered drinks and looked at the menu. None of the dishes that had caught my eye were on the damn menu!

I looked at Mrs. Horne and Peter and said “Sorry, I don’t know what happened to the Smoked Blue Fish Paté and Duck L’Orange.”

Peter said “Bummer.”

Then I asked if they saw anything they wanted on the menu and they both said “Not really…”

The Red Cat Kitchen is by far the most expensive restaurant in OB ($58 for a Short Rib), so why stay if there’s nothing on the menu we really want to eat?

With that I said “Let’s go downstairs to Mikado” and we all got up and left.

We apologized to the server and told him about the Menu Switcheroo. He said, “The menu on the website is just a sample menu.”

I said, “I understand, but those are the dishes we wanted for dinner.”

He said “Sorry, this happens a lot, I don’t know why they don’t post the menu every time it changes, maybe they’ll change if more customers walk out.”

NOTE TO CHEFS: A lot of people visit your restaurant because they want something on your menu. The menu on your website should be the one you’re serving!

Mikado

We grabbed three corner stools at the bar and enjoyed outstanding service from Tai – who now manages the Oak Bluffs restaurant.

Saturday Morning

Despite forecasts to the contrary, we woke up to blue skies and wispy clouds. It was still in the low 50°’s with a brisk northwest wind, so we left the bikes in the hold and decided to do some cleaning and various boat projects.

Amazing Grace has few CCTV cameras for running the boat, but they can only be monitored from the helm displays.

Last year I had a plug-in video camera looking at the lower cockpit, but it was clumsy and the cloud service was expensive.

Last fall I discovered Blink. Amazon owns Blink and Ring. It’s not entirely clear why Amazon acquired two similar companies, but Blink costs less and uses a proprietary technology that enables the cameras to operate for two years on 2 AA batteries. This means you only need to drill three holes to mount them anywhere.

In addition to the lower cockpit camera, we are mounting one on the port side ceiling on the Skydeck. It will be adjustable and can serve as a docking camera for port tie-ups.

Once we figured out how many layers of clothes we needed to stay warm, we washed the boat…

It wasn’t quite a full detailing, but since we were out until Tuesday, we wanted Amazing Grace to look her best.

Lunch at Farm Neck

It was still too cold to bike, but we still wanted to get some exercise before lunch. A little research revealed that there was a decent restaurant at the Farm Neck Golf Course and it was just over a two mile walk from the Marina.

I used Apple Maps and led us through the cutest little cottage village just south of downtown.

Within ten minutes out of town, the wind died and the sun warmed the day to the mid-60°s. Of course we were all bundled up and quickly shed layers until we got down to long sleeve tees.

The winding road to the pro shop reveals a first class campus with a pro-shop, member clubhouse, bar, and restaurant.

The menu was more than ample for a golf club lunch spot.

They offer a fuller menu for dinner and a pub menu for the bar. Based on the quality of the lunch, I will be adding the restaurant as a dinner option in the future.

The Food

We were parched after our 45-minute walk and delighted to discover an extensive selection of ice-cold drafts.

Our server suggested the Fish and Chips and Peter gave it a try.

The fish was very crisp on the outside – moist and fresh on the inside. Everything was piping hot.

This was a large portion and they also offer a sandwich option from $24.

Mrs. Horne loves salads and she went with the Cobb Bowl.

Since we were on a golf course, I went old school and ordered the Hot Dog.

This was hardly a snack shack hot dog. The sausage was a massive quarter-pounder. The bun was perfectly butter toasted, and the mound of shoestring fries was endless (we left half of them.

Uber On MV

After lunch, we decided to call a cab for the ride home. We have always used Cottage Cab, but it often takes time fir them to arrive. Their vans are kind of beaten up and they are pretty expensive.

I decided to try Uber and discovered they have saturated Martha’s Vineyard in the last year. I had a full list of options from the spartan “X” to the expensive “Black.”

We selected “Comfort” (which actually means clean, new, and professional) and our SUV arrived three minutes later.

By the time we got back on the boat, the skies were turning gray and rain clouds were forming.

Time to convert the salon to a media room and watch a movie!

Flotilla Dinner in Edgartown

We met Bill and Lynn in 2022 when we were selling Relentless. They were moving up to a 50’ yacht and although Bill promised to make an offer, one never materialized.

