Category: Island
-
Valentia Island Car Ferry
Crossing Portmagee Channel: Knightstown, Valentia Island to Reenard Point, Cahersiveen (July 2014) There were two ways to cross between the Irish mainland and Valentia Island, one was a car ferry on the northeast corner of Valentia and the other was a bridge from Portmagee on the southern end. Naturally we took the ferry although most…
-
Vinalhaven Ferry
A Journey Across Maine’s Penobscot Bay (August 2009) Ferries operated by the Maine Department of Transportation provide service from Rockland (map) on the mainland to Vinalhaven Island (map), twelve miles out to sea in Penobscot Bay. Start the journey by reviewing this video and then discover greater details below. Some History A pedestrian ride on…
-
Tangier Island Ferry
Reedville to Tangier, Virginia (June 2000) We drove down the spine of Virginia’s scenic Northern Neck, a broad appendage of land between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers that becomes increasingly isolated as easterly-flowing waters widen on their way to Chesapeake Bay. We traveled along Route 3, then onto Route 360 until we ran out of…
-
Faial – Pico Ferry
The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) In most cases the quickest way between islands in the Azores is by airplane. However Pico and Faial are exceptions, and are easily accessible to each other by regular passenger ferry service. The ferry runs several times a day and takes about a half an hour. This makes it…
-
Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry
Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island, North Carolina (March 2012) We drove down 75 miles of North Carolina’s Route 12, the Beach Road, along the spine of the Outer Banks. This was a long slog even during the winter when the length of highway was blessedly free of tourist traffic. Patience is a virtue. It took…
-
Ferry Wahkiakum
Crossing the Columbia River between Cathlamet, Washington and Westport, Oregon (July 2012) It used to be difficult to cross the broad Columbia River between Washington and Oregon, especially as one moved closer to its terminus at the Pacific Ocean coastline. Even today with the Astoria-Megler Bridge near the mouth and the Lewis and Clark Bridge…
-
Dry Tortugas Ferry
Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida (April 2009) I’d wanted to travel to the Dry Tortugas for as long as I can remember, from the first time I noted a blue dotted line protruding westward from Key West on a Florida map. This marked a ferry route to Dry Tortugas National Park (map), perhaps the most…
-
Dorena – Hickman Ferry
Between Dorena, Missouri and Hickman, Kentucky (April 2014) No direct roadway crosses the Mississippi River between the states of Kentucky and Missouri. In fact the river lacks a single bridge crossing for a distance of nearly 85 miles (140 kilometres) from Cairo, Illinois to the Interstate 155 bridge west of Dyersburg, Tennessee. The Dorena-Hickman Ferry…
-
Ferry to Beaver Island, Michigan
Charlevoix to Beaver Island Ferry Beaver Island, Michigan, USA (September 2000) There are two ways to get to Beaver Island (map), by air or by boat. We took the ferry from Charlevoix at the northwest corner of Michigan’s lower peninsula (map). Regular service was provided by the Beaver Island Boat Company although the schedule varied…
-
Aircraft Carrier, Part 4 (The Island)
From the surface of the flight deck, one feature stood literally above all the rest. A superstructure rose several stories into the sky, with a commanding view of everything happening on and around the ship. The Navy called this feature the “Island.” Funny, I kind-of thought of the whole aircraft carrier as an island, completely…