Wealth and the Wompanoag

Waking up to rain on the roof of the RV and a forecast of intermittent showers throughout the day, we decided to play it safe and explore more of the island by car.  With the crowds arriving for the upcoming holiday weekend, we decided to go Up Island to the southwest section into Chillmark and Aqquinah two towns that are less populated and in my opinion the prettiest.  In fact, Chillmark resembles Ireland with the green rolling hills and sheep grazing in the meadow along cliff side ocean views with the mist rolling in.  Our first stop was Chillmark Chocolates for some succulent sweets.  Thanks Staci for the extra calories!!  Next stop was discovering John Belushi's grave.  An Idol of Saturday Night Live and one of the famous Blues Brothers who accidentally took his life with a drug overdose.  Such a waste of talent.  Pictured is his "grave sight" below.  I say this in quotes because this is only the sight for tourists to see.  Apparently, his grave sight was being desecrated with memorabilia and such and families of loved ones nearby began to complain.  So, his remains are in an unmarked grave nearby.  This little area with a tombstone is at the entrance to the cemetery to off set tourists.  Haha John, you get the last laugh!

The rain began to let up a bit and we headed to Menemsha for lunch at the Home Port Restaurant.  Freshly 

caught seafood adorned the menu and we enjoyed a seaside lunch.  We strolled the streets of this quaint fishing town and breathed in the fresh sea air.  We enjoyed talking with a local fisherman who was harvesting Oysters and he was so kind to explain the procedure to us of putting approximately 400 baby oysters into a series of cages that are stacked together and placed on the ocean floor for 18 months.  Throughout that time frame the cages are tumbled and turned in intervals to help with the growing process.

---

-----

The life of a fisherman is not easy work but a labor of love.  We are thankful to them as we have enjoyed the fruits of their labor all week. 

----

You may recognize this little fishing hut at it was the scene of Captain Quint's house in the movie Jaws.  He was the owner of the boat that went on the fishing expedition of catching Jaws.

About 100 yards further up the dock a yacht purchased by Jackie Onasis after the death of Aristotle is moored.  This town is quite diverse in wealth and status.  A fine example of this is the plight of the Wampanoag Indians who have their reservation in Aquinnah.  The Ancestors of these people have lived here for at least 10,000 years pursuing a traditional economy based on fishing and agriculture.  According to the 1987 Settlement Act with the federal government there are approximately 485 acres of Tribal Lands including the Gay Head Cliffs which are instrumental in their heritage.  They believe they were born of the land and of the colorful clay that adorns the cliffs.  To this day, it is illegal for anyone but a Wampanoag to touch the sands of the cliff.

We toured the museum and talked with two decedents of the Wampanoag and learned of their culture, philosophies and plight of their nation.  They have such a love of this land and believe it is not theirs, but only  to borrow while they exist.  Quite different from the thinking of today's society who buys up land and erects homes too big for us to care for.  This was quite evident to us as our next stop was taking a tour of an "open house" for sale.  The listing price was 3.7 million and the house was nothing more than a 3 season shack that was unlivable.  The views were beautiful and the neighboring estate was owned by James Taylor. Such a contrast from the simplicity of the Wampanoags.  We talked with the realtor whose family has lived on the Island since the 1800's.  We learned much about the Islander's way of the life.....the haves....and the have nots.  We continued on our way touring the Island on this grey misty day.  This farm caught my eye and we stopped for a picture.  Probably one of the most favorite pictures I have taken.  

----

Around the corner was a lone donkey standing in the rain...apparently enjoying the wetness as the shelter of his barn was less than 100 feet away.  We continued our countryside ride and stopped at a sheep farm where Guy bought a beautiful hand made wool vest that will be treasured and will remind him of our time on the Island each time he wears it.

  Leaving the solitude of Up Island, we headed to Edgartown for dinner at Alchemy's, a local upscale restaurant where dinner was over $200.....and we left hungry.  We strolled the streets, took in the sights of the beach side upscale homes and then called it a night.

----

----

The true Islanders......are fisherman!