Simple Pleasures (2)
The ferry. We have to take a ferry to our cottage. I’ll provide pictures in an upcoming Simple Pleasures post.
Against my inclination, I’ll start with the negatives of the ferry first – it’s time-consuming. The times you want to get on, or off, the island are the same times EVERYBODY ELSE wants to get on, or off, the island. Line-ups can be long. Line etiquette is not always observed (police have been called, but that’s another story).
For people who live in the island all the time (like my parents) appointments, reservations, meetings, etc. on the mainland must be planned around the ferry schedule, and always with the caveat “Unless there’s an ambulance run.” Because, if somebody needs an ambulance, that person gets the whole darned ferry turned around for them, and the schedule is out the window. As it should be … but it can wreak havoc on the plans of people in line.
While we’re talking about ambulances and medical needs, etc. the ferry is interesting if you’re pregnant. Babies have been born on the ferry.
We planned our wedding around the ferry. We had to tell guests which ferry to get, and we had to impress upon them that this was a firm deadline. There would be a school bus at the dock to meet them, if they caught the right ferry. They would see our ceremony, if they caught the right ferry. If they didn’t catch the right ferry, we’d be saying “I do” while they stood at the terminal on the mainland.
But I love the ferry.
If someone offered me a bridge tomorrow I’d be so torn. And that’s all I’m going to say on that because the bridge / no bridge conversation is a long-standing debate and one that heats up very quickly.
When I post my ferry pictures later on, I think you’ll see why I love the ferry, but what they won’t show you is the ferry culture. The cool, background stuff that goes on.
The bulletin boards are part of this. I love the ferry bulletin boards. They advertise everything you can imagine. From the extended opening hours for the dump, to dragon boat racing every Friday, to the Blessing of the Bikes ceremony in the Catholic Church parking lot. And, every now and then, there’s a great sign on the bulletin board. Like this one. I had to take a picture for you:
Isn’t that great? For those of you wondering, “swather” isn’t a misprint. This is a swather. But it just begs for the edit, doesn’t it?
I hope this guy found his swather.
