Nantucket - August 17, 2005
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Ah, the first wake up on Nantucket. Sleeping was great - it went down to 60 degrees, something we haven't seen in a while in Oswego and the quiet is wonderful. David didn't even slam the door on his way to work! After a morning walk we had breakfast, went to try to beat the crowds shopping at the Stop & Shop (didn't work, Carol waited in line for 20 minutes to buy cold cuts,) and then off to show Luann more of the Island. This time it was a trip to Sconset (By the way, if you are trying to look up Sconset on a map, look for Siasconset. (Islanders don't want to waste energy saying long words, so many get shortened.) This was a fishing community when it started, but the wives got tired of the husbands off by themselves & moved out to join them. It is still a community with a personality of its own. We went to show Luann the merry ground horse in front of the Chanticleer restaurant (I have taken a couple of photos of it & my mom has painted it a number of times, one of which hangs in our living room. Not only was the horse gone, but the Chanticleer name is no longer on the building. Restaurants come & go on Nantucket, but the Chanticleer has been there for a long, long time. Among the stories about it is one that Nixon once spent over $500.00 on wine for a meal back in the 60's. Maybe they are just repainting it? In any case, it just doesn't look the same.

Sconset is a beautiful place for a walk . The houses are well kept up & covered with wonderful displays of flowers. You can also see "The Oldest House #1." You see, Nantucket has its own way of doing things & one of those is to have two oldest houses. Below is a photo of "Auld Lang Syne," which, according to some, is the oldest house. Tomorrow, we plan to go see the other Oldest House. I think tomorrow's is the more official one since it actually has a sign, is on maps, etc but who knows?
The Chanticleer Horse Photo from 2003
Flowers in Sconset
Auld Lang Syne, The Oldest House?

After our walk we drove out to to the Sankaty Lighthouse. Each year the ocean takes a bit more of the cliff behind the lighthouse. I enjoy looking at & photographing lighthouses, but they are slowly disappearing. The GPS system has made them unnecessary in that a $100.00 hand held GPS receiver can show you where you are within 15' or so. Of course, you don't have to worry about the batteries wearing out in your eyes, so there is still a place for them, but most are disappearing. A few more years & this one will be in the ocean.

We took a new road (well, at least for us) from Sconset back to town - Squam Road. A sand road between Quidnet & Wauwinet. Lots of open land & new houses. After Wauwinet we drove out to Pocomo Point. Now mostly paved, this was a sand road that let to a nice quiet beach at the head of Nantucket harbor. It now has a number of large homes, but still has the nice beach at the end.
More Sconset Flowers

Sankaty Lighthouse
Pocomo Point

After a short loop through the A & P parking lot we headed home to plan dinner & update the web page. By the way, I'd like to thank 9 raceway for providing a WiFi internet connection.

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