Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Tuesday Photo Challenge: Play…

Posted on July 17, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

https://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2018/07/17/tuesday-photo-challenge-play/

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Tagged beach, children, Family, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New England, ocean, Photographs, seashore, Tuesday photo challenge, water

Photo A Day Challenge (or week)…

Posted on July 14, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

I’m doing ‘photo a day’ weekly instead of daily. Here’s the challenge for the week of July7 – 14.

8– River 9– Ice tea 10-Cherries 11– Park 12– Start with “D” (dock) 13– Flowers in Pots

14– Picnic (my version).

https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2018/07/01/july-photo-a-day-challenge/

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Tagged boats, bridges, drinks, food, fruit, harbor, Hudson River, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New York, Oak Bluffs, photo a day, photo a day challenge, Photographs, rivers

Church Bells Ring (or do they!)…

Posted on July 12, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

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In the Campground in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard sits the Tabernacle, and across from it is Trinity Methodist Church. Trinity Methodist was built in 1878, a year before the Tabernacle was erected. They have shared the same grassy circle known as Trinity Park for over 140 years.

I spent my childhood summers on Martha’s Vineyard and many of those summers I spent my mornings at Bible School in the Tabernacle. As was the custom a girl and a boy would be chosen each morning to walk from the Tabernacle to Trinity Church and ring the 8 o’clock bell. I waited almost all summer to hear my name called, I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. Finally it did and off across the lawn my partner and I scampered.

Inside the vestibule tied to the staircase railing was the thickest rope I’d ever seen.

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The rope was attached to the bell way, way, way up in the steeple and the longer we stood there and pondered the situation the higher up the bell seemed to get.

First though we had to untie the rope, it did not go well, we fumbled along and finally the rope was free from the railing. Time was ticking but neither of us were aware of how close to 8 o’clock we were coming.

Now all we had to do was pull the rope and the bell would ring and … well, that did not go well either. Neither one of us had enough weight to pull the rope hard enough to ring the bell. Rope burn was the least of our problems though as now we were sure it was after 8 o’clock and we’d failed our mission. With what strength we had left we both grabbed the rope, stood on one of the steps and jumped. Just as our teacher walked in the door to see what the problem was, we heard… bong, bong, bong… it was ringing, the bell was peeling loud and strong, we had succeeded, we were saved … we had only missed the 8 o’clock bell by… oh 10 or so minutes. Who would notice!

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When I got home at lunch time the first thing my mother said was “the 8 o’clock bell was a bit late this morning, do you know who was ringing it this morning?” I said it had been me… she shook her head slowly and said nothing but I did notice a little smile. By the way, I was never asked to ring the bell again.

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Tagged Campground, churches, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Memories, New England, Oak Bluffs, Photographs, ropes, Tabernacle

Photo A Day Challenge (or week)…

Posted on July 7, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

I’m doing ‘photo a day’ weekly instead of daily. Here’s the challenge for the week of July 1 – 7.

1 – Welcome July 2 – Fun 3 – Start with N (map of Newark, NJ from 1800’s) 4 – Hat 5 – Sunshine 6 – Sky 7 – Seven (windows in the John & Priscilla Alden house in MA).

https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2018/07/01/july-photo-a-day-challenge/

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Tagged boats, children, clothing, harbor, John & Priscilla Alden, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New England, photo a day, photo a day challenge, Photographs, Pilgrims, Plymouth, MA, sky, sunrise, windows

Flirting and Dancing At The Tivoli…

Posted on July 1, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

The Tivoli building… Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard (circa 1920)

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The two story, full block Tivoli Dance Hall stood from 1901 until 1964. The bottom floor housed shops and an ice cream parlor. My godmother worked in the ice cream parlor and I always enjoyed visiting her there… one time in particular jumps to mind.

