A Ferry Tale 

 for All Seasons 



B y P a m S m i t h 



wo blasts from the ship's horn and The 

 Carteret slips away from the Cedar Island 

 ferry dock to begin the two-and-a-quarter 

 hour Pamlico Sound crossing. Destina- 

 tion: Ocracoke Island. 



Moments before, families with kids, 

 cats and dogs, hopeful fishing parties, Outer 

 Banks residents returning from mainland 

 business, and local commuters heading to 

 their island jobs queued up for the trip. They'd come on 

 motorcycles and bicycles, in cars, motor homes, and trucks 

 pulling boats loaded with fishing gear — license plates from as 

 far away as Canada and Kansas attesting to the lure of North 

 Carolina's coast. 



Now on board The Carteret, passengers settle in to enjoy 

 the excursion across the mirror-like sound under a cloudless 

 blue sky. Some, new at the ferry game, cautiously step outside 

 their vehicles. Two veterans pull deck chairs from the trunk and 

 arrange them on the windy deck. Continued 



HIGH SEASON 2000 



w 4 . 



