Another summer, another week on Martha’s Vineyard—although this year came with a little more rain than usual.

We’re typically lucky enough to get only one rainy day, but this trip brought three less-than-sunny days, including two days of pouring rain.

We’d already had a busy summer of travel beginning just after Mother’s Day, so the slower pace was honestly welcome.

So, how did we spend our week on the island?

We Read and Visited Bookstores

Edgartown Books is our usual stop, but we also visited Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven. They even have a tuxedo store cat named Bookmark.

I mean, look at this little loaf.

We both left with new books, too. Chris bought a book about tides, and I found a Martha’s Vineyard book for my friend’s baby.

We Embraced Two Rainy Days

It poured for two straight days. And when I say poured, I mean POURED.

On the first rainy day, we explored Vineyard Haven, popped into some shops, grabbed a bite at the Black Dog Tavern, and did our best to enjoy a slower start to vacation.

But day two brought torrential downpours, and what did we do?

We stayed in the house and watched Mad Men and the World Cup all day.

And to be honest? It was glorious.

We Enjoyed Three Beach Days

We were still able to visit three of our favorite beaches during the week: South Beach in Katama on day one, State Beach on day four, and Moshup Beach on day five.

State Beach was the winner this time around. It was a windy day, so we chose to sit on the pond side rather than the ocean side. State Beach remains one of my favorites, and the wind ended up making the day even more entertaining because there were so many windsurfers out on the water.

It gave us something to watch while we relaxed—and made sitting on the quieter side of the beach feel like the perfect choice.

We Caught a South Beach Sunset

Menemsha may get most of the sunset hype, but South Beach in Katama is still my favorite place to watch the sun go down.

There’s something about being surrounded by the dunes, the ocean, and that wide-open stretch of sky that makes it feel especially peaceful.

We Ate Açaí Bowls at Among the Flowers

We’ve been on a big açaí bowl kick lately, and when I tell you this was actually the best meal I had on vacation, I’m not lying.

I could have eaten this for every meal, every day we were there.

The fruit, granola, coconut, and giant scoop of Nutella made it the perfect vacation breakfast. I’m still thinking about it.

We Walked and Explored the Island

One of our favorite things to do, and something that never gets old, is spend a day walking around town and exploring all of the different side streets.

Edgartown is my favorite place on the island to walk. Everything feels so proper and elegant, from the historic homes and white fences to the hydrangeas spilling into perfectly manicured yards.

It also makes it very easy to daydream about having a house of your own.

We always end up playing the same game: Which house would we choose if we suddenly had millions of dollars?

I’m pretty sure it’s a game universally played by everyone while on vacation. You walk past a beautiful home, point to it, and confidently announce that this would be the one. As though the only thing standing between you and the front door is deciding whether you prefer the house with the hydrangeas or the one overlooking the water.

Even with the rainy weather, this ended up being exactly the kind of Vineyard week we needed. Slow mornings, good books, beach days, long walks, and nowhere we had to be. It may not have been our sunniest trip to the island, but it was still a great vacation.