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I was 3 years old and had newly mastered winking and was anxious to put it to use. Sitting at a table behind my mother and facing me was a sailor. Being that I was wearing a sailor dress I figured we had something in common and so I began winking at him… it did not take long for my mother to notice. She turned around and as she did the young sailor headed for our table. He smiled and said he was alone on the Vineyard for the day and wanted to tell my mother how charming he thought I was (blushing here). Not only did my mother invite him to join us at the table but she invited him home for dinner (this was mid 1940’s). I was amazed at how powerful this winking thing was. I’ve never forgotten him… I do however keep the winking thing to a minimum.

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The entire second floor of the Tivoli Dance Hall was just that, the dance hall. It was huge, at least in the eyes of a 4 year old being dragged there against her will for a dance lesson. I did like all the windows and how far you could see out of them, I liked the clicking sound my shoes made on the floor, I loved the brand new sundress I had on …

…but, I did NOT like the group dancing part. I remember reluctantly getting in line with the other ~~victims~~ children, but my feet did not move, they planted themselves firmly in one spot and stayed there. Everyone danced around me but I did not care to join in, not only didn’t I dance I wouldn’t talk to anyone either.

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My mother was not happy with me… we did not stop for promised ice cream at the Frosty Cottage on Circuit Ave for ice cream and we didn’t come home with a sailor for dinner either.

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Tagged architecture, buildings, dancing, Family, food, ice cream, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Memories, Photographs, restaurants, summer

Photo A Day Challenge (or week)…

Posted on June 29, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

I’ve decided to do my ‘photo a day’ weekly instead of daily. Here’s the challenge for June 22 – 30.

(Left side) 22 – Salty 23 – Vivid 24 – Fish 25 – Relax

(Middle) 26 –Sunglasses 27 – Waves

(Right side) 28 – Storm 29 – Sunrise/Sunset 30 – Goodbye June

https://mvobsession.com/2018/06/22/photo-a-day-challenge-or-week-3/

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Tagged beach, boats, calendar pictures, dogs, ferry boats, fish, food, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, ocean, Pets, photo a day, photo a day challenge, Photographs, sunglasses, sunrise, sunset, weather

The Flying Horses of Martha’s Vineyard…

Posted on June 24, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

After arriving on the Vineyard each summer of my childhood one of the first orders of business was going to the Flying Horses the oldest carousel in the United States, they came to the Island in 1884 from Coney Island.

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The Flying Horses are not a carousel, or a merry-go-round, they don’t go up and down just round and round. They are flying horses, like Pegasus, and fly to wherever you can imagine . They don’t actually have wings, but as you make the first circuit you feel like you’re about to fly out the open windows.

I flew on these beautiful horses every day when I was a little girl. The ticket taker was a young man who would never take my tickets ! We tried everything to get him to take them… we brought him candy and cookies and tried slipping the tickets in with them… nothing work. At the end of the summer I said I wanted to buy him a gift, so off my mom and I went to purchase what I thought was a novel idea .. a tie. I was 5 years old, what did I know about buying gifts for men… he, by the way was about 13 but in my eyes he was a grown up. We put the tie in the box with all of summer’s uncollected tickets. As he came around to NOT collect my ticket I handed him the box. He smiled. Ah ha, success… or so I thought. As we were leaving the Flying Horses he came over and thanked us for the tie and as we turned to leave he handed us the tickets. I won’t say who he is, just that he turned out to be an official in Oak Bluffs in later years… and someone I’ve never forgotten.

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The picture below was taken during the autumn when the Flying Horses had closed for the season but it didn’t mean I didn’t get a picture of them though. I positioned my camera close to the window and clicked…I got the horses… I also got the reflection of the camera and the reflection of the building across the street. I think it’s pretty neat.

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The last time I flew on the Flying Horses my granddaughter Tiffany was with me. I thought it might be my last time ever to ride them (I think that every time anyway)… and as my horse came around to the arm shooting the rings out I could see that the next one, the one waiting for me was the GOLD ring. What a fantastic way to possibly end my Flying Horses ride.

But I missed it … my fingers slipped and I couldn’t grab it. But… right behind me was my granddaughter and she got it She offered me the free ride but it meant more to me that she should have it. Perfect ending, if indeed it was.

