" Behind me, the harbor of Oak Bluffs right now is quite empty, but in another month or two, all of those moorings and yacht slips will be wall-to-wall pleasure crafts: sailboats, fishing boats; you name it. And many of the people will start arriving. Some won't stay on their boats. They might stay over there at the Wesley Hotel, which has an interesting history. It was built 113 years ago by a Portuguese immigrant who changed his name to Wesley, thinking it would be good for business. There were a lot of Methodists that came here back then. Well, the Wesley Hotel didn't do that well the first few years and so, the man burnt it to the ground. Of course, he was sent to jail for arson. Another family by the name of Chase bought the place and ran it successfully, and when the original owner got out of jail, they hired him to be the chef. Well, the hotel is opening in another month or so. It does a seasonal business, and it's owned by a family now that picked it up 6 years ago and has totally renovated it. It sits right on the edge of what were the Methodists' campgrounds where the Methodist started coming back in the 1840s or so for a couple of months of religious retreat, pitching tents and having meetings here. Now, as time went by, the tents gave way to the whimsical cottages such as these that you see behind me, which still exists and obviously, they're wonderful Victorian cottages with the gingerbread and the turned posts and the bracket and all of the trim that we think of as being Victorian. This one was built in 1867; the next one, 1878. And of course, what gives them such wonderful character is that they really still have the Victorian color schemes, sometimes using as many as 6 or 8 different colors to decorate these little houses. We're gonna go around the corner now and visit a local real estate broker, Alan Schweikert, who's gonna help us find one. Come on. Have you got a map that we could just look at briefly?"

" Yes, I do. Right over here."

" There we go."

" Come on over."

" We've come in on Vineyard Haven."

" Right, you came in on Vineyard Haven."

" Yeah."

" There's West Chop, East Chop, and then you went along the beach road over to Oak Bluffs to the center,"

" Uh-hmm."

" and here's Circuit Avenue. You came right down the commercial section of Oak Bluffs at Circuit Avenue, and this is where Ocean Park Realty is."

" And this is all Vineyard Town, so this the side of the island that faces the mainland?"

" That's correct."

" What's the coast like along here?"

" The coast along here, there's some beautiful beaches. There are a lot of rocks. The water is very calm, so there're no waves."

" Uh-hmm."

" And there're some high cliffs and a lot of nice retreat areas. It's very pretty. It's very pretty especially with the sunsets."

" Yeah. And now the famous cliffs and the clay formations are down here."

" Gay Head cliffs right here, one of our popular tourist attractions."

" And what's the beach like on this side of the island?"

" This side of the island is all South Beach, and it's a beautiful white beach and that's where the Atlantic Ocean is. It's a thundering surf where the surfers go, and it's probably the most desirable beach on the island."

" But the water is a little cold on that side, I presume?"

" A little cold, but with the gulf stream, it's not that bad."

" Yeah, and then of course, Chappaquiddick is a separate little island over here at this end."

" That's correct."

" Good. So where are you gonna take us to look at real estate? "

" Well, I've got a few things we should go see. I have one over in Eastville and then we can go over to East Chop. I have another house over there. And then we'll come back in to town. There's a pretty French Victorian we can take a look at."

" Could we start by looking at the heart of the Campground?"

" That's a great idea. We can go right to the Tabernacle and start there."

" Great. So it's really a huge metal shed. A big circular shed, right?"

" That's correct. In fact, all that architectural detail and the ironwork and the stained glass was the reason that it won an architectural award in 1879 when it was erected."

" Fantastic. So the stained glass is also original to the shed?"

" Absolutely."

" Is it used much?"

" Yes, it is. In fact, during the summer, not only are there religious ceremonies being held here, but also they have concerts. In fact, a couple of years ago, there was a James Taylor concert here and it was extremely popular."

" Really? Now, Alan, this roofing, this corrugated roofing does not look old to me. It looks like it's pressed asbestos."

" Yes, it is. That's something that's been replaced. Originally, they were pine boards."

" Boards?"

" Yes."

" Probably blew away in a hurricane, huh?"

" Probably did or just rotted away."

" And then what happened was that the original campground tents became permanent structures. They replaced them with all these wonderful camps or cabins."

" Yes, that's correct."

" What is the story on ownership here? Can you buy one? Do they come up for sale?"

" Yes, you can buy one. It's most unusual however because the Camp Meeting Association owns title to all the land, all the real estate. The houses, the cottages are considered personal property."

" So, if you buy one, you're just buying the house and not the land it sits on?"

" That's correct. You buy a house and you get a year-to-year lease."

" Well, they're cute little cottages, but how can you get financing if you're not buying the land?"

" It's almost impossible. I've never seen a bank do any financing here. It's usually owner who take that financing."