Escape to the Vineyard

This Labour Day weekend had an ominous cloud going into it, Hurrican Earl had everyone scampering around buying extra provisions in case of power losses, cancelling plans and flights and generally preparing for a perfect storm. While all of this is probably the smart thing to do when it comes to Boston's usual crazy weather, it turned out to be the usual tale of a big scary shadow turning out to be a cute little mouse. Sure there was a bit of rain and fog on Friday night, but from Saturday morning throughout the entire weekend, we were blessed with clear blue skies, a bright and warm sun toned down by a cooler breeze.
Now that the weather report is over, let me tell you what I made of my weekend. Labour weekend, or any three day weekend for that matter tends to be a great opportunity to take a day trip somewhere not too far, but far enough outside of the city to get a bit of perspective. My friends and I did just this. We picked Sunday as the perfect day as it would be sandwiched between the other two days and not prone to the bookend traffic and headed up to Martha's Vineyard.
Travel was a breeze...except maybe for a few wrong turns and a general lack of attention to street signs...or a lack of street signs. We parked the car, hopped on the shuttle and skipped (litterally) onto the Woodshole Ferry which brought us to Oak Bluffs.
If you have ever been to Martha's Vineyard, you will understand the appeal of the island. It has a beautiful quaint atmosphere with little boutiques, little restaurants and lots of beaches. We decided to rent bikes and tour around that way. It was a novel idea but for the winds which had us pretty much pedaling at a standstill at times.
Throughout our day of  fun in the sun, we didn't get to lie on the beach, but we did stumble upon a couple of excellent homemade ice cream shops or fifty. In MV, every other store is a creamery! A friend had suggested we try out Carousel, but we were attracted to Ben and Bill's across the street. This place had about fifty different flavours all of which were unique and incredibly tempting. I was in such a dither of excitement that I had to keep myself from asking to try all of them. In the end, I settled for a sampling of their lobster ice cream (yes you heard it right, a butter based ice cream with real lobster meat chunks), their chai ice cream and their  chocolate peanut butter cookie dough. I was very proud of myself in the end, it only took me about 15 minutes of questions before I decided to go with their cherry chip (cherry ice cream with cherries and chocolate chunks) and their K.G.B (Kahlua, Grand Marnier and Bailey's). The prices are pretty steep, but their portions are MASSIVE, so don't feel badly about opting for the kiddie size.
I don't think I have ever been more in love with the dairy department. At that moment, when I took away my two scoops (which was actually more like a pint) of heaven, I felt completely whole. I could return to the Vineyard on a moment's notice just for that ice cream.
So for those of you who got out of the city on this past three day weekend, good for you! I hope you had a great experience, perhaps not as great as mine...but then again, if ice cream places like Ben and Bill'swere a dime a dozen...well who am I kidding, that would be a dream come true!
Unfortunately, there is not website, you will just have to go and taste for yourself!