The Ferry People

For some reason when I was thinking of the title of this post, it reminded me of the book The Tub People I read as a child, only because Ferry People sounds a lot like Tub People. I looked up a photo for this post and was thinking more about the story, and now this post reminds me even more of the book Tub People.

The book is about a child’s experience in a bathtub (Puget Sound) with his toys (us - The Ferry People) in a bathtub, that ride together on a washcloth raft and floating soap (Ferry). The image on the front of the book reminds me so much of all the people on the ferry – a diverse group of people who work at different jobs all over the city – but united because we are The Ferry People headed in the same direction. Good stuff!!

Now that you know about our commute, I thought it would be fun to tell you a bit more about our experience on the ferry.  Like any sort of interaction with a large group of people, you meet some quirky folks. But riding the ferry is unique - because of our commute being a bit longer and more complicated, we all have our special routines.

When Kyle and I take the ferry, we prefer to sit in the seats instead of benches. There are actually never any benches for us to sit in by the time we get there anyway, because people like to sleep in them:

Now don’t get me wrong, I like sleeping on the ferry sometimes, but a typical Bench-Sleeper really has their routine down! Sometimes they bring a blanket (you even see electric blankets), some take off their shoes and even have pillows. Imagine what their commuter bag is like!

Now this guy is a little different, he is a morning Seat-Sleeper. He obviously has his own routine down too. He even had his coffee cup nicely put in his lap and a little eye pillow for his snooze.

You’ll see quite a few Seat-Sleepers on the ferry, but I’ve noticed Seat-Sleepers tend to sleep more in the afternoon than in the morning.  From what I’ve observed, those of us that sit in seats are actually the people wide awake, drinking coffee, putting on their makeup, reading the paper or busy on their computer in the morning (FYI – I fit into this category). In the afternoon and evening ferry rides, we slow down enough to take an afternoon nap.

The last type of ferry rider I’ve noticed are the Outsiders - those that sit or stand outside. Some seem to just enjoy the fresh air, which I can appreciate, because I like that same crisp fresh air in the morning on my walks. But, usually it’s a little cold outside on the ferry for me to spend the entire time out there.

The other type of Outsider stands at the door once we’re about halfway to Seattle, so that they are FIRST in line to get off the boat. It seems a little stressful, but I get it. These people probably have very good reason to be the first in line off the boat, maybe to catch a bus or something. I’m just glad I’m not a part of this group; I like to be a little more relaxed on my ferry ride and stand up to get off once we get there!

You now probably know more than you ever wanted to know about us Ferry People. Like I said, there is nothing wrong with any particular group, we all have our quirks and routines! If you ever want to get your share of "people watching" in, take a ride on the ferry and check us all out!