Fall Tour to Martha's Vineyard Island

October 2006
Our club's official website is: www.oilleak.org

by Tom Zappala

A few Friday showers couldn’t dampen the spirits of the 41 Minutemen who ventured over the Bourne Bridge and across the Nantucket Sound for the 2006 fall tour to Martha’s Vineyard. The tour was well-attended, and rather than list those who attended, I’ll simply note that we missed Bucky Silvestrone, Joci DeFazio, and Karen Martin, each of whom could not make the journey. We missed you all.

The tour down, and back, was relatively uneventful but for a few roadside adjustments. The Minutemen traveled in three small groups lead by Wayne Champagne, Doug Linden, and Dick O’Brien, and each group made it to Woods Hole by the appointed hour and in time for a bite to eat before boarding the ferry to the island.

The group arrived on the Vineyard mid-afternoon and after gathering by the Lagoon Pond, sans Tallone, headed out onto the bluff they call East Chop and past the first of four lighthouses the group would see during the weekend. The conga-line of Model A’s snaked past the Oak Bluffs Harbor and back in time to the confined of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association grounds, where multi-colored gingerbread houses circle the open-air church – or Tabernacle. The crew then headed down State Road, by the beach, avec Tallone, to The Island Inn where drive-through check-in kept the Minutemen dry. The travelers had a few moments to dry out before a great evening at The Island Inn and its neighbor, Lola’s Southern Seafood Restaurant, where the group traveled to on foot. After dinner entertainment was provided by The Motown Sound and the hypnotic gyrations of Jack Stokinger.

The dawn brought sunny skies and the able mechanics of the Minuteman club, who made short work of replacing the fan on Harold Samuels’ sedan, which had broken during the trip down, and after a pre-breakfast game of Find-the-Diner, the caravan lined up in the parking lot to begin the Mandatory Tour. It was quite a sight to see all those Model A’s lined up – and then traveling by the Oak Bluffs harbor.

After a quick trip to the Campground, the tour group wound its way through Vineyard Haven (a/k/a Tisbury) and West Chop – and past the second lighthouse of the tour. A short visit in West Tisbury brought the travelers to Alley’s General Store, the entity that has served the residents there since 1842. One of the crew left the store with coffee, gas line sealer, a fashionable scarf, and a kitchen whisk with a handle like a squid. Yes, there was quite a range of goods in this truly general store.

The A’s were once again lined up and inventory taken; when 21 cars were counted, the group traveled over some of the most beautiful country roads ever to the Dutcher Dock at Menemsha. The Minuteman had the self-proclaimed “World’s Best” lobster rolls and chowder at The Menemsha Fish Market while sitting on lobster traps by the dock in this working fishing village. After lunch, the group traveled up-island, through Chilmark to Aquinnah and The Gay Head Lighthouse, where a number of the group indulged in ice cream as they took in the natural beauty of the Gay Head Cliffs.

The group then took the direct route to Edgartown for sightseeing, shopping, more ice cream, and perhaps even a glass of wine or a cup of beer on the porch of the Harborview Hotel. It was a lovely afternoon, and the village was full of Model A’s on tour. The crew was on their own for dinner, and it was only the next morning when we lined up for the breakfast run that we were all present and accounted for. All 41, that is, who descended onto The Black Dog Tavern for a pre-ferry ride breakfast. It was a great breakfast, and a great sight to see all those Model A’s lined up for the ferry – although it seemed too soon to be leaving. Each member of the tour seemed to have a little Vineyard sand in their shoes - a sure harbinger that they would return to the island.

The Minutemen made their way back over the bridge and back home in smaller groups than they had been accustomed to traveling in on Martha’s Vineyard. The last group off the Cape made an emergency stop for distributor repairs on the almost renovated 1930 Station Wagon driven by tour leader Tom Zappala. The group made it home without further incident, smiling, and remembering a great tour.