Domestic Expeditions
Lighthouses of Martha's Vineyard / Nantucket
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Tour Registration Form
please call the office at 415-362-7255 or email us at jeff@uslhs.org
Dates
May 20th through May 23rd, 2011
Itinerary
Our visit to the enchanted islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket begins with a Friday check-in at a conveniently located airport hotel in Providence, RI. Members may either drive to the hotel and leave their vehicle for the duration of the tour or fly into Providence, RI Airport (a free shuttle will be provided to the hotel).
Friday, May 20
Check in at airport hotel and enjoy a lovely welcome dinner and a short talk by the Head ‘Keep.
Saturday, May 21
After breakfast at the hotel we board the coach for a short trip to New Bedford where the group will board the Fast Ferry for a one hour trip to Martha’s Vineyard. Enroute several lighthouses will be visible and close enough for photos. We land at Oak Bluffs, called Cottage City in the old days. The town is loaded with quaint Gingerbread cottages. We board an Island Tours bus in Oak Bluffs and proceed to the East Chop Lighthouse for a short photo opportunity. Then it’s on to the West Chop Lighthouse, overlooking Vineyard Sound, for a box lunch and tour of the 1890 tower. After lunch we head up the island to the Gay Head Lighthouse. During this leg of the tour, and as we circle the island, the driver will tell us the history of the Vineyard. At Gay Head we’ll climb the tower and view the colorful Gay Head Cliffs, composed of multi-colored clay. Then we make our way to picturesque Edgartown where we’ll stop for a photo op of the Edgartown Lighthouse. Our final leg takes the members back to Oak Bluffs with a chance to grab an ice cream cone (a Society tradition) prior to boarding the Island Queen for a 45 minute trip to Falmouth on Cape Cod. Once there we check into our hotel in Hyannis for dinner and the night.
Sunday, May 22
Breakfast at the hotel is followed by a 5 minute ride to the Port of Hyannis where we board the Gray Lady, a high speed catamaran, for a one hour trip to beautiful Nantucket Island. Entering the port of Nantucket we’ll pass the Nantucket Lighthouse for a photo op. Once ashore the group will proceed to the outstanding Whaling Museum and then have free time for lunch in town on your own and an optional short walk to the Nantucket Lighthouse. About 2 p.m. we board an island coach for the trip to the other side of Nantucket and a tour of the recently relocated Sankaty Head Lighthouse. The tour will be conducted by the historical society involved with saving the structure. We then return to town with a brief stop at the Nantucket Life Saving Museum. The third-order lens from the Great Point Lighthouse, on Nantucket, is located in a facsimile of a lantern room outside the museum. Late afternoon we board the Gray Lady for our return trip to Hyannis and a lobster dinner (substitutes available for non lobster lovers).
Monday, May 23
After breakfast we board the coach for a 40 minute ride to the Nobska Lighthouse and a tour conducted by the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Then we head to Providence Airport for flights home and drop offs for those who drove.
This long weekend excursion is packed with beautiful scenery, loaded with history and incorporates several lighthouses and three vessel voyages. It is sure to give members a good feel of this important area and its maritime heritage.
Double - $2,785
Single - $1,710
