I want my Mamaaaaaaa!

My Mama (and Papa) should be at my house; but because of Hurricane Eric, they are here:

Passenger ferry - MV Blue Puttees

Eric was down-graded to a tropical storm but still left a mess in his path.  Mainland Nova Scotia got a day of heavy rain; but New Brunswick, PEI, Cape Breton and the Cabot Strait were directly in his path.  So although Mama and Papa got on the ferry Wed night, last night at 10 pm they were still just outside the Port aux Basques Channel (#1 in the circle) -- unable to get off but unable to move forward because of 50 m high waves and high winds.    

Poor little ole 75 yr old parents!  But at least they have a cabin, tiny as it is.  The NS/NL ferries are quite comfortable, with 2 restaurants, a snack bar & gift shop, a bar with live entertainment, games room, playroom for the children, cabins, reclining chairs and booths.  But the food is expensive and the cabins/recliners are few.  Gone are the old days when I travelled the ferry twice a year.  

Travelling on the ferries in the 70's was an experience that I've not forgotten.  The rich had their cabins .....  and the rest of us had the floor!  My brother and I would leave his car and go upstairs to find 

 a space on the floor for our sleeping bags -- next to a wall, under a table -- it didn't matter as long as there was a path left for the crew to walk.  All around us would be families having picnic lunches on blankets, little kids chasing each other & making new friends, old people playing card games, tired Moms drinking tea with other tired Moms.  There was lots of floor space to share; and there was always a good honest person willing to watch our overnight bags so that us "young fellers", as they called us, could head downstairs to the bar.  

The bar was on the lower level so the noise wouldn't disturb people trying to sleep (something us "young fellers" needed very little of).  There would be happy bartenders, and if a passenger had a guitar or 

an accordian, there'd be happy music .... accompanied by lots of bad singing, lots of good natured imbibing and perhaps even a dance or two (sometimes on a tabletop!)  Think Rose and Jack on the Titanic without the punching or the disasterous ending.  When the bar closed down, we'd wander upstairs to our corner, but some would just curl up on the benches in the bar.  

Now-a-days, there are rules to be followed!  No more of that wanton, spontaneous ferry life.  And given the changes since the 70's and the people you could possibly meet, I think it's a wise 

choice.  But my heart goes out to those people who either couldn't afford or were too late to get a cabin or a reclining chair.  Those parents of young children; anyone over 50; or those who thought they could easily withstand 6 hours of relative discomfort.  What should have been a 6 hour trip across the Gulf has turned into a 31 hour wait.

But there's good news!  The ferry left Port aux Basques at 4 am this morning:  so Mama and Papa should arrive before noon.  I was able to re-schedule her specialist appointment for Monday, and we'll be able to have a chance to spend some time together before they head back home to Newfoundland.

Hmmmmm?  What day next week will Hurricane Leslie hit us?