Floriana

We just heard that tonight the Presidential Debate will be presented at the Nantucket Library, also called the Atheneum. Claudio and I want to go and listen. But today we are renting a Jeep and going across the island to Madaket Beach and to have lunch at Millie’s.

Renting the jeep was no problem on Turo. I highly recommend using this method of renting cars as an alternative to using the big corporations like Avis, Budget, etc. Turo.com is like the AirBnB of car rental. The vehicles are all privately owned, they are all late models (but you can find older, dependable, less expensive alternatives), all come with complete insurance coverage and non-smoking cars….but I find that the best part of renting a car through Turo is that they bring the car to you and pick it up from you. So at the airport for example, they are waiting outside the arrivals terminal to give you the keys! In Nantucket, the car’s owner left it at the Stop-N-Shop parking lot with the keys in the cup holder….no problems! Nice and easy.

So we began to drive around Nantucket using the phone’s navigation. We soon discovered that, on an island like Nantucket, GPS only goes so far…and we got lost…REALLY lost!

After following the navigation “short cut”, we finally arrived at Madaket Beach.

But Millie’s was closed…bummer.

We spent the rest of the day roaming around and managed not to get lost again. We had to get back for tonight’s debate.

Later that afternoon, we took an ice cream break in front of the library.

The debate that evening was an experience for both myself and Claudio. It was a moment of pure Americana….the way it used to be. People strolled into the library and found chairs set up on the second floor. The volunteers had also set up a table with hot coffee and hot teas. Everyone knew each other and Claudio and I were welcomed to sit among them….and not alone in a corner. Hot popcorn was also served and Political Topics Bingo was played. The volunteers gave out prizes and cheers for the winners. Citizens growled when they didn’t agree and clapped when they did. Laughter was abundant and we both felt like we belonged there. Thank you Nantucket for that moment of pure American spirit and hospitality!