Then in 2023, when Mattapoisett Boatyard built us a slip at Brandt Cove, we discovered they had bought a Riviera and were briefly in the slip next to us.

We stayed connected and they attended our Flotilla Kickoff in Plymouth.

I like to book marinas as soon as possible and had booked both Oak Bluffs and the coveted Harbormaster Slip in Edgartown for Memorial Day Weekend. I offered the crew a choice and they selected OB. Since it is almost impossible to get the Edgartown slip for a holiday weekend, I offered it to the Flotilla before I canceled it and Bill pounced on it.

As we were finalizing the transfer (which was not easy), I suggested we meet up for dinner on Saturday night and the plan was hatched.

Alchemy

I was hoping for L’Etoile, but they don’t open for the season until June. Bill suggested Alchemy and knowing it was one of Michelle Obama’s favorites, I said “Yes.”

Our second Uber ride of the day went off without a hitch and the $27 fee was half what we would have typically paid a cab with tip.

Bill and Lynn brought along their old friends Lee and Karen and Alchemy gave us the best table in the house – a street window table for seven.

Mrs. Horne and I had eaten at Alchemy in 2022, but we sat upstairs and the menu was limited. Saturday night we enjoyed the full menu and it was mouth-watering.

Bill also ordered the $69 Ribeye and opted for the $27 Jumbo Prawn Upgrade 😂

The sky was incredible on the ride back to OB.

Sunday

The sun was shining bright on Sunday morning, but it was still unseasonably cold.

We finished up our projects and discussed taking another long walk when Mrs. Horne suggested “Let’s take the bus to Edgartown and have lunch at The Atlantic!”

Excellent idea!

Free MV Buses 😍

We took the shore road to the bus stop and approached Debbie to buy tickets. To our delight, she said “The bus is free today!”

She went on to explain that Island had gone to free buses last September and since decided to keep it that way this summer too!

The bus did seem unusually crowded for a cold Sunday, but some young girls gave up their seats for us (I guess we look older than we thought).

I have never mentioned this here, but Mrs. Horne is truly the My Buzzards Bay Ambassador❤️

She has the unique ability to size up strangers in a crowd and strike up a conversation.

Sunday, her newest best friends were Callie and Henry.

It took her less than five minutes to unveil their one degree of separation. It turns out Callie was good friends with our friends – the Lonegans, of Marion.

The Atlantic Edgartown

Unlike Oak Bluffs, Edgartown was bustling with midsummer crowds.

Most diners at the Atlantic prefer the patio tables, even on a cool gray day.

But we sit a Jaryl’s end of the bar every chance we get.

As soon as we grabbed our stools, a woman came up to Mrs. Horne and hugged her. It was Donna, an old friend from Fitchburg.

She was with her husband Dave (aka Choosy). Choosy owns and operates a long standing Gastro Pub in Fitchburg called Slattery’s.

Jaryl was pitching the new dishes on the menu, but being our first visit of the season, we all opted for the “usuals.”

In an effort to lighten her burger, Mrs. Horne deleted the bun!

I’m warming up to the Arayas, but I fell back on the Shawarma Tacos

I’m not sure why they call it a Street Style Taco, it most definitely is not! But for my money, its the best sandwich anywhere.

After lunch we did a little shopping and discovered Vineyard Vines was having a significant sale.

I actually have a stockpile of brand-new Vineyard Vines shirts at home, but that didn’t stop me from buying two more!

By the time we got back to OB, the weather had turned cold and dreary again. And we returned to movies in the salon/media room.

Although the basin was still pretty empty, a few hearty souls were undertaking a rafting party on their boats.

Around 5:00 Mrs. Horne said, “Can’t just do DoorDash?”

Of course, I tried, but there is no DoorDash on Martha’s Vineyard and none of the Pizza places in OB deliver.

After half an hour of searching, I discovered I could order a large custom pizza from Edgartown Pizza and have it delivered by Uber Eats.

An hour later I paid $80 for a $30 pizza. Knowing it would likely arrive cold, I preheated the oven. After five minutes at 350°, they were absolutely hot and delicious.

Up Next: Memorial Day in Falmouth