Nantucket in November, When the Harbor Belongs to the Gulls
By November the summer people have gone back across the sound, and Nantucket exhales. The ferries run a thinner schedule, plenty of shops downtown have papered their windows until spring, and the cobblestones, slick with rain, carry mostly locals and dog walkers. The grey shingles look greyer. This is the point.
What remains is light. A harbor sunrise in late autumn comes slow and low, pewter turning to rose over the moored boats. If you are staying somewhere like the two-bedroom listed as Waterfront, Town Historic District, Stunning Harbor Sunrises, Magical Sunsets, you will watch it from the window with coffee before anyone else is awake. Pack a real coat; the wind off the water has opinions.
When you arrive, drop your bags, walk to the end of the wharf, and stand there until the cold sends you looking for a bowl of chowder. Then see the full guide.
