Tomorrow

The ferry opens tomorrow at 7 am! And I'm guessing we won't have a single rider for about 3 hours. But it opens!

I haven't posted in a week, which was brought to my attention by a few very PUSHY readers (coughTAMIcough). I've been pretty busy though, and most of it has been decently fun.

Almost every day, I've been down at the new ferry, hoping to get it set up, prepared, and most of all, finishing all the requirements so it can pass the final Coast Guard inspection. My main tasks for that were hanging yet more signs, (no smoking, turn off your engine, bikes over here, fares are this much), spray painting the ferry's name on 56 life jackets, and updating the first aid kit. The first aid kit was the one that was on the old BV, and some of the stuff in it expired in 1989! And really, we're supposed to have smelling salts and a tourniquet? Hell, I just took the first aid class and they said really clearly to just call 911 and apply pressure. I guess the nearest ambulance might be pretty far though, the nearest actual town that might have a fire station would be either Jefferson or Independence, and they're each at least 10 miles away.

Monday, the day I spray painted the life jackets, was glorious. It was probably 86 degrees, the first day of summer, and I spent it all outside. I managed to only get a mild sunburn, since I applied sunscreen 3 times in 6 hours. Even though I was really hot, it was sunny, and I was on the river. It made me realize how cool this job actually could be.

I drove the boat, too. It's really hard! It reacts much quicker than the WL does. It's also a lot faster than the WL, which supposedly they're going to change. Nobody goes on the BV to get anywhere fast, according to my boss.

Today, for a change, I was in the office doing bookkeeping. I have come to accept and actually enjoy the fact that my boss won't give me the "guy" jobs. He knows that I'd be a liability on the road crew, and that I'm a huge asset when it comes to computers, considering he can barely turn his computer ON. I did things like right clicking to copy and paste, or control-a to select all, and he was stunned. And he was utterly blown away when I said I could get directions to places...on my phone. heh. 21st century, yo!

So come one, come all, the ferry is opening! The hours are 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week. Cars cost $3, bikes are $1, walk on pedestrians are free. The bike fee, by the way, is a Very Big Deal. The WL is going to start charging bikers too. For one thing, I don't know if I want to touch a dollar bill that's been pulled out of those sweaty, skin tight shorts they wear. Plus, bikes have always been free. The BV gets a ton of bikers, huge bike tours come through all summer. It'll be a major pain in the ass to collect toll from 60 bikers before I can take them across the river.

I'm also going to wear a bit more makeup tomorrow. I'm guessing the newspapers will come down to take pics. Look for me in the paper soon, I hope!