August 2024 Island Trip – Day 1

I left our mainland home in time to top off my capacious gas tank on the reservation, where gas is a dollar less a gallon, and then made it to the town, where the ferry terminal is, early enough to pause at the fabric shop. I found two flannel remnants. Spent less than $10! 😁

The boat was full of Tourons, as my mom used to call them. They are conspicuous, leave their car alarms on, which the motion of the boat sets off, and keep the economy of the Island afloat. A lot of the Island full-timers bemoan the tourist’s presence. They did 45-years ago when we first came here. They growl about the wealthy who pay ginormous property taxes too. Taxes that keep the schools funded and roads paved. This is something I don’t understand. I’ll unpack this in another post.

I unloaded carefully. My ankle is functional, but I ‘feel’ its instability. My tenant invited me down for a mineral water. I took her up on it. We had a nice visit. I met the gal their hosting from his work for six weeks. When they asked if they could offer her the space, it didn’t take me too long to say, “Yes.” This person is a student. Finding housing for short periods on the Island is very difficult. There’s little cost to me for them to have a short term guest. The electricity to pump additional water… And these folks were troopers during well shenanigans that were our fault. And she’s a student scientist! How can you not support that?

I got the meadow below Stella mowed so I could deploy Starlink and not have to move it later in order to do additional mowing. This also encompassed getting the front of Stella mowed so I could put her carpet out that Tim bought us. I brought camp chairs and a table up from my MIL’s, which completed the ambiance this evening. I played backgammon with my DH outside, and enjoyed the wildlife. The twins (deer) have doubled in size since I last saw them!

It’s been a long and somewhat tiring day, and I’m glad to be in one place for nine days.