islanders

Dan and I are halfway through our two week stay on Martha's Vineyard, and although I've had way more work than I had anticipated (and it's been mentally a little harder than I had expected to just appreciate the view while tethered to my computer ), we've really been enjoying the island in bloom and the quiet getaway. Mom and Dad were here for Memorial Day weekend, which was really fun, and we have discovered the Art Cliff Diner for breakfast (apparently Mom and Dad knew about it all along but kept taking us to Black Dog for tradition's sake - we're outraged!). This week, we watched a fantastic sunset at Menemsha, took a sunset stroll at Gay Head, and have been kayaking in the lagoon (TONS of jellyfish - yikes!). Today, it's been stormy, and since I still had work to do, we camped out at the Black Dog bakery for a few hours to try to help me forget that I'm working on a Saturday on my pseudo-vacation. They've transformed it into this great coffee shop, with a bit more space to spread out than Beetlebung.

On an unrelated note, I somehow managed to lose my great little digital camera on my last trip to DC (either fell or was taken out of the zip pocket on my rolling suitcase), but the upshot was that I quickly did as our government wanted me to do and spent my economic stimulus act money on stimulating the economy by purchasing something I didn't really need (but wanted): an SLR digital camera. I got the Canon XTi Digital Rebel and instead of the kit lens bought a f1.8/50 mm lens, which I have been loving (although I am such a novice I'm sure I would love anything...). I've been playing around with it this trip, and trying to teach myself how to adjust all of the settings. Still lots and lots to learn, but I'm excited.