Movin' On - Ferry living

It's part of the territory. If you live on an island, you take ferries all the time.
There's a lot of difference between taking a big ferry and taking a little ferry. A ton of difference.
Follow the signs to the little ferry, and eventually you find yourself in a lineup of cars, trucks, vans, semi's, everything. Lots of doors are open, people are wandering up and down the road looking for a coffee, getting some exercise, checkin' the lay of the land.
"Hey, do you think we'll get on? How many units can this ferry take?"
"Ya know - it seems to me it always takes more than it looks like it will take. You'll be surprised".
Sometimes, there's a little parking lot where you line up. And there might be a frisbee game going on. Or a group of boys doing soccer moves with a tiny ball instead of a soccer ball, showing off their shoulder shots, knee shots, back of the foot shots. The girls all hang together and giggle and screech and chase each other, their hair whirling about them, and their flip flops trying to keep up with frantic dashes to nowhere.
After we board the ferry, we're lined up so tight, the side mirrors have to be turned in so people can get past.
The big ferry journey is all business. Huge departure lots, huge ferries.
"Thank you, sir. You'll be in line 47".
Once again, windows go down, newspapers appear, the whole family heads for the coffee shop or the lunch shop, or the handicraft place that sells earrings and key rings, picture holders and ceramic mugs. Conversations develop over dogs, politics, taxes, and Obama. The vehicle lines get filled up, new lines start and when the huge ferry appears, everyone slowly heads back to their car. Loading is precise. A casual wave of a hand is enough - somehow everyone knows where they should go. It's a testament to the human spirit that we have managed to do this so well with so few mix-ups.
We park, we lock the car, head for the decks upstairs and if the weather is fine, we line up on the railing and soak up the lush scenes before us. If a large fish dispsy doodles for a nano second, the gasps of delight are just as much fun as the spectacle. We are prisoners of sorts here on this huge vessel, but we're laid back and ready for a sail on the open seas.
Children have invaded travel these days. They are everywhere. Shouting, laughing, bouncing, whining - same as us, really - but they do it all so much better. And if you're able to just sit and watch the shenanigans as they develop, even more fun.
Yes, it's part of the territory. If you're gonna live on an island, get the Ferry Schedule on the frig right now!