A Handsome Chappaquiddick Chap

After their mega-tour of Martha's Vineyard, Catball thought it impossible that they could have missed any part of the island.  From Edgartown to Aquinnah and all points in between, Catball and his people had taken in just about all of Martha's Vineyard there was to see, from farms to beaches to gingerbread houses to lighthouses and so much more.  Catball was right--there was not much of anything else to see or explore on that island.  What he did not know, however, was that there was another whole island to explore.

They had seen signs for the Chappy Ferry while they were futzing about Edgartown--Catball figured it was a boat for debonair people, and was delighted to learn that they did not have to have monocles or own race horses and rare brandies to be allowed on.  They buzzed their way along the shoreline road through Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs to Edgartown and got in line for the ferry.  There were several cars in line waiting to embark, but because their scoots didn't take up too much room, the ferryman zipped them up to the front of the pack and squeezed them on.  "The other side is right there," Catball said.  "If you were so inclined, you could probably throw me across if you wanted to.  Please do not want to."

The big guy squeezed Catball in his palms in reassurance.

"This is an adorable little boat," thought Catball.  "They should call it an adoraboat."  The ferry was indeed very small, just three cars, their scoots, and a handful of people fit onto it all at once.  As they motored across the small hop-and-a-skip to the other side, an identical adoraboat passed by them, similarly loaded with just a few cars on it.  Catball thought of the poor suckers at the end of the line for the ferry in their cars that they skipped by.  "I hope they like quaintness, because they will have a lot of time to consider the quaintness of this establishment."  The captain of the ferry stood in his little boat hut and Catball smiled at the starch-straight flag at the top if it.  Days like this probably weren't so bad to operate the device, Catball thought, but it was probably much less fun in the winter. 

The mood of the new little island was very different from the mood of the bigger but still little island they left behind.  It was practically deserted, it seemed, with lots of foresty space and not many houses at all.  As they rode down a dirt road, Catball saw a wonderment he never expected to see out this way of all places. 

"It's one of those things!  A thing I like!  A torii!"

Catball and his people disembarked; they had stumbled upon the Mytoi Japanese Garden.  The garden was very pleasant with many winding paths and waters and abundant plant life, and Catball's heart flooded with happiness as he remembered the Osakan adventure that his people took him on before.  Regrettably, it was the buggiest place they had ever been--Catball took refuge in the Adventure Satchel while the people got eaten alive and by persistent horrible winged creatures the likes of which they had never experienced.  "These people do not do zen tranquility very well," Catball said afterwards.  "They do, however, do swarms of angry biting things extremely well, so perhaps they're going for that.  If so, first place."

Ravaged by savages, the three travelers continued down the dirt road until they could go no more--they were confronted by a bridge, and a beach, and then several hundred miles of oceanic pleasantness.  The waters were calm and very warm, and the sands were hot but quite fine underfoot.  While the people dipped into the ocean waves to soothe their monster bites, Catball took a moment to bask. 

Even here, though, the winged creatures managed to attack the humans--while they lacked in number they were abundant with tenacity, and much sooner than any of them wanted to, they were forced away by the horrible bitey things. 

"There is one other spot, one last hope for us yet on this little angry rock," said the big guy, and while his wife and his catball friend were harried, they pressed on to the next destination. 

They picked their way carefully along another dirt road, their scoots rattling and battling along the rocks and the sand of the barely civilized region.  Finally, at the end of the road, peace awaited them.  A narrow beach, Wasque, with a big sand dune island just offshore, and a little beyond that, the very tippy tip of Katama Beach on the bigger island stretched out beyond.  And there were no bugs to feast upon their hides, which was the nicest feature of all.  They had been all over the rock and finally, finally found the piece with peace.  They deployed their towels, dug their toes in the sands, and were able to relax. 

As the sun began to dip in the sky, it came time to take the adoraboat back to the big island, and then back to Vineyard Haven to return their noble steeds and head for home.  There was, of course, one last order of business to address before they could call their time complete.

The Grand Tour Continues

 After investigating the shiny-doohicked tower and meeting all the Edgars in their cute town, the intrepid trio decided to head to the southern part of the island.  They hopped on their scoots and, after a brief ride, happened upon Katama Beach.  The sand felt different on Catball's belly from other beaches they'd been to, the grains larger, each one with a rocky, pebble-like quality.  And it was hot, too!  The sun beating down on the micro-rocks had heated them up so much that Catball thought his bellyfuzz would scorch. 

The water was very different at this beach, too, very chilly and relentlessly wavy, and it clearly did not want humans in it because they got tossed back up on shore as soon as they tried to go in, and loved separating people from their floaty boards, their stability, and their shorts.  Catball thrilled to see a seal's head sticking out of the waves close to shore. 

 The beach was separated from the road by a great swath of long beachy grass that rippled like the ocean waves whenever a strong breeze blew through.  "What a lovely piece of untouched niceness," Catball approved. 

While they were on the beach, Catball and his people noticed the presence of old quadra-winged flying machines soaring low overhead, and as they hopped onto their scooters and headed back northward, they found a big field where the beasts lived to roar and feed.  Catball was tempted to go flying in one but forgot his aviator goggles and skull cap and so had to decline. 

 The group decided to keep touring and, in the interest of completion, they made their way to the southwestern corner of the island.  They rode and rode and rode their buzzing fun machines past farmlands and pastures and all sorts of delicious looking things.  The topography changed from flat to rolling and swelling hills as they made their way, and off in the far distance, another one of those treasure towers shone.  Catball urged them on, and finally they arrived. 

