Transportation on Tangier

As I mentioned last week, only the mailman and a few other designated folks own cars on Tangier Island.  Everyone else gets around by foot, boat, golf cart or bicycle.

Bicycles are everywhere.

In every possible color.

You don't see bikes chained down to anything.  They're just left at the point the rider needed to get off.  What would be the point of locking bicycles?  Who's going to steal them and where would they go?  Overboard?

The bike above sports the inclement weather attachment, also known as a plastic bag.

By the way, the folks on Tangier are exceedingly patriotic.  House after house has a flag or something red, white and blue in the yard.  The yards are almost always surrounded by a picket, chain-link or other sort of fence. If good fences make good neighbors, it's a community love fest on Tangier.

This was my favorite bike of all.  

Click here for another informative article about Tangier.

Tangier Island. Yes. Still.

Just when you thought I was done with Tangier Island, I'm not!

With over 400 photographs and no time to synthesize them, I merely tossed up a few token shots last week without realizing what was left over.

There is actually at least another week's worth that are decent enough to share here.

This works out well for me since I've not had a chance to get out and about here in Mathews to take photos.

I love this boat in spite of (or perhaps because of) the fact that it's seen better days.

Is there enough room in this contraption for all the passengers listed?

Mathews or Tangier?  

I spy a bow that matches the first photo in today's post.

Please believe me when I say that at some point I'll return to normal--whatever that is--and will focus on photos and stories relating to Mathews.

However, the past several weeks I've been wanting to escape from stories relating to life here. Things have been slightly chaotic. We've been short-staffed at work meaning longer hours and higher levels of stress; a local teen was killed in an auto accident; a dear, dear friend from high school passed away; and a few more challenges have presented themselves.

All things considered, though, I can't complain, really. It's all about perspective. Life is good, I just haven't had a whole lot of time to devote to this crazy blog little hobby of mine known as a blog.

Until I make the time to sit down and write everything that's swirling in my addled brain, I'll at least share more pictures from the Tangier trip.

What is going on in your world? Any unexpected challenges? Any winning lottery numbers? Anything exciting?

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p.s. Middle Sister's birthday was this weekend.  Click here for my mother's celebratory blog post.

Juxtaposition

Happy Friday.  Have a great weekend.

Scenes from Tangier IV

Lacking dotted lines, solid lines, lines at all or shoulders, 

the roads on Tangier are loaded with charm.

I think this is the mailman. With a bike in the back, not mail.
Regardless, this is one of the few vehicles you'll see on the island.

Golf carts are like cars on Tangier. 

If you're not traveling by golf cart, you're pedaling a bicycle.

Or hoofin' it.
Believe it or not, this a road.
Not a footbridge.

Intersection of Long Ridge and West Ridge.
(In case you overlook the waist-high road signs.)

 

Speed limit or maximum pulse rate?

More Tangier photos forthcoming.

Scenes from Tangier III

Today we take a look at Tangier's version of my dream home:  an over-the-water hut known as a crab shanty.

(I call them crab shacks, but don't listen to me.)

They're also Tangier Island's version of the man cave.

Man Caves.  They're not just for men anymore,
at least not on Tangier.
(Click on the image.)

Actually, this is the one I want, complete with covered front porch and festive decor.

This is where the watermen come to escape from the tourists 

monitor the crab shedding process.

They remind me of the over-the-water huts I pine for 

in my never-to-be-taken trip to Bora Bora.

(Approximately 4/4 of those hyphens are probably unnecessary.)

Click here for a Washington Post article about these lovely structures.

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Things are hectic (as usual), so I can't respond to comments each evening, but I really appreciate hearing from you and thank you for taking the time to stop by.

Scenes from Tangier II

Here are more Tangier shots taken from the docks at loading time.

Is it loading time or unloading time?  I guess that depends on who is doin' the talking.

(And the loading.)

From my perspective they were loading the crabs onto the dock.

From their perspective they were unloading the crabs from the boat.

Of course this is all just nonsense talk none of this really matters 

because then there was this.

This. 

I wish I'd gotten a better close-up shot. It's hard to tell here, but if you squint click the image you can see that he has on quite the get-up.


At first I thought they were boots, but it's shorts over a pair of ...pajamas?

I can't tell. Anyway, it was definitely unique. I give him a gold star for daring to be a little different in an environment that clings to tradition and status quo. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Unloading. Or loading. Or is there another term? Anyone?

The Tangier Island Museum is a must-see for any visitor to the island. Along with historical exhibits and lots of interesting tidbits (such as the fact that an elephant once visited the island and there used to be an opera house!), a brief film describes the history and plight of the watermen.

Much like here in Mathews, the younger generation on Tangier are less and less inclined to pursue the water as a way of life, for various reasons.

It's as if the industry is washing away into the bay as quickly as the shorelines of this tiny island are.

Click here for an excellent article about Tangier and the watermen.

There are at least three or four more days of Tangier photos to come.

Stay tuned.