Welcome to Martha's Vineyard and to CoastWise House, my home in Chilmark!! I have been coming to the Vineyard for over 45 years, and it's my favorite place on the planet. When I bought the house in 1999, it was the fulfillment of a long-time dream.
As a renter for all those years, I have pretty much figured out what makes a vacation house attractive and comfortable. In fact, I had rented this house for my own vacation–and then ended up buying it!
What is special about this property?
TEN REASONS WHY THIS IS A GREAT HOUSE:
1. It's located on North Road, equally convenient to both Chilmark and West Tisbury centers and an easy trip to all three down island towns–Vineyard Haven, Edgartown, and Oak Bluffs.
2. I can ride my bike to Alley's for the paper--or to access the Island-wide bike trail in West Tisbury.
3. I think that Lucy Vincent Beach is the most beautiful beach anywhere–and to use this beach, you have to be staying in Chilmark.
4. The house has everything I need all on the first floor, and when friends come to visit, they have their own space on the second floor.
5. With four bedrooms, two baths, and a separate family room, it's spacious and can comfortably accommodate couples, folks with kids, or a couple of families who want to share their vacations.
6. It's quiet and private.
7. It has the amenities that I'd just as soon not do without–a dishwasher, a coffee pot that works, dishes that match, a microwave, a gas grill, pots and pans that still have the teflon on them, cable TVs with DVR and DVD, wireless Internet access, AND A/C!
8. I never liked going to the dump or cleaning the house the last night of vacation, so trash pick up and cleaning are included in the rent.
9. I can get fresh-from-the-boat fish any time I want it right down the road in Menemsha.
10. The Farmers' Market, Artisans' Fair, Chilmark Community Center and library, Chilmark Store, and some fabulous restaurants are all a short drive away.
What is special about your town?
Chilmark is a quintessential, Up-Island town--rural, picturesque, laid-back, and tranquil with rolling meadows, working farms, and open vistas to the ocean--in many ways, another breathtaking world from what most of us are accustomed to. Menemsha is part of Chilmark, and there you'll find the freshest fish you'll ever eat and extraordinary sunsets. Still, it's also within an easy reach of fundamental services: a grocery store, lovely restaurants, a bank and ATM, and the Chilmark Community Center with lots of available activities and tennis courts.
But what sets Chilmark apart is Lucy Vincent Beach, lovely and facing south to the open ocean, with clean white sand; beach grass wafting in the ocean breeze; the rhythmic sound of the surf; and opportunities for sunning, boogie boarding, strolling the beach, and collecting shells and beach stones. Chilmark also has two other beaches, Squibnocket which is smaller than LVB and also ocean-facing, and Menemsha which has calm water, fishing from the jetty, and a working fishing village as its backdrop.