Rings of gold are good luck I’m told…

as for riding Flying Horses you’re never too old

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Tagged animals, buildings, carousels, Family, Flying Horses, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Oak Bluffs, Photographs

Tasting and Tripping On The Vineyard…

Posted on June 16, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

Date: June, 1993 –

Place: Martha’s Vineyard –

Occasion: A Taste of the Vineyard

25 years ago my daughter Deb and I decided to treat ourselves to A Taste of the Vineyard, we’d never gone before and it seemed like a fun and different thing to do. Off we went to the Vineyard for a glorious long weekend of eating, shopping and tasting. The weather turned brutally hot all along the Eastern seaboard, it verged on 100 degress which is unusual for mid June. A few hours before the Taste was to begin welcomed thunder storms rolled in and dropped the temps about 25 degrees. The evening was cool and clear and perfect.

We donned our new outfits and headed over to the grounds of the Preservation Trust which are located at the Dr Daniel Fisher house in Edgartown. The house is a beautiful Federal style home surrounded by lush gardens. It’s gorgeous.

We gingerly and hungrily entered the tents where all foods and drinks were on display. Lots of eager tasters were already there. We got our dishes and start wending through the crowds. We found seats and set about our tastings.

The tables were set with crisp white tablecloths.. in the middle of the tables were mounds of sand with seashells and rocks scattered about and a large hurricane lamp with candle sitting in the middle of the sand. Simple and tasteful, much like the occasion. The bite sized portions of appetizers and entrees were just satisfyingly enough. Had to leave room for the abundance of dessert samples after all.

But… the thing that mostly interested me was trying for the first time the Frozen Cappuccino from Espresso Love one of my most favorite places on MV. I returned to our table with my cup, eager to taste what smelled and looked delicious. I set it on the table… or at least I thought I had…

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…but no, I had sort of placed it precariously near the edge and it landed in my daughters lap, almost the entire cup of cappuccino!!!!! On her new skirt !

**(The part of the original skirt is now being portrayed by a stand-in)

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Deb loved the skirt and had hoped to wear many, many times. I felt awful, I still do… it was an accident. I mean after all I myself had gotten a drop or two on my new shoes. We cleaned her up as best we could and I believe she went and got me a second cup of frozen cappuccino. I set it down on the table and… it hit the rocks and there before our eyes it oozed from the rocks and sand onto the table cloth. It looked like the tide had come in… it wasn’t pretty and it was embarrassing.

Could it be that maybe the third time would work! I had to find out so off I went for the third cup of frozen cappuccino. I walked carefully back to the table, avoiding being bumped or nudged. I approached the table… Deb grimaced… I held the cup tightly in both hands… I bent to set it down… and… I did it, I made solid contact with table. I then raised the cup to my lips and actually got to taste the frozen cappuccino and I have to tell you… it was good, it was very very good, it was joy to my taste buds. I loved it and I still do, I try to have one at least once during every trip to MV. And of course I feel compelled to apologize each time to my daughter for her long lost beautiful skirt.

This blurry picture of the two of us was taken at the end of the evening. At least we’re laughing because no matter what, we always enjoy ourselves on the Vineyard.

(PS.. apology #107..I’m still sorry about the skirt)

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Tagged clothing, dining, drinks, Events, food, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Photographs, porches

Photo A Day Challenge (or week)…

Posted on June 15, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

I’ve decided to do my ‘photo a day’ weekly instead of daily. Here’s the challenge for the week of June 8 – 14.

8- Red fruit 9- Ice Cream 10- Water 11- Summer fun 12- Start with S 13- Flowers in vase 14 – Reflections

https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/june-photo-a-day-challenge/

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Tagged beach, boats, dining, drinks, food, fruit, glass, harbor, ice cream, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New York City, photo a day, photo a day challenge, Photographs, restaurants, seashore, water

Tuesday Photo Challenge: Age…

Posted on June 12, 2018 by mvobsession | Comments Off

My choice for age is going back in time to a different one, one where my ancestors came from, the 17th century and the age of the pilgrims. These pictures were taken at PLIMOTH PLANTATION in Massachusetts.