Travel in New England: End of the Season in Martha’s Vineyard – Part 1

Note: The Kelley House, hosted our stay and dinner at The Newes from America Pub, as always, all opinions are my own. 

Every October, my sister comes to visit and we take a road trip somewhere in New England to experience the best of Autumn in the United States. Past trips have taken us through the Connecticut countryside, our favorite fall towns of Quechee and Woodstock, VT., and everywhere in between. This year, our fall trip took us to the legendary island of Martha’s Vineyard. 

We arrived on island just in time to grab a cab to Edgartown, our home for the trip, and to head straight to the Harbor View Hotel for the Martha’s Vineyard Food and Wine Festival closing brunch, which I had been invited to cover on my Instagram account. Can you think of a better way to slip into vacation mode than to brunch in a Vineyard garden, sipping Champy Bellinis and eating fresh off the boat Bluepoint oysters (unfortunately a algae bloom prohibited Cape Oysters), while listening to local celebrity Jenny Johnson host a panel of local experts on sustainable seafood?  Yeah, me either! 

Thoroughly relaxed and fully in vacation mode, we wandered the streets of Edgartown, marveling at the incredibly manicured mansions and the beautiful landscape. We wove in and out of the boutiques, many of which were preparing to close for the season, and therefore were having fantastic sales. We found a lot of new favorites. Our new favorite boutique, with our new favorite Sales people at Edgar, where I bought my new favorite dish performance denim jeans. We found our new favorite coffee shop, Behind the Bookstore, where they make a mean turkish coffee and lovely iced teas, and basically just fell in love with the entire town. 

After strolling, it was time to check-in to the Kelley House, and there our love affair with the island continued. The hotel staff were incredibly friendly with tons of personality. That is a hard thing to portray in the short amount of time that you are at check-in, but they were able to do it! We quickly learned of the morning coffee and fresh-baked muffins available, and almost more importantly, about the nightly fresh-baked cookies and milk! Equally impressive (ok, maybe more), was the art gallery displayed on the walls of the inn. The Kelley House features artists with local ties on its walls, and sells the art on their website. During the island’s season, they even host meet & greets with the artists which are incredibly well received. 

We headed to our suite in the Mizzen Top building, and our breath was instantly taken away.

It wasn’t just the incredible Cape decor that had recently been renovated by local designer Lisa Pyden……it was also the VIEW! Our balcony on the third floor gave us nearly panoramic views of Edgartown Harbor and Chappaquiddick, it was truly like being in a dream. 

We spent time on our private balcony sipping coffee and plotting day 2 on the island….to be continued.