Offshore Ale Co. ~ Martha's Vineyard

On our Honeymoon, Josh and I had traveled North to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. We decided with the four days that we had to spare after the wedding that a nice waterfront getaway was just the ticket. But, we kept with the adventurous spontaneity of not knowing anything about where we were going. Typical Morgan, Josh travel style. So, without expectation we boarded a plane to Nantucket, stayed for a few days then decided to board an even tinier plane (in fact, tinier than I ever imagined myself riding in) to head towards Martha's Vineyard. 

After a lovely first night on the island we decided to take the bus from Edgartown to Aquinnah where we would venture around for a while exploring the view and lighthouse before going to the next town of Menemsha (most well known for it's filming of "Jaws"). The entire day of our ventures is quite comical really. I must warn you. We had no plan for our day, simply assuming that adventure would find us in this quaint area. However, that was not exactly how things work on the Vineyard. We ended up doing A LOT of bus riding. In fact, by midday we felt as if we were being given a personal tour by the bus driver who had seen us WAY too much for their liking I'm sure.  By the end of our trip we knew many of the drivers by first name and they knew ours. 

On one of our bus rides we met a gentleman who got on the bus after strapping his bicycle to the front bus latch. He sat directly across from us despite the emptiness of the remainder of the bus and he proceeded to ask us questions and talk with us throughout the ride to our next stop. *This particular part of the story is only relevant because this same individual comes up multiple times throughout our day. 

We rode the bus, with our newly befriended bicycle man and what would end up being our tour guide bus driver to Aquinnah. We walked around a bit, carried on more casual conversation with our bicycle friend as well as some local shop workers. Turns out, our bicycle friend had quite an interesting story himself. This only added to what would turn out to be our interesting story. Bicycle man was in fact an old friend of James Taylor. Yes! THE James Taylor! "Carolina in my mind" James Taylor! How neat. Anyways, after our goodbyes we then took the bus to Menemsha. On our ride to Menemsha we see the bicycle man riding down the street heading on his way to somewhere else as well. We waved as we passed. Certain that our encounter with him was a one time coincidence.  Well, after Menemsha and our beach, non shark seeing adventure, we decided that before we headed into Oaks Bluffs for the night that we would take the bus around the island just one more time for the fun of it. We ended up BACK in Aquinnah where the driver says we will be stationed for ten minutes before leaving. So, we decided to get out and embrace the beautiful cliff views just one more time and low and behold who do we encounter at the viewing area? The Bicycle man! I felt as if we had spent the entire day coming across the same people. It was just ironic how it all worked out. 

Anywho, we load up on the bus to head back into Oak Bluffs for the evening. The bicycle man rides his bicycle off into his own distance and we greet our tour guide driver by name, as if we hadn't already done so multiple times that day. 

After checking into our place in Oaks Bluff (a lovely inn right in the heart of the town) we decide that we are absolutely STARVED and wanted to find a neat, relaxing place to eat. So, we take off walking to town where we came across the Offshore Ale Company.  We figured with the music coming from inside and the wait that exceeded the doorway that we couldn't go wrong. So, we added our name to the list and made ourselves comfy for about fifteen to twenty minutes. While waiting, we met a very wonderful couple from Boston who vacationed on the Vineyard multiple times a year. Both were professors and were extremely interesting to talk with. 

I'm not sure if it was the conversations that made the Ale Company so unique or the live music blaring from the piano but within the first hour of being there Josh and I both decided that this was NOT a place we wanted to leave any time soon. We were having a blast! 

The server seated us next to this older couple. They were locals on the island. In fact, they were SO local that you may recognize them in SCENES throughout the movie Jaws. I won't go into that any further. However, after speaking with them for about five minutes we became instant friends. The woman was a professional jazz musician who used to travel the world singing the soothing rhythmns of Jazz and the gentleman she was with was a guitarist. Although they had mostly retired from their musical days due to age they still ventured out to the Ale Company every week to hear the delightful rendition of tunes streaming from the keys of the piano or guitar. They new many of the songs by heart and were quick to request some of their favorites. Some being classical sounds which I later had to research. 

By the end of the night we had shared two pizzas, many drinks, laughter, music, stories and hours of memories with these two that I still hold dearly as one of my most interesting, coolest spent evenings. While I'm 100% certain that the atmosphere, food, and service at the Offshore Ale company is beyond fantastic, my experience with this local treasure goes beyond what the surface offers. It's more than a bar, restaurant hang out. It's a place to enjoy, relax, meet new and old friends and create lasting impressions that endure much longer than a few hours following. I will never forget my evening spent at the Offshore Ale Company. I will never forget the feeling of not wanting to leave, or feeling as if I was experiencing a rarity that few do.  

And, to the end the story perfectly. As Josh and I were finally calling it an evening, many hours later, we walked out the front door to be greeted only by the bicycle man we had encountered multiple times on the bus. He greeted us as if we were old time friends. We asked him what he was up to and as he grabbed the handle to enter the Ale Company he looked back at us and said with a pirate grin, "I'm only stopping in for the free peanuts." 

That now concludes my story about the Oak Bluffs Offshore Ale Company. 

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