Nantucket: An island paradise where time stands still

Nantucket's cozy harbor is peppered with weathered-shingled cottages, wharves and storefronts. (Rochester Voice photos)

NANTUCKET, Mass. - You don't as much visit Nantucket as you just go there and let the ambiance of this charming, charismatic island poke its way into your soul the way ocean waves lap up against its shore.

And while some native islanders grow up and leave for East Coast cities like Boston and New York many find the allure of their seaside home too strong a bond to ignore, like seventh-generation Nantucketer Lacey Larivee.

Larivee left for a year of college in Florida, thinking she'd never return.

Nantucket native Lacey Larivee stands in front of the surf shop she runs with her brother. Larivee spent a year in Florida, but now she says she's home to stay.

"I wanted to go down there and live, but it wasn't my cup of tea," she admitted while tidying up the grounds around her brother's surf shop situated on the cobblestone streets of Nantucket's historic downtown.

"I feel at home here," she said shrugging her shoulders. "I feel safe, I mean we're here on an island, protected by the ocean."

Another thing she likes about her island home is that everything is kept up so nicely, from the cobblestone streets and sidewalks downtown, to the eschewal of all things franchisey. No McDonald's, no Burger King.

And last week the island was alive with the homes and mansions of the rich and famous preparing to return to their summer escapes. From Patriots Coach Bill Belichick to Ben Stiller to Ron Howard to Woody Allen, celebs are turning up more at Nantucket than Martha's Vineyard, the island's western and larger neighbor.

The average price of a home on Nantucket is more than $2 million, with two-bedroom bungalows with no waterview and postage stamp lots going for $600,000.

A look up Main Street's cobblestone way, complete with flower pot lane divider.

We spent most of our time in the downtown, with its quaint gray cobblestone streets and red cobblestone sidewalks, which bubble up around trees and elsewhere.

Some say it's due to the sand and shifting soils. Locals call it "island charm." Whichever it is, pay attention when walking these historic streets and alleyways.

And if you're looking for the authentic Nantucket getaway, you'll be walking a lot.

With scores of high-end boutiques and shops and dozens of restaurants and bars, the historic downtown and surrounding neighborhoods will take a full day to take in.

Just a couple of minute walk from where the ferries from Hyannis and Woods Hole dock is the Nantucket Whaling Museum, which is a perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon.

As you can see, a typical sperm whale dwarfed a whaleboat sent out to conquer it.

The museum features an authentic replica of a whaling boat used in 19^th century whale hunts and the full skeleton of a sperm whale, which were valued for their oil to light lamps and their ambergris used to make perfume.

Two live demonstrations you don't want to miss at the museum are "Life on a Whaling Ship" and the "Essex Gam" which features an oral history accounting of what happened on the Essex, whose tragic sinking at sea by a sperm whale helped to inspire Herman Melville's Moby Dick.

The island, itself, is basically a thin spit of land as much as three miles wide and 14 miles east to west.

While there are taxis on the island and a tour bus operator who will you drive you around for an hour or so for $35 a pop, we chose to take a Nantucket Transit Authority Bus the 10 miles out to Siasconset (pronounced Sconset) at the eastern end of the island, said to be the farthest point east in the United States.

A path through sand dunes leads to Brant Point Lighthouse at the entrance to Nantucket harbor.

Siasconset is perhaps the most rarified, tony spot of this island and a neighborhood where Coach Belichick owns a home and several other properties.

During the bus ride, out driver, a sweet lady named Dahlia, pointed out landmarks and added you don't see many of the mansions because they are usually hidden behind groves of trees.

Once we arrived at Siasconset a man approached the bus and offered an hourlong walking tour while the bus made a loop back to town and back. We wished we'd taken it, but we were bushed from hours of walking downtown.

And after a hard day of walking there is nothing better than a couple of cold beers and a burger. Our first night we ate at the Brotherhood of Thieves conveniently located about a 30-second walk from the Greydon House, or GH, where we stayed.

Flower pot boots line the storefront window of a Nantucket gift shop.

While dinners can be a little pricy on the island, there's always Stubbys when you're running low.Martha also enjoyed what she termed the "best Old-Fashion ever" made by adroit mixologist and all round good guy Mike Frakes.Count on domestic beer costing around $5 on the island. For food, we shared a California Burger on gluten free bun, made with avocado puree, pea shoots, fried onions and jack cheese for $17. It was, as they say, indescribably delicious, and plenty for two!

Located down near the main wharf, Stubbys serves up Jamaican jerk chicken or pork with rice and tomatoes for about $12, and it, too, fed us both. When we went in just before noon one day there was no waiting. But less than a minute later, the place had a line out to the street. Like they say, everything is timing.

Many island homes come inscribed with clever idioms.

Speaking of Jamaica the island is teeming with super friendly Jamaicans, who make up a large part of hotel and restaurant service workers as well as the overall island workforce.

In fact, as we were walking on one of the side streets a young Jamaican man with a pickup truck and a toothy grin stopped to give us his card and let us know to call him if we ever needed our windows washed.

After our long walk and bus ride on Tuesday we stopped at Charlie Noble, a bright and sunny downtown bar with open beams and oversize windows that featured a Tuesday Taco special: three salmon tacos for $12. Hard to refuse.

On his day off and a bit of a busman's holiday, barkeep Frakes was in having cocktails with friends.

"You left your hat at the bar," he told me.

"Can I go get it tonight?"

"No," he said, "We're closed. Come get it tomorrow."

"We leave in the morning," I replied

"Just wait here, I'll go get it," he said without hesitation.

So we had another drink and had one waiting for him when he got back.

That's Nantucket in a nutshell.

Tomorrow, we will feature a story on the Greydon House, a Nantucket boutique hotel that is an architectural jewel incorporating both new and old in stunning style.