Part 1 of Destination #3: Nantucket (Introduction)

Preparation and Introduction to the Nantucket Trip.

I decided to start this one with a little introduction. This is partly because it's a little more of a process than just taking an afternoon drive down I-95 or a lone, spontaneous trip through the backroads of western Mass on a boring day and partly because this is not just any random little town, it is a place that people actually do travel to from all over the country. This is a tourist spot with a rich history and a variety of activities and sights to choose from, so I suppose it seems more appropriate to treat it like a proper trip to a completely new place, even if it is technically just another day trip to a random Massachusetts town. That said, here it is:

One thing I love about traveling-- one personal pleasure that most people, even other travel enthusiasts, don't seem to share-- is the actual act of traveling. I love driving. I love all means of public transportation. I love stale sandwiches at a sketchy bus stop sub shop and long layovers at brand new airports. I love security lines and mad-dashes when you realize a minute before boarding time that you're supposed to be at gate E12, not D12. I love waiting for bags and deciding what to bring. I love triple-checking to make sure no tickets, passports, or cell phones are left behind. I even love jet lag (I know, I know). Still, something about finding myself wide awake at 4 in the morning or nodding off into my dinner at 6 PM is a delightful little reminder of the fact that I have, in the only non-science-fiction sense of the word, just traveled a little through time. One of my favorite things about this new, borderline ridiculous, project of mine is the endless potential it has for new transport experiences. Even the mini-trips around Massachusetts provide the chance to drive on new roads, check out new bus systems, or in the case of Nantucket, even experience the rare treat that is water transportation.

The plan is to take our annual day trip to Provincetown on Monday, stay in a hotel in Yarmouth Monday night, and take the Steamship Authority ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket on Tuesday morning. My hope is that we'll be able to get up early and make the 9:15 ferry… I would like to take the 7:30 ferry, but since we'll be bar-hopping in P-Town the night before, I'm not sure everyone else will go for that. Even the 9:15 is pushing it. Still, since most of us in the group were raised as cheap working-class people, we'll be taking the traditional ferry. This provides a two hour and fifteen minute ride during which anyone who's still feeling a little drowsy can nap to their heart's desire. I hope nobody gets seasick, though I've heard dramamine can be a good make-shift sleep-aide, too.

I'm very excited about taking the ferry! For all my love of transportation, boats, of any kind, are up there in the top three. It's rare that I get to use a boat as an actual means of transportation, rather than just a recreational excursion. I'm excited about actually seeing Nantucket, too. I have been doing some research on the history of the Island; from its Pleistocene, glacial origins and apparently vague name evolution to the shift from Wampanoag to European settlements, from early whaling to astronomer Maria Mitchell and her comet discovery in 1847. I hope to learn a little more when I get there and experience some of the more modern attractions, as well. Oh, and a juice top told me that wandering around Nantucket is usually called "rantum scooting" by the islanders, so I intend to find out if this is true.

A friend of mine visited from California a few years back and made no attempt at hiding her disappointed surprise when she found out I had lived in Massachusetts my whole life and never been to Nantucket:
I'm dedicating this trip to you, Melanie.