New Nantucket Fan

If you're lucky enough to hit Nantucket in mid-late June, you're in for a treat. Just walking along the gaslit cobblestone streets at twilight is pure inspiration, taking in the elegant lines of the 19th century houses. My jaw dropped at the incredible profusion of pink and red roses climbing over the grey cottages--I've never seen so many roses in bloom--and the blue hydrangeas spilling out everywhere--magical!

Shopping along the main street is a great time. You can pick up any number of unique items, from a casual pair of Nantucket reds (comfy pinkish cotton pants--and skirts) to one of the famous baskets with scrimshaw decoration woven on the island.

When you're in Nantucket, one of the best things you can do for yourself is get to know some of the locals--I found myself among the friendliest people I met in the Cape the night I stayed here. The bars and restaurants are packed with people during the summer who seem to be in a genuinely fine mood, and they're more than willing to share their tips and stories.

Quick Tips:

Stores close a little bit earlier here than in a place like Provincetown. Get your shopping in before 6pm.

Best Way To Get Around:

Best not to take a car. Find out if your hotel is within walking distance from the ferry--if not, take a cab. You should see one at the harbor. If you're staying a while you might want to rent a bike; otherwise, getting around by foot is a wonderful way to see the center of Nantucket.

You can aslo use the NRTA (Nantucket Regional Transit Authority) Shuttle to travel around the island and to public beaches.

The Lyon Street Inn is located about a five to ten minute walk from Main Street in Nantucket''s Historic District. Comfy quilted beds, lace curtains, and lots of country antiques give the inn a homey feel, and with seven guestrooms, the colonial style house is an intimate setting for a vacation. The bathrooms, fitted with antique pedestal sinks--some featuring iron tubs--add to the charm.

If you are coming from the Hyline and have bags to carry, be sure to take a cab to the inn. Once there, drop off your things and walk up Lyon Street, taking a left on fascinating Orange Street, lined with stunning colonial houses festooned with roses in mid-summer. You''ll also be able to stroll easily to dinner and shopping venues from the inn.

Breakfast is continental--that''s a rule for all B&B''s unless the kitchen is separate from the main house--and owner Ann Marie provides low fat choices for those aiming to look svelte in their swimwear.

If you want to have the full beach experience in Nantucket, Cliffside Beach Club is the place to be. You can almost see the elegantly-dressed beachgoers that gathered here in the 1920's when Cliffside first opened as a beach club, later turning into a private club in the 40's and finally becoming a hotel in the 70's.

You'll feel relaxed right away by the inviting wicker chairs and rustic beamed ceilings in the breezy hotel lobby. The historic beachfront pavilion offers the perfect spot for enjoying a spectacular sunset. In addition to the unbeatable beach location, I particularly liked the fact that downtown Nantucket was only a 5 minute cab ride away, or a reasonable walk, if you're in the mood. However, you could spend your whole vacation right on Jetties Beach. A first-rate restaurant is located just next door, and there's an inexpensive sandwich shop down the beach for casual fare.

Rooms are decorated with beautiful natural-wood wainscotting and come with little luxuries like cozy bathrobes and quality bathing products. Cathedral ceilings provide an open, airy atmosphere.

All guests are equipped with beach umbrellas and chairs with which to enjoy a pristine stretch of Jetties Beach, as well as access to a gym outfitted with state-of-the-art fitness equipment and jacuzzi. An uncommonly tasty continental breakfast is served in the lobby, complete with pastries and delicious freshly baked bread.

A range of accommodations are availabe at Cliffside, including beachside rooms, suites, three-bedroom apartments and a private cottage. Rates depend on the season, so check the Cliffside website.

I had passed by the buzzing patio of this restaurant a couple of times on a late afternoon shopping stroll, thinking--'that looks like a happening place.' Well, lucky me. I took a tip from a local later on and decided to give it a try.

Cioppino's is named for a San Francisco-style fish stew that you'll find on the eclectic menu. I was having serious lobster withdrawal, so I decided to try the lobster bisque (the best I've had--rich but not too rich, and not too sweet) and the flamboyantly presented lobster salad, complete with two enormous pre-shelled claws--yum!

You can tell that Cioppino's is one of those places beloved by locals and visitors alike. If you want real Nantucket flavor, have a seat at the bar and try a local brew (or, if you like wine, the restaurant has an impressive wine list). If you're fortunate, a charming bartender known by his nickname 'Hoody' will be behind the bar. Get him to tell you about the restaurant's resident ghost. If Hoody's in the mood and you stay for a while, he may do you the honor of offering you a "Paul". I won't give away the ins and outs of this Nantucket tradition, except to say that it must be initiated by your bartender. You may not request a "Paul". Hoody's bar is packed with mostly locals hanging out and enjoying the intimate, casual vibe.

