So this post is almost two weeks late, but hopefully worth the wait.
Due to one stroll shopping partner having a baby and another about to adpt, plus a family visit on Saturday, I headed to Stroll on my own for the day.
I took so long to pick out my outfit that I almost missed the ferry. I made it to the ticket window, informed the man at the desk that I was trying to make the 8:15 a.m. fast ferry, and he got on the loudspeaker and announced, “We got a runner in the ticket office.”
I bolted past the carolers, who shouted, “Merry Christmas,” grabbed a candy cane and plopped down in a spare seat.
When I got to the Island, I booked it to the Boat Basin to grab my 2016 Nantucket Stroll scarf, as I knew that there was a chance that they could sell out before the end of the day. I didn’t even know that there was a scarf each year (they are definitely gone by Saturday)!
It was SO QUIET at 9:30 a.m. Most people either weren’t shopping yet, or hadn’t gotten to the Island yet. NOTE TO SHOPPERS: Friday is far better for shopping than Saturday or Sunday. Several shops have markdowns so good that they won’t make it to the second day of stroll.
The streets were empty around 9:30. It was the perfect time to take pictures of trees without tons of people around!
True that!
After grabbing my scarf, I headed to Fog Island café, where the wait wasn’t too insane. Because I was only a party of one, I got seated out the counter right away. I proceeded to destroy my favorite breakfast on the Island- forager omlette with eggs whites and no bacon, extra black beans.
Totally fortified, I went back to shopping. For about another three hours or so!
It was so pretty inside of the shops as well as outside. I snapped this blurry shot of the inside of Milly & Grace. It’s so beautiful in there that I want to buy the entire shop! And they had candies from Sugarfina. And the holiday Mer Sea candles!
A casualty of not having a camera and having a temporary crap phone was that you could not see these adorable twin octopus with lights on them. So adorable! I still like the shot.
Nantucket Reds at Murray’s. A preppy “celebrity siting”- Kiel James Patrick and Sarah Vickers. I almost approached them to get a photo, but I nerded out and walked away because I didn’t want to bother them!
After stalking artist Marcus Foley’s whale creations on Instagram for ages, I met him and bought the little dark wood whale in the corner!
This was actually my favorite tree. I loved the whale spouts, lobster topper and the blue tones. Overall, I was underwhelmed by the trees this year. The theme was tolerance/acceptance, which was lovely to see.
There was major construction going on near the famous Christmas Tree in the boat. I got this shot by going into a jewelry shop onto their deck.
After getting my shop on, I headed to the Nantucket Whaling Museum for the Annual Festival of Trees. I had planned to do the house tour as well, but there just wasn’t enough time before the ferry, and I did not want to rush it. Next year, FOR SURE!
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What a treat that I was there when the choir was singing. Since I missed the carolers, it was nice to hear some Christmas songs sung, especially before getting on the boat home.
My last stop before getting on the ferry was Nantucket Surf Club. It wasn’t open when I got off of the boat, and I am so glad that I circled back, because Santa was just sitting outside of the shop, on the road less traveled. Awesome time to get a photo!
I made it back to the ferry with plenty of time to spare. Since hardly anyone was there so just today, I had a ton of space to spread out with my purchases. And, as anyone who knows me can attest, I passed out on the ride. I was awoken by a nice young man across the row from me who tapped my shoulder and said, “Wake up! We’re in Hyannis!”
I headed home after a great but long day, missing Nantucket already and looking forward to planning a full stroll weekend for 2017.
