ISLAND ESCAPE
For a great Valentine's getaway, try charming Nantucket
I don’t heart Valentine’s Day.
It’s not that I don’t love romance or that I don’t like being showered with gifts. VDay can just feel so … obvious.
That’s why I like to find a different way to “celebrate” love this time of year. I like to think of it in a way a college photography professor taught me how to find the most beautiful sunrise or sunset shot.
Look at the actual sun rise or set, she told me, and then turn 180 degrees and see what you find in the opposite direction. The answer — beautiful colors and scenery that most everyone else busy staring at the sun often miss.
With that, here’s Valentine’s day/week/season suggestion: Look in a different direction. Consider a Nantucket winter escape.
Nantucket nearly shuts down in the winter months, but within that “nearly” is an opportunity: A chance to visit the famed island with fewer crowds, more space and the unique beauty of a northeast winter.
I love Nantucket in the winter. Long ago on a cold early March weekend, my friend Delilah and I headed there for an escape.
So happy were the locals that visitors had arrived (yes, they noticed someone new at one of the few watering holes open that winter) they came to drag us out on the town when we were slow getting out one night. We even ended up with a photo and shout out
in the local paper.
And the shop owners? Rather than being overwhelmed with customers to attend to, they’re happy you — often the only one in the shop—are there. One shop owner even offered us a glass of wine to sip while he showed us his wares. Plus, you’ll find a lot of things on sale this time of year.
To make it a special event, do it up right and choose to fly, even if you’re
not that far away. True, the flight is only a few minutes and the ferry is available, but there’s something special about taking that small plane to that tiny, beautiful island.
Jet Blue flies into Nantucket from Boston and some other major cities (like New York and DC). Cape Air takes you from Hyannis to Nantucket for only a few dollars more than the ferry cost.
Of course, you won’t
have a car but Uber is alive and well — and for the most part, Nantucket is a walkable little island.
The ferry runs too, should you want to bring a car.
Where to stay is an easier choice in the winter months.
For an upscale stay in a “larger” hotel, check into the Nantucket Hotel And Resort (www.thenantuckethotel.com), where there are 44 rooms —
suites, classic rooms and even cottages to settle into.
The Nantucket, as it is called by most, is located right on Easton Street — perfect for snowy walks around town.
They can up your romance ante too with champagne baskets, fresh flowers, cookie trays and other kinds of accoutrements . You can ask for them when you reserve online, or talk to their concierge when you arrive, should the mood strike you then.
For a special experience, bundle up and take a winter walk to the iconic Brant Point Light, just a 10 minute walk away. The winter beach is right down the street too — where it’s a beautiful and unique experience to walk it nearly to yourself as far as you can see.
For a smaller Inn vibe, consider the Regatta Inn (www.nantucketresortcollection.com/regatta-inn/), a cozy 15-room B and B.
Taking up an historic Federal-style mansion, it embraces a classic vibe with modern touches. There are ensuite baths that feel like a try spa experience, bright corners with comfortable seating for settling in with a drink, a book or just to gaze out at the winterscape.
Breakfast is included and they don’t skimp: you’ll be well fed and warmed for your day—and evenings — on the town.
Town, of course, isn’t 100% open, but enough shops and restaurants stay active that you’ll have plenty to explore. Nearly 50 restaurants remain open, and a variety of shops do as well.
You’ll also get some bonuses. A later sunrise and earlier sunset mean catching that view is easily doable. And while snow is not uncommon on the island, the temps rarely dip below 26 degrees, meaning you can bundle up a bit and feel just find out and around.
In winter, Nantucket can feel like your own private winter island escape. For me, that kind of unique escape would make a skeptic look forward to V-Day. That’s saying something.