Part of The Big Four-O Tour Blog Series
Author: Blume, Judy
Book: Summer Sisters
Vacation rating: You Pierce My Soul
It was a journey 18 years in the making — nay, longer. From our first reading of Summer Sisters when we were 14, 15 years old, my friend Hannah and I had fantasized about visiting Martha’s Vineyard. And it couldn’t be just any island vacation. We wanted to feel like we were ✨living in Vix and Caitlin’s world✨. How lucky Hannah and I were to find each other in library school: fellow obsessives with a shared fixation on this specific book.
So after a whole quarter-century, we made our teenage dreams come true: we celebrated our 40th birthdays with a Summer Sisters tribute trip. For months, we pored over our battered paperbacks, made lists of locations and Google Mapped, and compiled an itinerary in a way only trained librarians could.
On the Vineyard, we took the sea air, roamed Caitlin and Vix’s old haunts, and followed a fairy trail into the woods …. It really was a magical vacation, one that Hannah and I will undoubtedly reminisce about for the rest of our lives.
Trip Planning
Victoria heads toward her, shaking her head because Caitlin is wearing a shirt that says simplify, simplify, simplify. (Prologue)
We chose to go in mid-September because:
- I’m a public librarian in youth services, and it’s hard to get away in the summer, our busiest time of year.
- It’s a lot more affordable and reservations are more available after Labor Day.
- Vix herself says it’s the best month on the Vineyard, and in fact chooses to have her wedding in September for that reason. It’s what’s called “shoulder season,” when the biggest packs of tourists have gone but businesses are still open.
It can start cooling off on the Vineyard in September. But the very week of our vacation, there was a big heat wave that swept the nation. As a result, though it was absolutely miserable in San Diego, we had gorgeous summer temps for our coastal Massachusetts trip. The weekend after, it was 65 degrees, cloudy, and windy!
(If you’re planning a Summer Sisters-inspired vacation yourself, there will be another post with every last detail about our travel logistics.)
The Ferry Ride
It was almost sunset as they pulled into the ferry, another first for Vix. (Chapter 2)
We considered flying straight to the tiny Vineyard airport (as Vix does in the Prologue), but the bookish attractions in the Boston area held too much appeal for us to resist. So we toured Concord, Boston, and the Edward Gorey house first, took a rental car down to Wood’s Hole, and caught the Steamship Authority Ferry on a lovely Thursday evening.
Vineyard Haven & Edgartown
Once we had mapped out key Summer Sisters sites, we discussed where we should stay. Most hotels and established bed & breakfasts were out of our price range, so we looked at Airbnbs. Travel blogs recommended Edgartown, where there would be more nightlife and things to do. We almost went with a two-bedroom apartment in Oak Bluffs that looked like it was furnished entirely by IKEA. But in the end, we decided on Vineyard Haven. It was absolutely the right choice for us. Lamb’s house would have been in this neighborhood — these were the streets Vix and Caitlin would have wandered. We liked that it was small, calm, and quiet. Edgartown was a bit too plate-glassy for our tastes; Oak Bluffs was more of a tourist area; and Vineyard Haven felt more real and lived-in to us.
The first night on the island, we dropped off our bags and wandered around Main Street.
Our House
Personally, she thought the house looked fantastic. Skylights had been cut into the ceiling flooding it with light. Big windows and French doors had been added … The old furniture was dressed in crisp blue and white slipcovers. (Chapter 6)
We decided to embrace a more Summer Sisters experience by renting a room in a large, historic house in Vineyard Haven, a place we couldn’t have afforded otherwise. The photos on the listing had matched my idea of what Lamb’s house might’ve looked like after Abby’s makeover — not in the exact details, but the general vibe: bright, airy, comfortable, and a little artsy. Neither Hannah nor I had stayed in a room in a shared house on Airbnb before; we’d always booked entire places with separate entrances. So we were a little nervous about it, but it turned out so lovely.
