So, it’s my last day of vacation. I’m nursing a little bit of sunburn. You really do need to apply sun block when it’s cloudy, even if you’re sitting in what looks like the shaded area on the deck—trust me on this. The flip side is I got carded at the liquor store buying a bottle of white Burgundy. Not just carded, scrutinized, and without a stitch of makeup on my face! I don’t believe in fixing what ain’t broke, so I opted for a fresh clean face again today and whisked my new hat off to lunch.
I went back to A Slice of Life (50 Circuit Avenue, Oak Bluffs, 508-693-3838), their slogan is “we love food,” by the way, and ordered the Fried Green Tomato BLT…again. 
I cop to being a creature of habit, but I did order their grilled scallops on Tuesday night. They were great, but for my last meal I wanted nirvana. And I got it.
After savoring every last morsel, and taking this picture of my plate, I made my waitress listen to me kvell about my lunch. She kept nodding and saying, “I know!” again and again. Then she told me that on her first day training she was too nervous to eat anything, not having a lot of experience, but the kitchen accidentally made an extra BLT and the chef gave it to her to eat in the back. She said she took one bite and all her nerves disappeared. “I thought, ‘I get to work here,’” she told me. And that’s when I knew this was quite possibly the BLT of all time.
Seriously, I recommend you go to Martha’s Vineyard just to eat here! The clam chowder has won awards. It was my pick of the week and you know I tried everyone’s chowder. Not only that, but I actually ate the coleslaw that came with my BLT—all of it, both times—and I have a solid history of disdain for this particular summer side. Okay, I’m moving on!
I stopped into Mad Martha’s, a Vineyard ice creamery since 1971, to see if they had any swag that my often irritated colleague Martha might enjoy, but I got my ice cream elsewhere. I went into The Black Dog for t-shirts for my niece and nephew. I bought a silver ring at the kiosk in the middle of Main Street in Vineyard Haven. And I thoughtfully appreciated my last afternoon tooling around amidst friendly traffic in the clunker. We ordered dinner from John’s Fish Market (State Road, Vineyard Haven, 508-693-1220), where I’d been buying fresh fish. They also take orders for prepared meals you can pick up after 5:30. We got ginger glazed halibut and a fisherman’s stew very similar to bouillabaisse. Super yum!
I flew out in an eight-passenger plane, same as I came in on, but as the ninth passenger I sat in the co-pilot seat. For a white-knuckle flier, it was quite a pleasant and educational experience. As we pulled away from the island, I could easily identify East Chop and West Chop and then, as we flew over, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, the yacht club and my friends’ house (by way of The Monstrosity, which is a sore thumb even from the air). Finally I had to look ahead, but I can’t wait for next summer!
