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Lambert’s Cove Inn has re-opened its restaurant for the year, and it is a great spot to enjoy a wonderful meal during the waning days of the quiet season. With 4 fire places going and the sounds of Edith Piaf’s sultry French voice whispering in your ear, it is the perfect place to kick back and savor an evening.

Martha's Vineayrd Dining
Lambert’s Cove Inn restaurant dining room

Don’t miss out on the restaurant’s Thursday night oyster extravaganza with 10 different types of oysters from hot to cold. Fridays you can enjoy a 3-course meal for $30. On Saturday nights, the inn offers dinner and musical performance. Dine to some the most talented artists on the Island — no cover, no minimum to buy — just the promise you’ll have fun!

Create the Ultimate Bucket List of Things to Do in Edgartown
Spend a Day Exploring Chappaquiddick Island
Treat Yourself at the Best Ice Cream Spots in Martha’s Vineyard
End Your Day with a Romantic Sunrise Cruise on Martha’s Vineyard Waters
Learn about Local History by Visiting a Martha’s Vineyard Museum or Landmark
How to Plan the Perfect Martha’s Vineyard Honeymoon at a Top Boutique Hotel
Enjoy a Night Out at Edgartown Bars
See It All: A Guide to Exploring Martha’s Vineyard Towns

by Rick Conti

As has been opined in previous posts, the Vineyard in the off-season carries its own rewards.  One doesn’t have to wait for the peak season to appreciate its marvels.  For example, except during winter’s most aggressive cold snaps, when the air itself seems frozen solid, making the winds feel as if they’re trying to strip the skin from your cheeks, a walk up North Water Street and down the narrow path to Edgartown Lighthouse is a brisk pleasure year-round.

Martha's Vineyard Spring
Biking, blooming beaches and beds! three great reason’s to visit in the spring

Just the same, I anticipate spring at least as much as the crocuses do.  Like those little bulbs, I spend much of the winter virtually underground.  When their buds break through the earth’s crust, they are as desperate to find the signs of spring as I am.  They don’t like cold and darkness any more than I do.

On the Vineyard, clues to the beginning of spring evidence themselves everywhere I look.  And I’m looking hard indeed.

Island handymen (and women) and landscapers mobilize like a peaceful militia readying homes and businesses for summer’s onslaught.

The “see you in the spring” signs and wide expanses of paper sheets that have blocked store windows and doors for the past few months are dropping like over-sized autumn leaves as shops and restaurants pop open at random times and locations like the aforementioned bulbs.  Some old reliables may not see the new season, but new possibilities always fill the void.

Each ferry from the mainland carries a few more vehicles and visitors than the previous one.  The flow will increase exponentially until cooler heads and weather prevail several months from now.

Each day, the sun ascends earlier, stays aloft longer, and shines warmer.  Illumination becomes not just one night in Oak Bluffs, but a spring-long celebration in the island sky.  Fear of foul weather, palpable and constant as the tides, dissipates like a morning fog at South Beach under a July sun.

The air’s a little milder, the sea a little calmer.  The fireplace yields to the deck as the preferred spot to read a book.  April is imminent, not just a rumor.

So, take nothing for granted any time of year, but keep an eye out for those crocuses and look out for spring.  It’s at the door.  Open wide and welcome.

Create the Ultimate Bucket List of Things to Do in Edgartown
Spend a Day Exploring Chappaquiddick Island
Treat Yourself at the Best Ice Cream Spots in Martha’s Vineyard
End Your Day with a Romantic Sunrise Cruise on Martha’s Vineyard Waters
Learn about Local History by Visiting a Martha’s Vineyard Museum or Landmark
How to Plan the Perfect Martha’s Vineyard Honeymoon at a Top Boutique Hotel
Enjoy a Night Out at Edgartown Bars
See It All: A Guide to Exploring Martha’s Vineyard Towns

Just when we thought we knew The Vineyard like the backs of our hands, along comes a couple to open our eyes anew to this amazing island. Moira and Yann take daily early morning photos of Martha’s Vineyard that will take your breath away.

All days of the year, in all four seasons, the pair uncover layer after layer of insight and intrigue in our harbors, beaches and back roads. The results are insightful. Check out the full collection on their website, Vineyard Colors.

Morning at the Ocean on Martha's Vineyard
Martha’s Vineyard seaside on a winter morning. Photo by Vineyard Colors.


Independent professionals by trade, the couple struggled to make ends meet in the economic downturn. So, starting in June of 2009, they took on an early morning paper route to help pay the bills. Hitting the road at 3:45 am was tough at first, but in their words, “what started as pure drudgery turned into a revelation: driving the vineyard’s deserted roads at Dawn is exhilarating! Winter or Summer, rain or shine, we are surrounded by beauty. To convince our incredulous friends and family we weren’t delusional, we decided to share pictures every day. More than 700 consecutive days and 65,000 (mostly bad) pictures later, we are hooked to this routine.”

And we are so glad they are! Their photos — particularly of the quiet months of winter and early spring – show us a side of The Vineyard that we usually sleep through. They plan to soon add an online store to their website to sell photo notecards. Until they do, you can purchase the notecards at Alley’s General Store in West Tisbury, Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven, Conroy’s Apothecary in both Oak Buffs and West Tisbury, and The Scottish Bakehouse in Tisbury.

It has really inspired us. In fact, it has inspired us SO MUCH we are offering a new “Capture the Quiet Season” package for amateur photographers. Check out our Special Offers page for complete details.