The treasure tower looked over tall cliffs that sloped down to the endless sea.  As Catball and his people approached, the tower keeper emerged, welcoming them to his domain--Catball knew immediately that this sentry was too kind to attempt to pilfer from.  Nearby was a little pavilion of shops and restaurants that were owned and operated by the native people of the island, who, quite frankly, could have been a lot more upset about the presence of interlopers than they seemed to be.  Catball learned later on that there was a beach nearby where people frolicked without frocks, which made him blush with scandalousness.

The sun was starting to get low in the sky, and so the trio decided to head back to their headquarters, but along the way, they encountered a little village that certainly seemed to have a good attitude about life.

This idea struck Catball as excessively cute.

Catball wasn't sure what it meant that "Unsure" seemed to be the most popular choice.

"This business person must like giving people the business," Catball thought.

"This place is doing it right."

"I wonder if he has to stay up there because he lost a duel."

"Look," said Catball, "J loves R!  Good for R!  Yay R."

 "This is a rustic."

Gran Turismo sull'isola con Catball

The big guy and his cute wife woke up to "Rrr, rrr, rrr" sounds coming from the living room of their Vineyard Haven vacation headquarters, and guessed that Catball was already up and awake and letting his catball imagination roam free.

"Yep, Catball's playing 'Race Car Driver' again," the cute wife said.  "But he has given me a fantastic idea for what we should do with our day.  I saw a fun rental place while we were on our bikes which we should totally take advantage of."

Arrows F1--the catball brothers' favorite

"I know the one you're talking about," the big guy said while Catball took Eau Rouge flat-out in his mind, "and I totally agree.  It sounds like a lot of fun to me for sure."

Catball's eyes sparked up, and as his people tucked him away and walked into town, his anticipation grew and grew.

Catball was struck dumb with happiness once they arrived at their destination.  "It's like yesterday's noble steed," he said, "only red!  And motorized!  And we'll look ridiculous while riding it!  It's better than I could have imagined!"

The big guy and his cute wife donned helmets and tucked Catball away safely.  With a whirr and a putt-putt and a nnnnnnng, they motored off and away to new islandy sights.  They rode along a sunny coastline road, through a town, and finally arrived at their first destination.  "I wonder if I have a brother named Edgar?  If so, I bet I could find him here," thought Catball.

They stopped at a bridge along the coast where a bunch of beachy-looking anarchists had congregated to stick it to the man.

Young and old, tall and small, brave and scared lined up along the bridge to contemplate their fates. 

Each one that jumped looked a lot happier coming out of the water than they did going into it, that was for sure--cooler, refreshed, spiritually validated, it seemed.  Catball wanted in, especially on the spiritual validation part.  With the big guy's and the cute wife's nervous blessing, he bounced his way onto the top rail.  He breathed the salty air deeply and felt the wind whoosh on his forehead between his ears.  He gazed intently at the water, greenish blue, calm, inviting, beckoning even.  The periphery of his vision blurred and dimmed as he focused, his mind naturally computing the physics of his hop, his descent, his sploosh.  He quietly entered a zone of zen-like focus.

"GAH!" he exclaimed.  Catball bounced back into the cute wife's arms.  "I do not want to be a moist anarchist," he said, looking up to her for safety.  "If a bug is my karmic penance for such defiance, I choose to obey."  They stood and watched other young people hurtle themselves into the abyss, every time coming up laughing and relieved.  "This place should have a sign that says 'Beware of Karmic Messenger Insects,'" said Catball.  And with that, they hopped on their scooter and rode on.

The trio made their way into the center of Edgartown.  "The Edgars here must be wealthy," Catball thought out loud.  The houses were large and beautiful, white with charming landscapes and colorful window shutters often times.  The streets were narrow and it seemed like every one led to a coastline.  They found a spot where a small park offered a place to sit and take in the spectacularness.

As is his way, a shiny thing caught Catball's attention.  "That tower down there," he said as he gestured to the water's edge, "I think it has a treasure at the top of it!  A ROTATING treasure!"

"A secret path!  A path to treasure!  Let's go!"

"Nuts, it seems this tower is defended.  Let us let them keep their treasure in peace.  This time."

Le Tour de Vineyard Haven avec Catball

Catball says:

After arriving on the island, me and my people were a bit tired and decided to take a big five for the rest of the day, but by the time the sun went down and came back up, we were all excited to discover some of the world.  By the time they got up and opened up my hidey hole, I was already ready to roam.

 

I hopped into the big guy's hand, and he brought me to the back yard to our noble steed for the day.

I was a little bit upset that they didn't have a helmet for me, but I felt somewhat assured that I would be safe in the pants-mounted catball storage unit he had arranged.

We rode around the town for a little bit, me mostly staying hidden away while my people stopped at stores to look at artsy doodads and whimsy-things, of which there was plenty to choose from.  I finally saw a place I wanted to stop at, and my people kindly obliged.

My favorites!

Later, as the people looked at novelty t-shirts, I found a good catballesque resting spot, a perfect throne for me, really. 

Next, we stopped at the harbor to observe ze floatuses.

This cooking store had lots and lots of mitts to protect the people's hands while they extract delicacies from the oven.  I liked this one in particular.

Finally, because I was such a good catball during our big day out, our last stop in town was this delicious but generally sticky place.

A good day in the Haven for Vineyards!