Spending your energy

So that was my challenge: designing a trip to Nantucket for the person who can’t sit still. It wasn’t easy. Most of Nantucket’s attractions are designed for vacationers who are desperate to unwind. Even the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce had a tough time helping me. When I asked staffers about places someone with a short attention span should visit, their recommendations included walking tours and collecting shells.

The thought of collecting shells made me groan. But their suggestion to go surfing was more on target. They told me to look into Nantucket sUrfari, which is run by Nicole del Rosario and her husband, Christian.

After hearing about my lack of patience, Nicole suggested I check out their most popular class, stand-up paddling. “All the stars are doing it,’’ she told me, as I watched Christian instruct three young women in wetsuits as they paddled along the shoreline, exploring creeks and coves. I could hear their giggles as one of them tipped over and the others hunched toward their boards trying to fight the wind.

After the paddling, Nicole drove me past the Nantucket Atheneum, which she said was the best place for someone (like me) who needs a good wireless connection even on vacation. The free Internet is available outside the building 24 hours a day. Then she brought me to the main retail district. The easily bored can skip the quiet galleries on the main drag and stop by Jack Wills, a retail shop with the look of trendy London. The preppy floral dresses and designer denim were not cheap, but the store was lively with a crowd that reminded me of the cast of “The O.C.’’ Very good for the short-at tention-span folks.