….new road and empty beach

My first weekend up at the cottage greeted me with a couple of firsts.

The first new experience was the new road that was built sometime between last October and this June. To get to my cottage I have to take a car ferry across the bay to the island. The ferry makes this trip every 1 1/2 hours and it’s about a 20 minute trip. In the last few years the line-ups for the ferry have gotten very long and sometimes you have to wait for a second ferry to get on board.

The new road is wide  and only one way and makes perfect sense. Now the cars exiting the ferry onto the mainland go up the hill that used to be where cars waited to get on the ferry. The new road allows for cars to form a double line and pretty much accommodates all the cars waiting for the ferry without impeding traffic flow.

The second biggest change is the state of the beach. It’s completely empty. No beach chairs, benches, toys, boats or people. Where is everyone?

Last fall new rules were implemented for the beach. Everything had to be removed before the season ended or it was removed for you. I get that. The new rule, however, requires you take everything with you at the end of each day and not leave anything behind when you go back to the cottage. This is a bit of a problem for people with boats and for elderly people or people with disabilities who would have a problem carrying beach chairs back and forth, especially up the dunes.

As for the people, I have to admit that it was a bit chilly on Saturday for people to be sunbathing but there weren’t even any folks out walking along the beach. Hmmm?