Just Made It

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Our plan today was to take to ferry from Nova Scotia to PEI. Getting to PEI costs nothing if you drive over the bridge or if you take the ferry without making a reservation (it's when you want to go home that they cash in). The day began with a two hour drive to the ferry terminal. We arrived almost an hour and a half before the 11:15 departure. At the gate, when we pulled in, an attendant told us that we might not make the 11:15 because of a high number of reservations (people willing to pay $75 per vehicle naturally take precedence). We decided to take our chances. And pulled into the line as instructed. At 11 o'clock we watched the line of cars with reservations file into the ferry. We watched the campers and the tractor-trailers. We watched the ferry settle a little lower in the water. The line of first come-first-served cars beside us filed slowly on as well. Some cars were directed to the top deck, some to the bottom. And still we waited. We were sure they were done loading. Afterall, they'd already oackedore vehicles in than we had imagined possible. Then they started on our lane. They waves two cars through and signaled the next to stop. Then two more cars. Each pause was progressively longer as the various employees conferred via two way radio. The car in front of us was motioned forward and we were asked to halt. Then we were beckoned forward and directed to the top deck. We were the last vehicle and we were squished in so tightly we could only exit the vehicle from one side. If you look closely at the photo you can see me sitting on the gate at the back of the ferry deck. The vehicle you see was our mode of transportation for the day. It was so close that the pins holding the gate shut were resting a good 6 inches behind the hollows where they usually rest. We only just missed having to wait for another 2 hours.