Slow Boat

It is that time of year on Mackinac again - time for the slow boat. Mind you, I'm not complaining. Despite the fact that the slow boat take 45 minutes to get to the island (compared to the 20 minute ride we've enjoyed all summer), it's still a boat and a connection to the mainland that I appreciate. I can't imagine what it would be like living on an island without a ferry boat. I mean how would I get my Christmas tree? OK, we use an artificial tree (my husband's idea) but everything we use, wear, eat, play with etc. has to make the five mile trip across the straits to the island.

That's my friend Stephanie, she just moved to the island a few months ago and is still learning "the ropes" of island life. Today's lesson: buying your Christmas tree. The island school sells them as a fundraiser, so all you have to do is get the tree from town to your house (perhaps a mile or two.) If you bought the tree on the mainland you would have to: buy the tree, pack it into the car, unpack it from the car, load it onto a cart to go onto the boat, unload it from the cart once it's on the island, and then load it into your bike cart to haul home. Phew - just thinking about it makes me tired. You might think the trees are considerably more expensive on the island, but they really aren't. Lots of things are more expensive here since the shop owner has the extra expense of the boat line and the dray line. Milk, for instance, is $2.39 at Wal-mart and $4.99 at the island store. But, when you factor in the cost of the boat, and the driving time to get to the store, $4.99 isn't really so bad.

Stephanie's next lesson: using the dray line...