I'll most certainly be back.

***Since creating this journal, I've been back and had the restaurant's signature dish, a hearty seafood stew seasoned with peppers and tomato served over linguine known as Cioppino. Very tasty.

This shop is good fun. Fitted out like an old apothecary shop, with endless shelves of intriguing brown bottles, Nantucket Natural Oils takes a more subtle than usual approach to enhancing the smell of the human body.

They do not use alcohol in their perfume, an ingredient that they claim makes that stuff you have on your dressing table smell too strong and then wear off too fast. "Perfume is supposed to attract not offend" proclaims John Harding in his store brochure. Well, John, let me say for the record I agree completely. There's something unnatural about that typical perfumey-cologney odor that clings about men and women when they go 'out.' Often, it reeks. Often, it simply smells bad. I told David, who was working in the store the day I came in, that I didn't want to know what a guy smelled like unless I was about, er, two inches away. He agreed, and applied a micro-drop of a house blend called "Rain," I believe, on my arm. It smelled pretty darn good, and wasn't overpowering.

Besides being very knowlegeable about perfume and oils, David is a great guy who works for Natural Oils in Maui most of the year but is spending the summer at the Nantucket location this year. Please say hi to him if you venture in, and ask him where to eat.

J'adore!

Think that preppy pink and green has faded into the mists of your eighties school years? Think again. Wooden-handled purses with reversible covers, candy-colored dresses covered in leaping frogs, striped grosgrain headbands--it's all here, along with de riguer New England standards like chinos and the famous Nantucket reds--pants, shorts, and skirts of red cotton faded to pink. Among the High Prep items you'll also find more subtle clothing at what I found to be rather reasonable prices--I really had to keep a cool head not to let my credit card burn a hole through my pocket. Murray's has a wonderful selection of beautiful cotton sleepwear--I bought a delightfully girly cotton nigthgown with pink ribbon-and-lace shoulder straps.

The folks at Murray's are very friendly and ready to help you find exactly the right thing. Great fun and a shopping must.

Not for the faint of heart. Walk in and be prepared for the brightest shock of bubble gum pink your eyes have ever beheld. Get ready for gingham giraffes. Party dresses of lemon yellow and robin's egg blue. How dare they allow such colors and patterns to adorn their racks?

Because they are selling Lilly. And Lilly is to preppy as purple hair is to punk.

It's not subtle, and it's not cheap. But it does have a certain preppier-than-thou mystique, and the audaciousness of wearing this stuff while sipping a cocktail on your patio is an experience you just might dig.

Find out why Captain Ahab made such a fuss over a whale. Nantucket's history is intimately intertwined with the history of whaling industry. At this museum you can view artifacts from the Essex, the ship that got battered by a ticked off sperm whale and inspired Melville to write Moby Dick. There's also a famous collection of delicate scrimshaw work. The museum itself is housed in one of the old spermaceti candle factories that thrived in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Hours: From April 29 - May 24 open daily from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m

From May 25 - October 14 open daily from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m

The one-hour Hy-Line high speed boat will whisk you from Hyannis to Nantucket and back year round. That's twice as quick as the slower ferry. I've heard people say that things can get a little rough sometimes, but the sea was glassy-calm the day I traveled so I had no problem. Quiet frankly, I wouldn't have minded if it were rougher. I do feel for folks who tend to toss their lunch at the sight of a few waves, but I'm not one of them. Roll on, great ocean, roll!

Seating: You can grab a bench on the upper deck and get a tan while you flip through a novel, or opt for more cushy seating inside.

On a clear day, like the one I got, you can gaze out thirty miles--everything is a wonderful calming blue, so uniform you can scarcely tell where sea blends into sky. As you appraoch Nantucket, you'll notice a rather squat lighthouse. I overheard some folks behind me saying that if you offer a penny to the sea as you pass, you'll be sure to return. I always fear some environmental distaster will ensue the minute I dare to do something like that, so I refrained. But I most certainly want to return.

If you get hungry, snacks are availabe on board. The Hy-line does five round-trips daily, six on Friday and in high season. Call 508/778-0404 or 800/492-8082. Adult tickets are $31 for one-way, $55 for round-trip.