Two Moro's Travels

I am a first-time visitor, but that small island has captured a little piece of my heart and has tucked it in its sandy shores. Nantucket is located a couple of hours away via a ferry ride from Hyannis Port, east of Martha’s Vineyard, another little treasure (but that will be another post.) Here is a link to the ferry system. Brant Point lighthouse, a small white conical structure established in 1778, greets you on the right and guides you towards the harbor. Once docked, you find yourself within walking distance of the Nantucket Downtown Historic District complete with cobblestone street; wear comfortable shoes. As a matter of fact, most everything you need is within reach of almost anyone’s walking ability. We, though, decided to take our vehicle, our 2016 Toyota Sienna van, affectionately named, “Big Bertha” by my husband. We are explorers at heart, so wheels under our feet are a must most of the time. This made it possible for us to explore the 3.5 miles wide by 14 miles long stretch of land. We do plan to go back and see it during the summer as we expect the town will be blooming with color, but we will go only as far as our feet take us and leave “Big Bertha” on the mainland. The little Inn where we stayed was very much within walking distance even after a full day of exploring the downtown area. There is so much historic beauty to see, your eyes, and my husband’s camera, did not know where to focus next: the homes, the architectural structures, the doors, the colors, or the holidays decor (we were there during the Christmas school break). Even though Nantucket has been nicknamed “the Gray Lady” due to the thick fog that rolls in from the sea, we did not experience any foggy mornings during out short stay.

Having arrived during the winter season, there was a lack of eating establishments available. (add the 2021 pandemic restrictions to that, and it was slim pickings). But our little inn supplied breakfast; coffee and yogurt were sufficient for me. To my husband’s delight, they offered fresh muffins the size of large softballs. It was the off-season; we were one of only three couples staying at the inn. The inn does offer a complete breakfast during the regular tourist season. For us, we don’t really eat that much, so the trade-off was worth it: less people = less crowds and the island was ours to explore. And explore we did. First, we went off to see the Sankaty (pronounced san kah-dee) Head Coast Guard Lighthouse, a 70 foot, red and white structure located on the eastern side of the island. It stands approximately 400 feet from the bluff that overlooks the North Atlantic. The lighthouse is owned by the Sconset Trust and there are visiting hours that vary. More Lighthouse information can be found here including visiting hours and tours. Interesting fact: the lighthouse is located next to the fifth hole of the Sankaty Head Golf Course.

Ok, question, who has seen the 1990’s show Wings? Let us know in the comments! If you haven’t, you missed a cute sitcom. Think Friends set on an island, smaller cast and shorter series. Well, because we were on Nantucket, and being fans of the show we had to visit the setting- of Wings, “Tom Nevers Field.”

As we continued driving around the island, we saw a sign for “Tom Nevers Field” Following the arrow, we saw a sign indicating that we were indeed at “Tom Nevers Field”. But it was just a sports field with no airport in sight. The road continued to the right and another sign pointed “to the airport.“ Being the adventurers that we are, we set sail. Well, we actually drove Big Bertha. The roads went from gravel, to less gravel, to mud, to potholes, to “maybe we should turn around?” roads; and so we did. We are adventurous, but also rational. Calling it quits, we headed back to the downtown area. Driving along Milestone Road, we saw signs for Nantucket Airport.” Yes, you guessed it, we turned since we were determined to get a glimpse of where “Wings” was filmed. The sitcom does show actual footage of the outside of the Nantucket Airport circa 1990 in its opening credits. We eventually uncovered this interesting fact: Wings, even though set in an airport, refers to it as “Tom Nevers Field.” The actual airport in only used in the the opening scenes. Mystery solved. We took some pics as you can see and headed back to the downtown area where we continued to explore on foot and take in the local feel.  The downtown area was adorned with Christmas trees decorated by the local businesses; each one unique and colorful. Off Washington Street, a small, lit-up tree perched on top of a skiff in the water bid us farewell as we prepared to leave. Final thoughts: Plusses of taking a trip here in December, less crowds, easier to unwind and explore on your own Minuses: not many places to eat.

*Quote by Gwyneth Paltrow