Create the Ultimate Bucket List of Things to Do in Edgartown
Spend a Day Exploring Chappaquiddick Island
Treat Yourself at the Best Ice Cream Spots in Martha’s Vineyard
End Your Day with a Romantic Sunrise Cruise on Martha’s Vineyard Waters
Learn about Local History by Visiting a Martha’s Vineyard Museum or Landmark
How to Plan the Perfect Martha’s Vineyard Honeymoon at a Top Boutique Hotel
Enjoy a Night Out at Edgartown Bars
See It All: A Guide to Exploring Martha’s Vineyard Towns

by Rick Conti

Most people have heard the old idiom referring to the darkest, coldest days of the year as “the dead of winter.”  This humble writer is here to tell you that there is life in the cold, dark days of winter if you have the good fortune to spend them on Martha’s Vineyard.

The beach in winter.
The beach in winter.

Last month, I wrote about a few of the culinary diversions available to off-season visitors to this fair isle.  There’s more to do than eat, however.

The absence of the crowds that characterize the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer gives the cool, crisp, peaceful days of winter a special feel every bit as pleasurable in their own way as the high season, if you know how to take advantage of them.  Fortunately for you, dear reader, I’m here to give you the advice you need for a winter respite.

First of all, there’s the beach.  The beach is for summer activities only, right?  Wrong.  A walk on the beach on a brisk winter day, provided you’re dressed for it, provides a sensory treat that’s hard to match.  Chances are that you’ll have the sand to yourself whether you choose to pass the time hiking, jogging, or simply sitting and drinking in the sights and sounds of the ever-changing shore.

My personal preference is for a good winter beach exploration.  With no competition to hinder you, there is an undisturbed environment awaiting your curiosity.  My most memorable finds include some amazing driftwood and shells, not to mention the carcasses of a massive sea turtle and a seal.

Dead animals and frozen toes not to your taste?  Then warm yourself in front of a blazing fire with a cup of cocoa or the hot beverage of your choice.  There are fireplaces in many restaurants and hotels, but my hearths of choice are located in the luxury suites at the Vineyard Square Hotel and Suites.  (No gratuity was awarded for this shameless promotion, although I can always dream.)  Okay, so the switch-controlled, gas-powered fires aren’t exactly authentic old school, but… what the heck.  You can light and stoke the wood for half an hour while I curl up by the gas fire in an instant.

In winter, the air, clear as a perfect diamond, shimmers with color and spark.  The water’s surface is flecked with frozen silver and gold.  And sunsets take on a unique glow unknown in the other seasons.  Seeing any of that during a stroll on a winter beach or wooded island lane will remain frozen in your memory long after the frost has thawed.

After all that outside activity, you’ll have built up an appetite for a hearty meal of warm comfort food.  I commend your attention to my previous post on island winter fare .

Save a cup of cocoa and room by the fire for me.  We can compare dead animal sightings.

Create the Ultimate Bucket List of Things to Do in Edgartown
Spend a Day Exploring Chappaquiddick Island
Treat Yourself at the Best Ice Cream Spots in Martha’s Vineyard
End Your Day with a Romantic Sunrise Cruise on Martha’s Vineyard Waters
Learn about Local History by Visiting a Martha’s Vineyard Museum or Landmark
How to Plan the Perfect Martha’s Vineyard Honeymoon at a Top Boutique Hotel
Enjoy a Night Out at Edgartown Bars
See It All: A Guide to Exploring Martha’s Vineyard Towns

Break the hold of cabin fever and get your body moving with a visit to The Vineyard in February. Here’s what’s happening to get your blood flowing:

Running on Martha's Vineyard
Martha’s Vineyard 20 mile race in February.

Family Dance-o-rama
Saturdays from February 9th, 5-7 pm
Dreamland, Oak Bluffs

Bust a move on the dance floor with disco lights and glo-necklaces as DJ Shizz spins your favorite dance tunes from pop to hip-hop to motown and disco. Family-friendly dinner menu and refreshments (full bar and soft drinks) available upstairs in the Dreamland ballroom.

MV 20 Miler Race
Saturday February 16

This is a “must do” race for die-hard runners of many levels. From highly competitive athletes looking for a test of their Boston readiness, to dedicated recreational runners seeking to extend the length of their monthly long-run, this race offers the chance to combine a visit to one our beautiful shore community with a race on a fast course! Register here.

Full Moon Owl Prowl
Friday, February 22, 6- 7:30 pm
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary

Hoo’s out there? Owls silently fly through island woods and fields. Join naturalists at Felix Neck for a full moon walk to look, listen, and learn about these nocturnal birds. Observe resident barn owls in the sanctuary’s owl cam and perhaps out on the trails. Warm up with hot chocolate and tea at the Nature Center. No registration required. Admission for members is free; $5 non-members.

Create the Ultimate Bucket List of Things to Do in Edgartown
Spend a Day Exploring Chappaquiddick Island
Treat Yourself at the Best Ice Cream Spots in Martha’s Vineyard
End Your Day with a Romantic Sunrise Cruise on Martha’s Vineyard Waters
Learn about Local History by Visiting a Martha’s Vineyard Museum or Landmark
How to Plan the Perfect Martha’s Vineyard Honeymoon at a Top Boutique Hotel
Enjoy a Night Out at Edgartown Bars
See It All: A Guide to Exploring Martha’s Vineyard Towns