By Colin Stoecker
Island Lingo is something that every washashore has to become accustomed to once they make the move to Martha’s Vineyard from the main land. Once you’ve made the move on-island, it may take a few days to mentally decompress, but you may never want to go back. Check out the towns of OB, Tisbury, Vineyard Haven (which used to be called “Homes Hole” by sailors and whale boat captains), and both Chops, East and West which can all be found down island—a bit more vibrant and touristy. Up island, may be quieter and more scenic with West Tisbury, Aquinnah, Gay Head, Chilmark and Menemsha for the best and freshest in island seafood.
And maybe even go off island all together if you make a day trip to Chappy or Chappaquiddick in Edgartown or Squibby, Squibnocket in Chilmark, without even sacrificing an ounce of that on-island mentality.
Considering this is the attitude held by many of the island natives, who live here year round contrary to popular belief, washashore is a nickname, and a somewhat endearing one at that, for non-island natives and vacationers looking for nothing more than to soak up some island sun. Everyone who is here has a special place for the Vineyard in their heart and can feel slight creeping pangs of the island way of life envelope any residual worries that they forgot to leave at the ferry back in Woods Hole.
But whether it be vacationing or living here year round, we just like to call it MV, and apparently Nantucket has nothing on the vibrant tourist population who are here for the four busiest months of the year and laid back island natives who really love this place and call it their “Island Home,” to borrow a name from the Woods Hole ferry.
So, go get your clothes washed at Washashore, also a local Laundromat in Oak Bluffs, and maybe even meet a washashore on your way over there from NYC who hasn’t yet become privy to island time and really thought that when you told them you would meet them at 2:15 pm you meant 2:15 pm and not 4:15 pm. It may even take you a while to comprehend that the hours of Skinny’s Fat Sandwiches are 8am-till…
It’s a mentality that our fellow watch wearing friends from off-island cannot seem to comprehend, when things will eventually get done, meetings will be met, articles written, and people who need to be interviewed just tell you to stop by sometime this afternoon.
And you will be able to pick out anyone who isn’t a native islander by the way that they mention Oaks Bluff in a sentence when really they meant to say Oak Bluffs—like the tree, with bluff on the end, and really they just mean OB.
