Nantucket on My Mind
Nantucket on My Mind
Years after Nantucket’s whaling industry virtually decimated the Atlantic whale population and became fabulously wealthy in the process, Ahab and the White Whale are gone, but the wealth and charm of the island remain.
This small island (9 x 12 miles) well off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has lost none of its magic. And late fall is a perfect time to visit this storied island, far from summers "madding crowds," and very much how she really is without the excess of tourists. .
In pocket-size hamlets like Sconset, quiet, empty Lilliputian lanes criss-cross past classic squeezed-together Nantucket shingled homes, with still-vibrant flower boxes. It's much like a a tidy English village or very much like Scotland without the hills and the shaggy sheep, though you can almost imagine them wandering aimlessly along the pristine, grass-covered lanes and nearly hear the tinkle of their bells.
The town of Nantucket is staid, classy.
The main streets are still unevenly cobbled with original, worn stones, and the brick sidewalks are dotted with the quiet facades of quality shops.
There are lots of windows bright with nautical-themed art or quietly expensive jewelry and clothes. These are subtle, discerning shops as befits the old "Yankee ways" of Nantucket... and reflective of the tastes of the rich and famous, who come here to escape their rich and famous lives.
Nantucket, for all its charms and magic, is an authentic place because the people care about the quality of their lives and culture.
And perhaps because of the sea.
All roads lead to the sea. It’s a great leveler, claiming many lives through shipwrecks, but providing a livelihood for today's fishermen, and solitude along the broad empty beaches in the late fall.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati