Nantucket

I have been wanting to visit Nantucket for years!  Ryan and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary last weekend on the island and lets just say we will definitely be going back!  Every single detail on the island is perfection...the airport is the smallest cutest thing ever.

 We stayed at 76 Main and it was the perfect mix of charm and style.  When we were checking in the receptionist asked us if it was our first time on Nantucket and when we said yes she just smiled and said she wished she could go back to her first visit and how she felt.  At first I thought she was crazy, but now I totally understand what she means.

 The first thing we did after unpacking was head down to the water and have lunch at Cru.  Rose, lobster, oysters and french fries is the best way to start a vacation!

After lunch we did some shopping around town.  I mostly just wanted a Peter Beaton hat so we checked that off the list right away.  They have tons of different styles and then they customize the size to your head.  From there you can chose ribbons or accessories to personalize your hat.  When you leave they put your hat in the cutest hat box to take home.

 Murrays had the biggest selection of "nantucket red" clothing.

 There was shop after shop of the cutest little beach stores!

 For dinner the first night we ate at Straight Wharf.  I had the most amazing lobster ever!  Who knew Nantucket had such good food???

 I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to find good gluten free options on the island, but that was not at all the case!  Our Inn had complimentary breakfast that we ate the first morning.  I was shocked that everything except the toast was gluten free!  Scones, apricot breakfast cake, granola, and oatmeal all gf!

 After stuffing ourselves we headed to the Madaket Marina to go fishing for the day.  We stayed close to shore for the most part which was so fun because you could see all the beautiful grey shingle houses along the coast line.  The fishing did not disappoint either.  We caught tons of blue fish!

Our guide even helped Ryan do some fly fishing.  

 We kept these two fish to take to a local artist we met the day before.  We commissioned him to do a custom art piece for us using these fish.

 We were starving by the time we finished fishing so we ate at Millie's.

 Then we changed clothes and biked to Cisco Brewery for beers and live music.

That night we ate at Galley beach.  There is something magical about Galley beach.  We really lucked out with the weather and timing of sunset too.  We walked in right behind Bill Belichick!  The sun was setting and it was all just picture perfect.

After a late night out we slept in and ate breakfast at Black-Eyed Susans.

I loved seeing the Peter Beaton car parked all over town throughout the weekend, full of their hat boxes of course!

 The cobblestone streets are so charming (although not easy to bike on haha).

 A local gave us a good tip with the popular ice cream place called Juice Bar.  There are lines wrapped around the block so they told us to go before the lunch crowd. We got ice cream each day around 10:45/11 and completely avoided the lines.  I have to say I would wait in line for this ice cream because it was really that good!

 We went back to the Inn and put on our bathing suits and then stopped at Something Natural for some lobster salad and headed to the beach!

 I could eat lobster salad on the beach every single day!  I was nervous the water would be too cold to get in, but it actually felt great and we both got in and swam for a bit.

 I can't put into words how gorgeous all the flowers are on the island.  Every house is grey shingle siding and lined with colorful flowers.  This was a driveway we drove past....seriously stunning!

Ryan loved all the old school cars around town and the wood grain details on the boats lining the harbor.

 After a long day on the beach and miles of biking we stopped for a cocktail.

 For dinner on night 3 we had pre-dinner drinks at the White Elephant and then took a boat to Toppers Restaurant.

 The boat ride from White Elephant to Toppers was about 45 min and they gave us champagne and we just took in the island views.

 The staff heard it was our anniversary and made us feel so welcome and special.

 This may be the nicest restaurant and best food either of us has ever experienced.  The favorite of the night was "the egg" as our waiter called it.  It was this creamy grits dish with mushrooms a poached egg and tons of shaved truffles....to.die.for!

 Our special dessert!

 We watched the sun set after dinner on our boat ride back.

Sunday morning we biked to the Green for breakfast.  To my surprise they too had a ton of gf options.  I ended up ordering the breakfast burrito and this cheddar scallion scone that I am still dreaming about!

Here is Pete's store.  He was the local artist we met on the first day who worked tirelessly while we were there to create our custom fish art piece.  We went to see him Sunday morning to finalize some of the details.  Can't wait to have this hanging up in our house soon!

We really just biked around and walked the beach and relaxed the last day.  It was the typical grey Nantucket day.

 We grabbed lunch at Provisions and ate it on a picnic table overlooking the marina before packing up and heading to the airport.

On the airplane ride home Ryan asked me when we were going back.  I told him soon and next time we will stay longer and we will be bringing the kids!  I am officially in love with the Grey Lady!