Edgartown in the rain

Since I managed to get everything set up in my room after I got in last night, I had planned to spend the day sight-seeing and looking for an interesting part-time job, since the prices here are, as you might suspect, a bit steep: I bought a Lobster Roll for lunch, a sandwich consisting of lobster salad on a lettuce leaf, rolled inside a bun -- it was $13.95. (And it came with nothing more than a skimpy bag of potato chips; I mean, it was delicious, but still...)

But the weather was not entirely cooperative. I awakened to overcast skies and light rain, which was not what I was hoping for. While it wasn't a storm by any stretch of the imagination, it was not exactly conducive to a leisurely stroll. I waited a couple of hours to see if it might let up; it seemed like rather non-committal rain and I thought maybe it would roll away eventually. No such luck. Like that chirping cricket that hides in your room and keeps you awake all night with its persistent chirp, this shower was not going to disappear. And, I decided, it was not going to keep me at home.

So I got in the car and headed for Edgartown, one of the island's several mini-cities. It's a charming place, with glorious old New England architecture. It seemed as if there was white paint everywhere I turned. Finding a parking space was only moderately difficult -- I have been warned that that's not going to be the case in a few weeks -- and soon I was wandering through the narrow streets, which seemed to be full of boutiques, ice cream parlors and sandwich shops. If you go hungry here, it's because of lack of money, not lack of restaurants. I had lunch at Edgartown Deli: a fish sandwich with fries and some hot tea. It was $11.95, which seemed a little steep for the portions served, even though the sandwich was quite good.

Then I started looking around for "help wanted" signs. There was one in an ice cream shop, although I didn't go in. There wasn't one at the library, but I stopped in to see if there were any openings: no luck. The librarian did, however, point me to the classifieds in one of the local papers ("There's loads of stuff in there," she promised, although her idea of "loads" is somewhat grander than mine, apparently). I saw an ad for counselors at a youth arts camp, which sounded like it would be fun, so I called the number and left a message.

Meandering around the town I discovered the local cinema, which is quite unlike the megaplexes most of us visit. It's got a grand total of two screens, for one thing, and even though it is playing many of the newest titles, you can't always see them whenever you want. I could, for example, see "Up" and "The Hangover" on Friday, but if I had wanted to check out "The Hangover" on Saturday night -- and what better night to see it? -- I would have been faced with a choice between "Angels and Demons" or "Land of the Lost" instead. "Up" would still be playing at matinees on Saturday, although on Sunday it would be off the schedule in favor of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian." But "The Hangover" would be back on Sunday, as they so often are in life, wouldn't you say? The theater runs something similar to a repertory schedule, which means if you want to see a particular movie you'd better do some pre-planning.

On the way out of town, I stopped at Aboveground Records, which is an amazing little independent music store with a dazzling selection of CDs (used and new), vinyl, DVDs and even a few cassettes in one corner. It also handles audio accessories, so I was able to buy some blank CDs and a snug little protective cover for my new iPod. Aboveground reminded me so much of Repeat the Beat in Royal Oak, where I worked for two years and I thought I'd ask for an application in the hopes of maybe landing a job. Unfortunately, the manager said they're filled up and I should check back in a month or so. Disappointment! But, ever the optimist, I will stop back, hopeful.