October in Nantucket

Nantucket is wonderful in every season (yes we’ve been in February!) but I think I might like fall best. The the summer crowds have gone and the island looks handsome clad in autumn’s hues. David and I spent a long weekend on island to celebrate our 10th anniversary and while we’ve been to Nantucket many times this was our first time staying at The Wauwinet and what! bliss! We typically stay in town, but the Wauwinet is out on the far eastern side of the island, on a little peninsula where you can see the sunrise over the beach on one side, and sunset over the beach on the other side of the property. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the hotel is the expansive lawn dotted with loungers that looks out over the harbor, a popular spot anytime but especially at sunset. We were planning to stay in a bay view room in the main inn but arrived to discover we were upgraded to their Idlewild cottage and we absolutely loved our room! Our cottage had a sitting room with a fireplace and small porch for lounging. It was so cozy to curl up by the fire on the night that it rained.

This time of year restaurants and shops start to shutter for the season but there’s always something delicious and fun open. On this trip we loved our anniversary dinner at Proprietor’s (a favorite) as well as a masquerade dinner party at Toppers at the Wauwinet. (Such fun!) Breakfasts were on the Toppers porch overlooking the bay (get the cinnamon roll french toast!) and we popped into town for shopping and a little lunch each day (Lemon Press and The Corner Table are our favorite casual healthy-ish lunch spots). The Corner Table had this incredible pumpkin latte, which was made with roasted local pumpkins and real spices instead of a syrup. It was so good I went back the next day for another.

I loved popping into several favorite shops including the best antique store on the island, Antique Depot, which is always such an education and has an impressive collection of vintage lightship baskets, many of which were created by José Formoso Reyes, the man who originally popularized carrying these baskets as a fashion statement. He was the first to add a lid and sold them as handbags to men on the golf course as a gift for their wives when they inevitably stayed at the club too late. Other favorites include BonTon (small vintage items), Sylvia's (antiques and local art) as well as Alice Walk (the yummiest sweaters and outerwear), the Nantucket Bookstore as well as a handful of other boutiques. Aside from that we simply enjoyed beach walks and happy hour back at the inn (they put out an impressive spread of meats, cheese, port and sherry each day from 4-5pm) and taking full advantage of the loungers on the great lawn. A relaxing long weekend and wonderful time to be on the island!