Abby has finally redone Caitlin’s room. The walls have been whitewashed, the old twin beds have been replaced with an antique iron bedstead piled high with lace-trimmed pillows. Books line the shelves where broken toys once sat. Their beach stone collection, sorted by color — lavender, tortoise, gray — is stored in glass canisters. A blow-up of a black-and-white photo hangs on the wall, taken that first summer when she and Caitlin were twelve, arms around one another, looking into each other’s eyes, as if they’re sharing a delicious secret. (Chapter 44)
There were vases filled with zinnias and sisal rugs that felt prickly underfoot. (Chapter 6)
The Outdoor Shower
Every day Lamb sang in the outdoor shower. “All You Need Is Love,” “Come Together,” “We Can Work It Out.” He was happy. He was in love. (Chapter 5)
The outdoor shower was a pretty big deal in the story, and it was a fanciful wish of ours to have one on our vacation. We’d joke about it: “Do you think we can get a place with an outdoor shower?” The fact that the house actually did have one was a major factor in our lodging decisions. It actually became my favorite thing. I showered twice a day because I enjoyed it so much — the fresh air, open sky and trees in the morning, the stars and twinkle lights at night! (I did sing “Eye of the Tiger” while in it, but I wouldn’t call it a command performance like Caitlin’s, and there were thankfully no creepy voyeur stepbrothers around.)
Psycho House
The house was dark and messy, a place where nobody cared how much sand was on the floor or in your bed. Caitlin called it Psycho House. (Chapter 3)
On Friday morning, we wandered (and got lost going down unpaved roads) around the Tashmoo Pond area, where Psycho House would have been. We wanted to see if we could find a house that fit our imaginings of what Lamb’s house would have looked like, pre-Abby.
There were many grand and pristine mansions in Vineyard Haven, but that wasn’t what we were looking for. We wanted one that was a bit smaller from the front, in a wooded area, where it looked like people were actually living there.
When Vix sat in the claw-footed tub she could look out over Tashmoo pond, which was a mile long. It opened into the Sound, allowing boats to come and go. (Chapter 3)
We found another house that fit the location, on the shore of Tashmoo Pond.
Bunch of Grapes Bookstore
Vix and Caitlin bought a stack of paperbacks at Bunch of Grapes, and except for meals, spent the entire week in bed, reading. (Chapter 7)
Hannah and I both found this passage above so cozy. If we’d had more downtime, we’d have loved to spend a day reading in bed. Our itinerary was too packed, but I was still thrilled to find that the bookstore was yet in existence!
John’s Fish Market
When Dorset asked for a volunteer to help her run errands, Vix jumped. Last stop on the list was John’s Fish Market, to pick up the poached salmon Abby had ordered for lunch. (Chapter 8)
The second they walked into the fish market Vix stopped dead, because who should be working behind the counter wearing a long white apron but the National Treasure himself. Wouldn’t Caitlin be sorry she hadn’t come! (Chapter 8)
We didn’t get poached salmon; we got swordfish sandwiches, onion rings, fantastic lemonade, and soft serve ice cream.
Leslie’s Pharmacy
In their room at night they played Mermaids, using the makeup Caitlin bought on Lamb’s charge at Leslie’s Pharmacy to paint their lips dark red and outline their eyes in coal black. (Chapter 3)
(I bought sunblock.)
Mad Martha’s
After, over ice cream at Mad Martha’s, Daniel started in on Abby about inviting a friend. (Chapter 5)
I realize I shouldn’t have been thrilled to see a skunk, but I was, only because I was thinking of this passage:
They were wearing … dangling skunk earrings — the official scent of Martha’s Vineyard, as the bumper stickers claimed. (Chapter 7)
The Black Dog
Just weeks earlier, on the night of Vix’s fourteenth birthday, when she and Caitlin had dressed up for dinner at The Black Dog, Abby had said, “You both look so pretty. You remind me of how much I’ve always wanted a daughter.” (Chapter 11)
We do see people all over the country wearing sweatshirts from The Black Dog. We didn’t eat or shop here though. The prices were high, Judy Blume had described their muffins as “lead balls,” and their food didn’t have great online reviews.
Movie Theater
After that Vix tried to ignore them, until the night they all wound up on the ticket line at the Strand to see Alien. (Chapter 13)
The movie theaters Vix and Caitlin might have frequented — Capawock in Vineyard Haven and Strand in Oak Bluffs — had closed. So we went to the one in Edgartown. It was small and old-timey!
Murdick’s Fudge
The second the movie ended she marched up the street to Murdick’s Fudge and sent Nathan a one-pound box of assorted flavors. (Chapter 10)
Chilmark, Menemsha & Aquinnah
They drove up island in the red convertible rental car, all the way to the scenic overlook at Gay Head. (Chapter 11)
It wasn’t a convertible, but it was red! On Saturday, we got a little Kia Soul for the day, put on my comprehensively curated Summer Sisters playlist (post to come), and headed across the island toward the famed Aquinnah Cliffs 🚗.
