Years ago, in 1996 if my memory serves me correctly, I was working in the remote village of King Cove, Alaska, and was pleasantly surprised to see the Auriga alongside the dock, a former freight boat from the Vineyard but now part of the fishing fleet in the North Pacific area. Having been raised in New England I recognized her immediately.

The sighting took me back many years, to my visits to Martha’s Vineyard, and I promptly wrote an essay about my memories and submitted it to the Vineyard Gazette, which graciously published the piece. In the essay I also thanked my parents for taking my daughter to the Island to share with them the mystical experience of a summer on the Vineyard.

I found myself in a similar position this year. No, I did not spot the Auriga again. Rather, I had the great fortune to ride the MV Island Home with my two sons Michael and Matthew. In the spring of this year a plan had been hatched to make the journey from where we live in Idaho to New Hampshire, where the boys’ grandmother lives. A short trip to the Vineyard was to be included.

As we sat in our rental car in the Woods Hole terminal, waiting in the ferry line, I vividly recalled family trips to the Island taken when I was a young boy. Once onboard, my sons and I walked together up on the top deck. Seeing the excitement in their eyes, it was as if I was looking at my younger self. As the Vineyard came into view, I pointed out landmarks to the boys, just as my father had once done for me.

Once off the ferry we parked and walked through town taking in all that we could in a short time span. We stopped to get lunch at a Main street restaurant and I found that the people on the Island were just as friendly and welcoming as they had been in the past.

The drive to Menemsha and Aquinnah was as beautiful as ever. We stopped at the lighthouse and looked at the cliffs, which time and the sea had changed since I first visited there.

We then drove to South Beach, where my family had spent a majority of our time and where I had once tumbled in the rough surf. The beach did not disappoint. The wind was blowing, the sand stinging and the surf very rough. I stood back and watched my boys play in the sand and surf making their own childhood memories.

In Edgartown we recognized several landmarks from a film that was made on the Island. We walked to Memorial Wharf and watched the On Time ferries make their rounds.

A final stop at the Black Dog in Vineyard Haven to get some pastries and a cup of coffee was the icing on the cake.

We were only able to spend eight hours on the Island but we took in so much during that short amount of time. In the ferry line, we sat in the car smiling and laughing together as we waited for the Island Home to return us to the mainland. I could see that my sons had been taken in by the lure of the Island and I knew that a new tradition had begun. As my parents had done for me, I had now done for them.

We stood on the top deck again, this time watching the Island shrink away into the sunset.

I would like to thank my mother, Lucille Lapinskas, as it was through her generosity and understanding that this trip was made possible. I know that she loves the Island and wanted so much for her grandchildren to share the experience. She will try to visit it on her 84th birthday at the end of October. The boys and I wish her a very happy birthday and want her to know her kindness is greatly appreciated. She, like the Vineyard, makes the world a better place.