As we all know here on the island, anything you want to do on the mainland will mean an all-day trip no matter what – a 45-minute dermatologist appointment, a 25-minute 5K run on the Cross Country team, a dive into Costco for needed supplies, a haircut, a movie, you name it, will invariably mean an 8-12-hour trip.
If you don’t live here, this is what happens: You drive 20 minutes to the ferry, wait in line for 40 minutes, ride the ferry for 90 minutes, drive 20-60 minutes to get where you need to go, spend an hour doing what you went there to do, then calculate in your head how many things you can pack in before having to catch the ferry back and do the aforementioned 4-ish hours all over again in reverse. And as all we islanders know, you can’t usually do everything you need to do, even if you’re swift and harried about it. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch the 3:40 ferry and get back home around 5:00, but you will not have had time to do any other things. If you’re maximizing your proximity to consumerism, hitting a few stores to stock your empty pantry, fridge, and bathroom, you’ll probably get the 6:30 ferry and be home by 8:00 to tuck your kids in bed.
Yesterday, my 12-hour journey for a 45-minute doctors visit was full of time on both ends of the appointment, so I did something new. Rather than think up anything I needed to acquire, I went straight to the Anacortes Library. It was a beautiful thing. I did what I love to do – write. I think that from now on I will be happy if life presents me with more time than I need on the mainland. Maybe I’ll see ya there…