Melt-In-Your-Mouth Muffins
And he’d set her up in business, hadn’t he? Encouraged her to go out on her own with Trisha’s Melt-In-Your-Mouth Muffins, fresh-baked daily. Light. Fluffy. Not like those lead balls they sell at the Dog. (Chapter 4)
On our way to Menemsha and Aquinnah, we stopped at West Tisbury Farmer’s Market, where I came upon the Pie Chicks stand. And what do you know, they had muffins in their display case.
Outside, they ran into Trisha, who was delivering muffins to the gourmet food shop. “Lordy … look who’s here!” Trisha set the tray on the hood of her truck and handed each of them a peach muffin. (Chapter 6)
When I first read the book, I’d never had a peach muffin (just the standard blueberry, lemon poppyseed, etc.), and I thought it sounded really appealing. When Hannah visited me in 2015, we made sure to bake some in Trisha’s honor.
Now, here at the farmer’s market was a woman-owned bakery business who’d hauled their goods in by truck, just like Trisha. And then I realized that they had … a peach muffin. And you know what? It was delicious.
Menemsha Fish Market
Anything she wanted to see or do on the island was hers for the asking. Your wish is my command, Lamb told her, like in some fairy tale. So she said, I’d like to see the real ocean. And abracadabra, the next day they were off to the ocean, making a quick stop in Menemsha, an old fishing village, with almost as many boats in the harbor as tourists snapping pictures. (Chapter 4)
They picked up lunch along the way — clam dogs and lobster rolls. (Chapter 4)
Menemsha Fish Market and Larsen’s Fish Market were right next to each other, had similar menus, and were apparently owned by different branches of the Larsen family. Our opinion: you should come to this one, the Menemsha Fish Market.
This was the hot lobster roll at Menemsha Fish Market. Amazing! Toasted roll, melted butter, and slice of lemon for squeezing over. It was the only lobster roll I’d ever genuinely enjoyed. Stanley, the owner, was so pleased with my compliments that he gifted me a lobster-shaped bottle opener keychain. While I was there, a fisherman came in and asked Stanley if he wanted to buy a tuna off of him. Stanley was legit.
I got a lobster roll at Larsen’s too (not pictured) for comparison’s sake. Larsen’s was on a slice of bread instead of a roll, and they microwaved the whole thing, so the bread was a soggy mess, and the lobster was rubbery! No lemon either. Larsen’s was newer looking, like they’d been recently renovated — maybe that was why customers were going there instead? Fools! The two do not compare!
The Homeport
The Homeport had a big, noisy dining room, where food was served family style. It was popular with tourists and locals alike, more for its location overlooking the harbor, the best place to view spectacular Menemsha sunsets, than for its food. (Chapter 22)
We wanted to see the Homeport, Vix’s workplace in the aftermath of betrayal! But we didn’t eat there either, based on the descriptions in the book and online reviews of their food and prices. (The grilled swordfish entrée was $46.)
Judy Blume had described spectacular Menemsha sunsets, but we checked out the view from the Homeport and shrugged. We realized Aquinnah was really the place to be ….
Aquinnah
The ocean was exactly as she’d imagined it, exactly the way she’d seen it in a million movies. The only surprise was the smell, salty and fresh, and the roar as the waves crashed against the shore. (Chapter 4)
Colonists incorporated the town of Gay Head on 1870, and it was so called until a 1997 vote changed the name to Aquinnah, Wampanoag for “under the hill.” Because Summer Sisters was published in 1998, with this particular scene taking place in 1977, Aquinnah is referred to in the story as Gay Head.
They followed Lamb and Trisha to a place sheltered by a high clay cliff, but even so the wind whipped their hair, and when they tried to talk, sand blew into their mouths. (Chapter 4)
“It’s a nude beach,” Caitlin told Vix, but you don’t HAVE to take off your clothes. I never do.”
Only then did Vix shade her eyes and look around. It was true! Most of the people on the beach were totally naked. (Chapter 4)
You know what they say … When in Rome …
I had definite doubts about how much time we’d want to spend at Moshup, Aquinnah’s unofficial clothing-optional beach. I expected that we would go, be a little weirded out, maybe take a quick skinny-dip if it felt safe enough, and leave – the minimum to cross it off of our Summer Sisters tribute list. I didn’t expect Aquinnah to be the indescribable, serene haven that it turned out to be.
