Summers End

Chapter Three

Alec

I didn’t realize how far Summers End was from the actual town of Nantucket until that bike ride.  I’d been half asleep on the drive from the ferry the night before and as we peddled along the country road I swear my legs were punishing me for neglecting my running.  Once we left the compound we passed what looked like a country club and then there was nothing for at least a mile.  At least it seemed like nothing to me but Thomas jabbered excitedly about everything we saw. 

“That over there is Great Point Lighthouse.  It was built in the 1700’s but had to be rebuilt a few years later when the original was destroyed by fire,” said Thomas.

“Fascinating,” I panted.  It annoyed me how much better shape he was in.  We looked to be about the same size but he clearly got more exercise then I did. 

“It is fascinating.  That lighthouse marks the juncture at which the currents of the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Sound meet.”

“What’s so fascinating about that?”

“Well, it’s important for shipping.  There have been some famous shipwrecks not far from here.”

“Like the Titanic?  I thought that was way out at sea.”

“It was.  But about 50 miles south of here is where the Andrea Doria collided with the Stockholm.  The Andrea Doria sank and 46 people died.  There’s a staging point in town where you can charter boats to dive the wreck,” Thomas explained.

“I guess that’s kind of cool,” I admitted.

“Yes and over that way,” Thomas pointed southeast, “is where the Argo Merchant went down causing one of the largest oil spills in history.”

“Anything good ever happen here?”

“Sure, lots of stuff.  If you look over there, do you see that house?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Peter Benchley’s house,” said Thomas.

“Who’s that?”

“He wrote Jaws.”

“Really?  That is kinda cool?”

“Martha’s Vineyard is about 30 miles west of us.  That’s where they filmed the movie,” said Thomas as he stopped his bike at the top of a hill.

“Why are you stopping?”

“I thought you might want to check out the view.”

I pulled alongside him and discovered the town of Nantucket lay at the bottom of the hill.  We could see everything from the village to the other side of the island.  I’m glad we stopped to take it in.  It was beautiful.

“What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.  Thanks for stopping.” I smiled.

Thomas smiled back then peddled off and returned to jabbering.

“Nantucket was first settled by European’s around 1641.  The name Nantucket is an old Algonquian word meaning “in the midst of the waters.” Whaling used to be big here but declined in the mid-1800’s after The Great Fire.”

“Great Fire?”

“Happened in 1846.  I don’t recall what sparked it exactly but it was fueled by whale oil and dry lumber.  It took out most of the town,” Thomas explained.

“You sure know a lot about this place.”

“Well I grew up here,” said Thomas.

“My mom said you went to boarding school.”