At Play
Pg 50 - DESTINATION: NANTUCKET
Our writer revisits her past at this elegant New England waterfront inn.
By Juliet Heeg
It was that rare Nantucket day. Almost hot, breezy, seductively sunny. I was en route to The Wauwinet-known simply as An Inn by the Sea. Nantucket's only property to be awarded membership in the prestigious Relais & Chateaux association, The Wauwinet is also the only inn situated between both the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Bay. It offers big waves and gentle waters on its two private beaches and an otherworldly view from the backyard of the inn. A swath of green lawn and sparkling bay is punctuated by pristine white wicker chairs and aproned waiters. Like a Christo art installation, the landscape of sand, sea, sun, and sky was beautifully articulated.
Along with the other guests, I embraced the glorious day with double-digit SPF lotions as I nodded off among lightly thumbed books. For me, the occasion marked my return to an island where I had worked over 25 summers ago as a shy receptionist at the Nantucket Yacht Club. While I was not a sailor, a surfer, nor a sunner, that didn't keep yachtsmen from trying to reform me. I recall a jaunty bronze club member exhorting me to get a tan, as he likened the pallor of my skin to "the underbelly of a fish." While back then I was certainly a fish out of water, at least I was a fish on a bicycle. Nearly every day near sunset, I would tour the island on my trusty ten-speed, usually heading east or west to the shores of Madaket or 'Sconset. Yet, somehow I never made it as far north to The Wauwinet. With rows of mountain bikes braced outside the inn, now was my chance to complete the tour. While duty called, leisure was the order of the day. A bite to eat, followed by a soothing treatment at the newly opened Spa by the Sea.
Every meal at Topper's, the property's restaurant, was stunning. The dining room was invitingly formal-not the laidback-chic of the guest rooms. The cuisine accented local ingredients and superbly prepared sea fare, and the voluminous award-winning wine list offered several organic wines. But breakfast served by the garden was my favorite repast. Perfectly prepared egg dishes and creative bread baskets served on the deck, complete with heat lamps and shawls-lest one anticipate a slight chill. Along these lines, complimentary port and hearty cheese were served in the late afternoon-as if in homage to the frigid whaling days of yore. This preoccupation with warmth was not limited to such offerings-glowing hospitality permeated The Wauwinet and its neighboring Spa by the Sea.
Once fortified by breakfast, I faced a difficult decision: Which spa experience? Cranberry Crush Body Treatment, Nantucket Cobblestone Massage, Atlantic Seaweed Wrap, or the Ultimate Caviar Facial? I opted for the Spa by the Sea Custom Facial and was only disappointed by the lightness of the extractions and the relative chattiness of the esthetician-although the whirring ocean sounds helped on that front. The spa itself was bathed in a spray of white, as though a languorous fog had rolled in-candles, seashells, hydrangea-all part of this evocative mist. As the day was drawing to a close, my date with a bicycle was upon me. I left abruptly, breaking the spell, at least until tomorrow.
Eagerly I pedaled down the dirt road, inhaling the honeysuckled air, waiting for my Nantucket past to cross my path. Coasting by the wildlife sanctuary, I felt my own wings as I connected with the thrill of flying through time and space with a deep sense of calm and balance. I looked at my legs, no longer as white as they used to be. My face was no longer so young. And my spirit was no longer so delicate.
As the sun set, I knew while some things had changed, others had not. I would never belong to Nantucket, not because I didn't sail or surf, but because the proverbial Grey Lady belonged to herself. While her shores were receding, she had been wonderfully and powerfully preserved-still offering a profound experience with nature. One could partake of her magic, but it was not simply for the taking. As I coasted down the hill, I thought of that T.S. Eliot saying, " at the end of our journey will be to arrive where we started and know it for the first time." To The Wauwinet-I thank you for a very happy return.
www.wauwinet.com
Juliet Heeg, LCSW, is a practicing psychoanalyst and writer in New York City. A former contributing editor for ShrinkRap, the publication of The Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center, she has written for Organic Spa on the therapeutic effects of the spa experience.