I’d never full-on skinny-dipped before. If you’re curious to and haven’t felt comfortable taking the plunge (heh), Aquinnah may be the place. It was quiet, peaceful — it somehow felt private, even with other bathers lounging around. I floated in the water, gazed up at the deep azure sky edged by red cliff, and listened to the roar of rocks rolling underwater across the ocean floor. It was glorious.
The nude beach was also the perfect place to recreate the world’s tackiest wedding photo:
A commemorative T-shirt is handed out to every guest entering the party, featuring a screened picture of the bride and groom looking over their shoulders, each of them smiling broadly, a shared towel covering their naked backsides. (Chapter 42)
And then we lingered on the beach till sunset.
Oak Bluffs
We spent our last full day of vacation in Oak Bluffs. Oak Bluffs was stuffed with tourist shops, vacation rentals, and historical houses. It was where Caitlin and Vix would go out, especially as younger teens. It was also home to one of the most important landmarks in Summer Sisters: the Flying Horses Carousel.
The Pizza Place
He gets lucky, finds a place to park on Circuit Ave. and leads them up to the pizza place. He hopes he has enough cash on him. He’ll tell them they can each order a slice. That’s it. A slice and a soda.
Before they even put in their order they heard raised voices and turned to see Bru sitting at a small table up front, arguing with a redheaded girl. She pushed her chair away from the table. “That’s it,” she shouted through her tears. “Fini, finis, finito. Get it? It’s over in any language!” …
The redhead grabbed her mug of beer, lifted it, and tossed it in Bru’s face. “Grow up!” she cried before storming out of the restaurant. (Chapter 14)
Giordano’s has been in its current location since 1943, is located a block from Circuit Ave, and serves beer, so it could conceivably be the pizza place Sharkey took Vix and Caitlin to.
They were closed, but we could still take a fun photo of our favorite redhead pretending to throw her beverage in your face:
Flying Horses
Von worked at the Flying Horses, which was supposed to be the oldest carousel in the country, one of those national treasures people on the Vineyard were always raving about. He collected tickets and fed the rings back into the machine as the carousel spun round and round. (Chapter 3)
“She calls her favorite horse Mudhead.” (Chapter 46)
Going Off-Book
Although we obviously made it our top priority to visit as many Summer Sisters locations as possible, there were two newer, non-book attractions that we fell totally in love with. We thought Vix and Caitlin would’ve adored them too.
Mermaid Farm Stand
A handsome chef that we met at Aquinnah recommended Mermaid Farm Stand. It’s unattended, open 24/7, and on the honor code — you can buy fresh, delicious lassi drinks and cheeses by noting your purchases in a spiral notebook and leaving money in the coffee can.
Island Folk Pottery’s Fairy Sculpture Trail
This was one of our favorite parts of our entire trip: Island Folk Pottery’s Fairy Sculpture Trail. It was on the way-ish to Aquinnah and Menemsha, down a twist of unpaved road. It opened in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic — a gentle, maybe half-hour walk in the woods. They had a box set up for donations, but it was free to enter and enjoy.
When Hannah first mentioned a pottery trail, I pictured a road lined with a bunch of terra cotta vases. But it was nothing like that — it was like Pan’s Labyrinth + Narnia, with sculptures, mirrors, and little cabinets to discover along the paths.
The artist is constantly changing things up, and it would be impossible to find everything with one visit. Everywhere you look, there’s a surprise.
We opened one of the doors to a cabinet and found the guest book! We could have easily missed it.
There was a little shop, where you could buy the creators’ ceramics.
Here was artist and sculptor Bill O’Callaghan:
Saying Goodbye
One night at dinner Lamb asked if she was having a good time. A good time? Vix couldn’t believe what a time she was having. It was the best time of her life! Sometimes she wished summer would never end. (Chapter 4)
All too soon, our time on the Vineyard did have to come to an end.
Lucky Hanks, a little restaurant in Edgartown, was one of our favorite places to eat on the island. We returned there for one last dinner.
The next morning we bade farewell to our house …
… and had one last view of Vineyard Haven when we boarded our ferry home.
What a dream of a week!
If you’ve read to the end here, you must be a considerable book nerd yourself. For this blog, Jenne and I have recreated dishes from fiction that we always wanted to try. Having gone one step further — traveling to be in the physical world of a story — I don’t think I can have a non-literary milestone birthday again. 50 shall be the Heidi Experience, and 60, the Anne of Green Gables Pilgrimage! And of course we’ll be eating all along the way.
Blume, Judy. Summer Sisters. 1998. Bantam Books, 2023.
36 Eggs 