Day 4: Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard

Day 4: June 4th. I spent the night of Day 3 and the morning of Day 4 at the Nantucket Youth Hostel and met some wonderful people there. They featured me and this blog on the Facebook page for the hostel.

The hostel was packed to capacity. I had the last bed. It was filled primarily with students from the Waldorf School in Burlington, VT. They were all kids around 14 years old and were spending some time on Nantucket undertaking a variety of activities. They all headed out on bikes this morning en masse to do some kayaking. I did card tricks for them this morning and they were impressed. I read a few minds too; they absolutely loved that!

I talked with their teachers, and one teacher in particular drew particular interest in my trip. He is pictured here. His name is Mashobane Hezekiel Moruthane and is from South Africa. He founded the Ubuntu project. No, not the linux distro, but his own homegrown organization that provides assistance to South African children. Ubuntu is actually a famous word in Zulu meaning togetherness.

His mission this year is to build a three-bedroom house for an impoverished South African family of six. $5,000 of materials and sweat equity would see this project through and he solicited my help. He asked that I help raise the money and actually come to South Africa with him in December to build the house, so that I can see where the money is going. I would stay with his family. Perhaps my coast to coast adventure just adopted a cause!

You just never know who you are going to meet at a hostel.

Provide some feedback about this South African charity effort and how it should relate to my flight.


Next, I made my way to downtown Nantucket, a place I've been to many times before. Yes, the cobblestone streets are beautiful, but they are impossible to bike on using a road bike! This photo is the downtown area, speckled with high-price shops on either side.






Since I've been down here, I've probably purchased 6 Nantucket Nectars. I love those sugar-laden drinks. You'll find them in Albany and elsewhere, but of course, this is the birthplace of Nantucket Nectars. The story goes (and you can read this right on the bottle) that these two guys started a little operation called AllServe in which they would deliver food and supplies to the boats docked and moored in Nantucket. They also developed this juice that the sold that became very popular and proclaimed that they were the "Juice Guys". The AllServe operation started in the building pictured here, which now houses Nantucket Ice Cream. Besides the "Juice Guys" sign, I did also see an older sign relating to the AllServe operation. I'm not sure if it is still in operation.



I couldn't help but notice the Fog Island Cafe. It reminded me of that fog back that rapidly enveloped the airport and cause me to make an IFR approach to minimum altitude, something I thought about all night long. It's truly amazing that the instrument landing system, my avionics, and my training all work perfectly in such a way as to navigate right to the approach end of a runway in a low hanging fog.

They have a Black Dog store over here on Nantucket too. It's not just a Martha's Vineyard thing I guess






























Finally, photos of a cute Nantucket home, the Whaling Museum, and this sculpture I encountered just outside the airport as I was biking back to my plane. It is a child poised atop a large paper airplane with his arms outstretched, cape flowing, and goggles in place. I kind of feel like that kid as I undertake this trip. I am enjoying every moment of it and am embracing the twists and turns that make it an adventure. I have an itinerary, but I'm discovering that every destination holds an unexpected surprise. This has been true of every stop so far!

I'm now at the Youth Hostel in Martha's Vineyard. I plan on staying here for two nights and then moving on to Newport, RI. I'm keeping my eye on the weather. The aeronautical nomadic lifestyle will continue.